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In the 26th issue for the year 1899 of the project “The Collection of Materials to Describe the Terrain and Tribes in the Caucasus,” Nikolay Ivanovich Gulak published an article dedicated to the famous Persian poet Nizami, Nizami’s contemporary residents of Ganja and the author’s contemporary residents of Elisabethpol.

“Among the luminaries shining against the horizon of the Iranian Parnassus, Nizami certainly has a prominent place next to Ferdowsi, Saadi and Jami. Nizami was born in the first half of the 12th century and died in 1203,” the author writes.
Nizami lived in a happy epoch, when the sciences and poetry prospered with a special splendor, an epoch so suddenly and sternly cut short by the Mongolian massacres, Nikolay Ivanovich Gulak stresses.

Nizami’s homeland is Ganja, called Elisabethpol during the author’s lifetime, where he lived almost his whole life. Nizami was buried in the so-called Green Mosque, 8 versts from Elisabethpol and visited by devout Muslims and pilgrims (1 verst = 1.067 km). According to the author, the pilgrims honored the holy sheikh’s memory, rather than that of the celebrated poet, “whose works had become entirely alien for the modern population.”

In order to describe Ganja in the time Nizami lived, the author cites Cosmographia compiled by the Arab geographer Kazvini, who lived shortly after Nizami. He draws the following picture, “Ganja is an ancient city, situated in the area of Arran bordering with the Christian Georgia not far from the river Kura. The city is reach, the inhabitants enjoying the gifts of nature in abundance. They are jealous Sunnis, that is to say, they adhere to their traditions and stand out with piety and strict observation of all the religious rites. This is the reason why they do not tolerate the adherents of other faiths and sects, in order not to distract from their faith. They are primarily engaged in military science and exercise with weapons because they live on the edge of the Muslim world and border with disbelievers.”

According to Nikolay Ivanovich Gulak, other authors also praised “the Ganja people’s love for education and sciences,” and evidence an interesting detail – Nizami had a brother, Kavami Mutarizzi, “another great master of the art of writing qasidas.”
Enumerating other poets “born in Ganja,” the author also mentions Abu Ola, the president of the poets’ academy at the court of Akhsitan, the ruler of Shirvan. 

“Seven hundred years ago, Ganja’s inhabitants stood out not only with their belligerence, religious fanaticism and intolerance, but also with their love for poetry,” the author highlights. Comparing Ganja with his contemporary Elisabethpol, he notes that the city’s Muslim inhabitants only retained the religious fanaticism of the above-mentioned qualities.

“Obtuse ignorance and general illiteracy have substituted the love for education. Instead of the former merdresse, we see miserable mektebe at mosques, where poor boys are learning by rote the last 15 surahs or chapters of Quran like parrots for four or five years, without understanding a word in Arabic. And their studies are limited by this,” he writes.

As for the Elisabethpolian people’s attitude towards poetry, the author brings the following example, “A mullah always sits by the gates of the Elisabethpol mosque selling various brochures and other stuff to the believers. So, once I got curious to know whether he had any of his celebrated compatriot Nizami’s works, for instance, Makhzan al-Asrar, that is, ‘The Treasury of Mysteries.’ To my request, he shook his hand and said, ‘Those are all old books. We do not have such stuff.’” 

Tutored by Sheikh Ali-Farrukh Rigani, Nizami got a perfect Islamic education, this being demonstrated in his first work “The Treasury of Mysteries.” The active way of life he led until his 40 earned him a “reputation of a sheikh” among his fellow citizens, the author notes.

“The main trait featuring both his character and works is his profound piety. But his natural gentleness and complacency abated this piety, which lacked the usual sharpness and intolerance,” the author writes. However, “the monotonous narrowness and the heartlessness of the surroundings gradually made him hateful.”

In search of success, popularity and earnings, Nizami often dedicated his works, sometimes without success, to his contemporaries in power. The following interesting fact is mentioned, “When Nizami finished his first work, Ildeniz, the Atabeg of the neighboring Atropatene and the founder of the dynasty of the Eldiguzids of Atropatene, launched a campaign against the Georgian king George in 1171. Ildegiz’s troops ‘deluged’ the area of Arran, and the military noise filled Ganja. This was a convenient occasion for Nizami to come across Atabeg Ildegiz and dedicate a work to him, but alas! In vain did the poet expect common bounties from the Atabeg,” the author writes. 

The inspiration to write his second work, “Khosrow and Shirin,” was the poet Fakhri-Jorjani’s “charming story” about Visa and Ramin’s romantic adventures. Nizami’s work was dedicated to Ildegiz’s son, Muhammad, who did not reward him either. Only Muhammad’s brother rewarded the poet what he deserved. Two years later, Nizami published his “Divan,” a collection of lyrical works, including ghazals, qasidas, quatrains, etc., a total of 20,000 poems. The collection regretfully has not been preserved.
Later, Shirvanshah king Akhsitan asked Nizami to refine the famous Arabian legend about Layla and Majnun. The entire poem, consisting of 5,000 verses, was ready in four months.

“Nizami’s works (‘The Treasury of Mysteries,’ ‘Khosrow and Shirin,’ ‘Layla and Majnun,’ ‘Iskendername’ and ‘Haft Paykar’) are reputed in the East under a common name ‘Panj Ganj’ or simply Khamseh,” the author informs.

Notably, Nizami’s works, particularly “Iskendername,” contains numerous references to Armenia, Georgia and other countries and nations bordering with the Persian Empire.

 “The Collection of Materials to Describe the Terrain and Tribes in the Caucasus” is a large-scale publication of narrative sources carried out by the management of the Caucasus Educational Okrug in 1881-1908. It includes researches and description of the history, life, and ethnographic characteristics of the peoples inhabiting the Caucasus region of the Russian Empire.

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