Nizami Ganjavi – Azerbaijani poet

The life and work of the Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjavi are sometimes falsified. As such, there are speculations that the poet was Persian, he was born in Gum city of Iran and he was “Azerbaijanized” only during the Soviet era (i.e. after 1920). However, we present solid facts that refute these fabrications:

• It was discovered during excavations in the mausoleum in 1923 that the poet`s grave had been under a domed cover, in blue soil, and the body had been placed in an oak coffin. Such burial is a purely Turkic burial custom.
• Researchers explain the reason why Nizami wrote his works in Persian with the literary tradition that existed at that time.
• The alleged fact that the poet was born in Gum city was also refuted: it was proved that this fact was not found in the 13-17th-century manuscripts of the poet.
• Historical facts also refute the association of the poet`s “Azerbaijanization” with the Stalin era. Nizami was portrayed as a prominent representative of Azerbaijani literature in A.Bakikhanov`s “Gulustani Iram” (20-40s of the 19th century), M.F.Akhundzade`s “Sheikh Nizami” (1909), M.A.Rasulzade`s “Azerbaijani poet Nizami”.