Seyid Azim Shirvani
| Seyid Azim Shirvani | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 July 1835 Shamakhy, Azerbaijan |
| Died | 1 June 1888 Shamakhy, Azerbaijan |
| Nationality | Azerbaijani |
| Genre | Lyric poetry |
Seyid Azim Shirvani (Azerbaijani: Seyid Əzim Şirvani, 1835–1888) Azerbaijani poet and enlightener. He got his first religious education in Iraq. After returning to motherland he refused his spiritual dignity and opened a private school. Seyid Azim Shirvani continued Fuzûlî’s traditions in his love-lyrical poems. In his satirical poems and fables Seyid Azim Shirvani ridiculed priesthood, opposed backwardness and ignorance, called to enlightenment and culture. Contemporary poets consider him their teacher.
Seyid Azim Shirvani was born in Shamakhi, in family of a clergyman. He lost his father early, and his grandfather undertook a care of him. For finishing the education he was sent to Baghdad and Egypt, where he got spiritual title of akhund. After returning to Shamakhi Seyid Azim Shirvani was interested in secular sciences, problems of education, and learnt Russian language. He didn’t limit himself to knowing only Persian and Arabic languages and creativity of the eastern authors, but he was also interested in European and Russian literature, acquainted with works of Pushkin, Nekrasov and other famous poets.
Taking care of the nation’s progress, its spiritual emancipation, Seyid Azim opened a Russo-Azerbaijani school in Skamakhi, where was paid attention to studying of secular sciences, and also Azerbaijani and Russian languages. He read poems of Azerbaijani poets and translations of works of such poets as Saadi, Hafiz and Khayyam to his pupils instead of Quran and rules of Sharia. He taught at this school, refusing to be a clergyman. With the lapse of time his interest to social problems, to scientific knowledge changed his attitude to serving a religion. Seeing hypocrisy and sanctimony of clergymen, he was inspired by dream to dedicate himself to creativity and enlightenment of the nation, to propaganda of science and knowledge, which called dissatisfaction and hostile attitude of clergymen. Shirvani was reputed as politically disloyal person and soon he was discharged from teaching.
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