Shirali Mislimov
Encyclopedia
Shirali Baba Muslimov (allegedly 26 March 1805 - Barzavu – September 2, 1973) was a Talysh
shepherd
from the village of Barzavu
in the Lerik
region of Azerbaijan
, a mountainous area near the Iranian border. He was claiming to be the oldest person who ever lived when he died on September 2 (or 4), 1973 at the alleged age of 168. This is 46 years older than French
woman Jeanne Calment
, who has had the longest confirmed lifespan in history at 122.
Muslimov's story was taken up in 1973 by National Geographic Magazine
, which told that on the occasion he still rode horseback and tended an orchard planted in the 1870's. National Geographic later recanted on the claim. The same story was told by the Guinness Book
, stated as unconfirmed along other similar claims.
His marital status was also controversial. National Geographic told he had a wife 120 years old, whom he had married 102 years earlier. However on his obituary, published by Time magazine
, it is said he was survived by his 107-year-old third wife. According to another claim , at the purported age of 136 he married and had a daughter. The only evidence in favor of Muslimov's age claim is an official passport that listed his birthdate. Muslimov had no known birth certificate
.
In the 1970s many Westerners were made aware of these extreme claims of longevity in Azerbaijan and elsewhere in the Caucasus region when a U.S. Dannon yogurt commercial invoked some of these people to suggest that the secret of their long lives lay in the frequent consumption of yogurt.
On the other hand, was not the only Soviet propaganda affected the incredible story: even the National Geographic credited to, even if it later backed down. In addition Müslümov was only the tip of the iceberg. The Caucasus of the seventies was full of similar statements, to the point that they tried to give them an explanation, either by scientific interest, look for commercial reasons: as has been suggested that the longevity was linked to a diet of dairy and, in particular yogurt, Danone took the ball to support this theory to give a boost to its sales.
But the service Kaspiev also changed the life of the small Azeri village, where they arrived electricity, radio and television, was also built a comfortable road that would serve the same number of curious and government institutions to meet and honor what they thought was the best the man of the world's longest. Elder was loaded with gifts and provided with a special board, and in 1964 the Soviet government organized a big party for his alleged birthday 159.
Talysh people
Talysh are an Iranian people indigenous to a region shared between Azerbaijan and Iran which spans the South Caucasus and the southwestern shore of the Caspian Sea. They speak the Talysh language, one of the Northwestern Iranian languages...
shepherd
Shepherd
A shepherd is a person who tends, feeds or guards flocks of sheep.- Origins :Shepherding is one of the oldest occupations, beginning some 6,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat and especially their wool...
from the village of Barzavu
Barzavu
Barzavu is a village and municipality in the Lerik Rayon of Azerbaijan, a hilly region near the Iranian border. It is 150 miles south of Baku, and has a population of 637....
in the Lerik
Lerik, Azerbaijan
Lerik is the capital city of Lerik Rayon in the southern, ethnic-Talysh area of Azerbaijan not far from the Iranian border.- References :* – World-Gazetteer.com...
region of 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...
, a mountainous area near the Iranian border. He was claiming to be the oldest person who ever lived when he died on September 2 (or 4), 1973 at the alleged age of 168. This is 46 years older than French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
woman Jeanne Calment
Jeanne Calment
Jeanne Louise Calment was a French supercentenarian who had the longest confirmed human life span in history, living to the age of . She lived in Arles, France, for her entire life, and outlived both her daughter and grandson. She became especially well known from the age of 113, when the...
, who has had the longest confirmed lifespan in history at 122.
Muslimov's story was taken up in 1973 by National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic, formerly the National Geographic Magazine, is the official journal of the National Geographic Society. It published its first issue in 1888, just nine months after the Society itself was founded...
, which told that on the occasion he still rode horseback and tended an orchard planted in the 1870's. National Geographic later recanted on the claim. The same story was told by the Guinness Book
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
, stated as unconfirmed along other similar claims.
His marital status was also controversial. National Geographic told he had a wife 120 years old, whom he had married 102 years earlier. However on his obituary, published by Time magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, it is said he was survived by his 107-year-old third wife. According to another claim , at the purported age of 136 he married and had a daughter. The only evidence in favor of Muslimov's age claim is an official passport that listed his birthdate. Muslimov had no known birth certificate
Birth certificate
A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a child. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuing registration of that birth...
.
In the 1970s many Westerners were made aware of these extreme claims of longevity in Azerbaijan and elsewhere in the Caucasus region when a U.S. Dannon yogurt commercial invoked some of these people to suggest that the secret of their long lives lay in the frequent consumption of yogurt.
Legend
Şirəli Müslümov lived in Barzavu, a small village in the region of Lerik, the mountainous area of Azerbaijan near the border of Iran in what would be born in 1805. According to myth, the man had worked hard every day, up to 165 years, and decided not to marry until a century ago. Müslümov did not smoke and, as a good Muslim, did not drink, but ate fruit, vegetables, wholemeal bread, chicken broth, low-fat cheese and yogurt. He had three wives, the third of which had 107 years at the time of his death and was seven years older than one of the grandchildren man. It is, however, tell many other stories in this regard, some of which claim that had six wives and the second had been pregnant more than seventy years. Müslümov became ill with pneumonia in the winter the 1972nd - one thousand nine hundred seventy-three, but survived at least until the 168 th birthday, only to shut down in late summer.Case
Müslümov The case became known in 1963 , when a young photojournalist TASS, Kalman Kaspiev, went to Barzavu to interview the elderly. Acts standing certifying the improbable: a man born in 1805 was still alive at the age of 158 years. The official press Soviet certainly did not let slip such a wonderful opportunity: Müslümov had been employed in a collective farm, recalled the days of Tsarist Russia, and requested a comparison, he said with a little 'of complacency that things were better in new regime. The story of Şirəli Baba (Grandfather Şirəli) did so around the world.On the other hand, was not the only Soviet propaganda affected the incredible story: even the National Geographic credited to, even if it later backed down. In addition Müslümov was only the tip of the iceberg. The Caucasus of the seventies was full of similar statements, to the point that they tried to give them an explanation, either by scientific interest, look for commercial reasons: as has been suggested that the longevity was linked to a diet of dairy and, in particular yogurt, Danone took the ball to support this theory to give a boost to its sales.
But the service Kaspiev also changed the life of the small Azeri village, where they arrived electricity, radio and television, was also built a comfortable road that would serve the same number of curious and government institutions to meet and honor what they thought was the best the man of the world's longest. Elder was loaded with gifts and provided with a special board, and in 1964 the Soviet government organized a big party for his alleged birthday 159.