Mirza-Shafi Vazeh(), also known as the "sage from Ganja", was a classical bilingual poet of Azerbaijani poet

Azerbaijani literature

Azerbaijani literature refers to the literature written in Azerbaijani, which currently is the official state language of the Republic of Azerbaijan and is widely spoken in northwestern Iran and eastern Turkey...

 and Persian language

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...

 who continued the classical traditions of Azerbaijani poetry from the 14th century. His verses were translated into nearly all European languages.

Early life

Mirza Shafi was born in 1794 in Ganja. His grandfather Muhammed Shafi was a nobleman of Ganja, and his father Kerbelayi Sadykh was an architect in the palace of Javad-khan

Javad Khan

Javad khan Ziyad oghlu Qajar a member of the royal Qajar family, the khan of Ganja khanate. During the first Russo-Persian War , Ganja was considered by Russians as a town of foremost importance. General Pavel Tsitsianov approached Javad khan several times asking him to submit to Russian rule,...

, the last ruler of Ganja

Ganja, Azerbaijan

Ganja is Azerbaijan's second-largest city with a population of around 313,300. It was named Yelizavetpol in the Russian Empire period. The city regained its original name—Ganja—from 1920–1935 during the first part of its incorporation into the Soviet Union. However, its name was changed again and...

. Young Shafi got his primary education at a madrassa, where he studied Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

 and 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...

. Vazeh interrupted his education at madrassa after the death of his parents and his brother, and due to his daring stance against ignorance and backwardness of religious clergy. He began to work as a book copier, using his exceptional hand-writing skills, and later as a secretary and house keeper in the estate of Pusta-khanum, the daughter of Javad-khan.

Literary Activity

In 1840 Vazeh moved to Tiflis where, with help of his former student Mirza Fatali Akhundov

Mirza Fatali Akhundov

Mirza Fatali Akhundov , former – Akhundzade , was a celebrated Azerbaijani author, playwright, philosopher, and founder of modern literary criticism, "who acquired fame primarily as the writer of European-inspired plays in the Azeri language"...

, he secured the position of teacher at a boy’s school. In Tiflis, Vazeh became even more devoted to literature. In 1844 he established a literary society "Divan-i Hikmet" which gathered many prominent Azeri, Russian and foreign intellectuals living in Tiflis.

Among the members of this society was Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt

Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt

Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt was a German author.Bodenstedt was born at Peine, in the Kingdom of Hanover. He studied in Göttingen, Munich and Berlin....

, a German poet and traveler, who became Vazeh's friend and student in Azeri and Persian language and literature. Vazeh rarely put his verses into written form and his friends transcribed most of his works during their gatherings. Von Bodenstedt was one of the scribes, and translated Vazeh's poetry into German, upon his return to Germany. He published the translation in 1851 as a book named "The songs of Mirza Shafi". The book became popular, was republished and translated into other European languages. However, after Vazeh's death in 1852 F. von Bodenstedt denied Vazeh's authorship claiming that it was his own verses and he presented them as belonging to Vazeh in order to add an exotic air to the book in order to enhance its popularity.

Vazeh’s verses, which were translated and published throughout Europe in 19th century gained attention in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...

only in the beginning of 20th century. Azerbaijani philologists S. Mumtaz and H. Hamidzade played a key role in collecting and publishing those of Vazeh's original verses which have been preserved to date. In his poetry, Vazeh glorifies the joys of life, and the wisdom and goodness of a man.