Jalil Mammadguluzadeh
Encyclopedia
Jalil Huseyngulu oglu Mammadguluzadeh (22 February 1866, Nakhchivan City – 4 January 1932, Baku
) was an Azerbaijani
satirist and writer.
. In 1887, he graduated from the Gori Pedagogical Seminary and for the next ten years was involved in teaching at rural schools in Bash-Norashen, Ulukhanli
, Nehram and other towns and villages of the Erivan Governorate
. Mammadguluzadeh was a strong activist of the language unification movement. He condemned many of his contemporaries for corrupting the Azeri language replacing its genuine vocabulary with the newly-introduced Russian, Persian and Ottoman Turkish loanwords, often alien and confusing to many readers. Later he became deeply involved in the process of romanization
of the Azeri alphabet. In 1898, he moved to Erivan and in 1903, – to Tiflis where he became a columnist for the local Sharqi-Rus newspaper published in the Azeri
language. In 1906, he founded the Molla Nasraddin
satirical magazine. Frequent military conflicts and overall political instability in the Caucasus
forced him to move to Tabriz
, Iran
, where he continued his career as a chief-editor and columnist for Molla Nasraddin. He eventually settled in Baku in 1921.
In 1907, the twice-widowed Jalil Mammadguluzadeh married Azerbaijani philanthropist and activist Hamida Javanshir
. He died in Baku, in 1932. A drama theatre in Nakhchivan, a street in Baku, the city of Jalilabad
(former Astrakhan-Bazaar) and the town of Jalilkand (former Bash-Norashen) were named after him.
illustrated satirical magazine. The magazine was Mammadguluzadeh's greatest contribution to Azeri culture, further pursuing the development of critical realism
among the Azeri literati. The magazine accurately portrayed social and economic realities of the early-20th century society and backward norms and practices common in the Caucasus
. In 1921 (after Molla Nasraddin was banned in Russia in 1917), Mammadguluzadeh published 8 more issues of the magazine in Tabriz
, Iran
. After Sovietization
, the printing-house was moved to Baku
, where Molla Nasraddin was published until 1931. Mammadguluzadeh's satirical style influenced the development of this genre in Iran
.
, novels, essays, and dramatics. His first significant short story, "The Disappearance of the Donkey" (part of his Stories from the village of Danabash series), written in 1894 and published in 1934, touched upon social inequality. In his later works (The Postbox, The Iranian Constitution, Gurban Ali bey, The Lamb, etc.), as well as in his famous comedies The Corpses and The Madmen Gathering he ridiculed corruption, snobbery, ignorance, religious fanaticism, etc.
In addition to his native Azeri
, he was also proficient in Persian
and Russian language
s. After Molla Nasreddin, Mammadguluzadeh published several other stories including "Freedom in Iran".
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
) was an Azerbaijani
Azerbaijani people
The Azerbaijanis are a Turkic-speaking people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as in the neighbourhood states, Georgia, Russia and formerly Armenia. Commonly referred to as Azeris or Azerbaijani Turks , they also live in a wider area from the Caucasus to...
satirist and writer.
Life
Mammadguluzadeh was born in Nakhchivan into an Iranian Azeri merchant family from KhoyKhoy
Khoy is a city in and the capital of Khoy County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 178,708, in 45,090 families....
. In 1887, he graduated from the Gori Pedagogical Seminary and for the next ten years was involved in teaching at rural schools in Bash-Norashen, Ulukhanli
Masis (city)
Masis , incorporating the former villages of Narimanlu, Zangibasar, and Ulukhanlu, is a town in Armenia in Ararat Province , located on the left bank of the Hrazdan River, 14km south of Yerevan. The city has a large railroad commodity station that serves Yerevan and which was, until the closing of...
, Nehram and other towns and villages of the Erivan Governorate
Erivan Governorate
Erivan Governorate was one of the guberniyas of the Russian Empire, with its centre in Erivan . Its area was 27,830 sq. kilometres. It roughly corresponded to what is now most of central Armenia, the Iğdır Province of Turkey, and Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave...
. Mammadguluzadeh was a strong activist of the language unification movement. He condemned many of his contemporaries for corrupting the Azeri language replacing its genuine vocabulary with the newly-introduced Russian, Persian and Ottoman Turkish loanwords, often alien and confusing to many readers. Later he became deeply involved in the process of romanization
Romanization
In linguistics, romanization or latinization is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Roman script, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system . Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written...
of the Azeri alphabet. In 1898, he moved to Erivan and in 1903, – to Tiflis where he became a columnist for the local Sharqi-Rus newspaper published in the Azeri
Azerbaijani language
Azerbaijani or Azeri or Torki is a language belonging to the Turkic language family, spoken in southwestern Asia by the Azerbaijani people, primarily in Azerbaijan and northwestern Iran...
language. In 1906, he founded the Molla Nasraddin
Molla Nasraddin (magazine)
Molla Nasraddin was an eight-page Azerbaijani satirical periodical published in Tiflis , Tabriz and Baku in the Azeri and occasionally Russian languages...
satirical magazine. Frequent military conflicts and overall political instability in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
forced him to move to Tabriz
Tabriz
Tabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, where he continued his career as a chief-editor and columnist for Molla Nasraddin. He eventually settled in Baku in 1921.
In 1907, the twice-widowed Jalil Mammadguluzadeh married Azerbaijani philanthropist and activist Hamida Javanshir
Hamida Javanshir
Hamida Ahmad bey qizi Javanshir was an Azerbaijani philanthropist and women's rights activist...
. He died in Baku, in 1932. A drama theatre in Nakhchivan, a street in Baku, the city of Jalilabad
Jalilabad
Jalilabad is a rayon of Azerbaijan. The capital is the city of Cəlilabad ....
(former Astrakhan-Bazaar) and the town of Jalilkand (former Bash-Norashen) were named after him.
Molla Nasraddin
In 1905, Mammadguluzadeh and his companions purchased a printing-house in Tiflis, and in 1906 he became the editor of the new Molla NasraddinMolla Nasraddin (magazine)
Molla Nasraddin was an eight-page Azerbaijani satirical periodical published in Tiflis , Tabriz and Baku in the Azeri and occasionally Russian languages...
illustrated satirical magazine. The magazine was Mammadguluzadeh's greatest contribution to Azeri culture, further pursuing the development of critical realism
Critical realism
In the philosophy of perception, critical realism is the theory that some of our sense-data can and do accurately represent external objects, properties, and events, while other of our sense-data do not accurately represent any external objects, properties, and events...
among the Azeri literati. The magazine accurately portrayed social and economic realities of the early-20th century society and backward norms and practices common in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
. In 1921 (after Molla Nasraddin was banned in Russia in 1917), Mammadguluzadeh published 8 more issues of the magazine in Tabriz
Tabriz
Tabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. After Sovietization
Sovietization
Sovietization is term that may be used with two distinct meanings:*the adoption of a political system based on the model of soviets .*the adoption of a way of life and mentality modelled after the Soviet Union....
, the printing-house was moved to Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, where Molla Nasraddin was published until 1931. Mammadguluzadeh's satirical style influenced the development of this genre in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
.
Literature
Jalil Mammadguluzadeh wrote in various genres, including short storiesShort Stories
Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
, novels, essays, and dramatics. His first significant short story, "The Disappearance of the Donkey" (part of his Stories from the village of Danabash series), written in 1894 and published in 1934, touched upon social inequality. In his later works (The Postbox, The Iranian Constitution, Gurban Ali bey, The Lamb, etc.), as well as in his famous comedies The Corpses and The Madmen Gathering he ridiculed corruption, snobbery, ignorance, religious fanaticism, etc.
In addition to his native Azeri
Azerbaijani language
Azerbaijani or Azeri or Torki is a language belonging to the Turkic language family, spoken in southwestern Asia by the Azerbaijani people, primarily in Azerbaijan and northwestern Iran...
, he was also proficient in Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and Russian language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
s. After Molla Nasreddin, Mammadguluzadeh published several other stories including "Freedom in Iran".
External links
- The Postbox by Jalil Mammadguluzadeh (a short story, written in 1903 and published in the Sharqi-Rus in 1904). Azerbaijan International, Vol. 7.1. (Spring 1999), pp. 24-26.
- Maybe They'll Give It All Back by Jalil Mammadguluzadeh (written in the late 1920s). Azerbaijan International, Vol. 7.1 (Spring 1999), pp. 30-33.
- Selected Works of Jalil Mammadguluzadeh edited by Isa Habibbayli, in Azeri (includes most of the works of Jalil Mammadguluzade), 2008.