Djalil Mamedkulizade Azerbaijani writer Date of Birth: 22.02.1866 Country: Azerbaijan

1. Biography of Jalil Mammadguluzadeh
2. Early Life and Education
3. Career and Literary Contributions
4. Literary Contributions
5. Work in the "Shargi Rus" Newspaper
6. "Molla Nasreddin"

Biography of Jalil Mammadguluzadeh

Jalil Mammadguluzadeh was an Azerbaijani writer, journalist, educator, and satirist. He is considered the founder of critical realism in Azerbaijani literature. Mammadguluzadeh was born on February 10, 1866, in the city of Nakhchivan. His grandfather, Hussein Kuli, a mason, had migrated from Iranian Azerbaijan and started a family in Nakhchivan.

Early Life and Education

Mammadguluzadeh initially received his education in religious schools, known as madrasas, where he studied Arabic and Persian books, Islamic jurisprudence, and the "Gulistan" by the great Persian poet Saadi. A significant event in Mammadguluzadeh's life was his enrollment in the Gori Teacher's Seminary in 1882. The seminary, especially its "Tatar" branch, which was led by the enlightened educator and prominent public figure Alexei Chernyayevsky, produced many leading figures in Azerbaijani culture. Graduates of the seminary include Nariman Narimanov, Firudinbek Kocherlinsky, Suleyman Akhundov, Uzeyir Hajibeyov, Muslim Magomayev (senior), Farkhad Agayev, Rashidbek Efendiyev, Haji-Kerim Saniyev, and others. Mammadguluzadeh completed his studies at the Transcaucasian Teacher's Seminary in 1887 and taught in schools in Bash-Norashen, Ulukhanly, Negrama, and other towns in the Erivan Governorate for the next ten years. He was a supporter of unifying the literary Azerbaijani language and criticized his contemporaries for introducing unnecessary borrowings from the Russian, Persian, and Turkish languages, which he believed misled the average reader ("The Book of My Mother," 1920). Later, he became one of the activists of the process of Latinizing the Azerbaijani alphabet.

Career and Literary Contributions

In 1898, Mammadguluzadeh moved to Yerevan, and in 1903, he settled in Tbilisi, where he started working for the local Azerbaijani-language newspaper "Shargi-Rus." In 1906, he founded the satirical journal "Molla Nasreddin" and served as its editor for 25 years. In 1921, Mammadguluzadeh lived in Tabriz, where "Molla Nasreddin" was temporarily published. Towards the end of the Civil War, he moved to Baku, where he passed away in 1932 due to a cerebral hemorrhage. In his final years, he wrote memoirs, which he did not manage to complete. Numerous cities and institutions in Azerbaijan bear his name in honor of his contributions to literature, including the city of Jalilabad (formerly Astrakhan-Bazar), the village of Jalilkend (formerly Bash-Norashen) in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, the Literary Museum of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, and the dramatic theater in Nakhchivan.

Literary Contributions

Mammadguluzadeh wrote in various genres, including dramas, essays, short stories, and satirical pieces. His first and most famous work is "The Loss of the Donkey" (the first in the series of stories "Events in the Danabash Village"), written in 1894 and published in 1934. In this work, the writer addresses the theme of social inequality. His subsequent works, such as "The Mailbox," "Constitution in Iran," "Kurban-Ali-Bek," "The Lamb," and the well-known comedies "The Dead" and "Gathering of the Mad," criticize ignorance, arrogance, and religious fanaticism.

Work in the "Shargi Rus" Newspaper

In Yerevan, Jalil Mammadguluzadeh married Nazli Khanum, the sister of Mammadgulubek Kengerlinsky, a young widow with a small son from her first marriage. Nazli Khanum was seriously ill, and in December 1903, Jalil Mammadguluzadeh accompanied her and his brother-in-law, Mammadgulubek Kengerlinsky, to Tbilisi for medical treatment. Nazli Khanum passed away soon after, and Jalil Mammadguluzadeh thereafter established a long-term connection with Tbilisi. At that time, the only Azerbaijani-language newspaper in Russia, "Shargi Rus" ("Russian East"), was published in Tbilisi, where Mammadguluzadeh received a job offer. He was well acquainted with the publisher of the newspaper, his compatriot Mammadaga Shakhtakhtinsky, a prominent journalist.

"Molla Nasreddin"

In 1905, Mammadguluzadeh and his comrades acquired a printing press in Tbilisi and started publishing the satirical journal "Molla Nasreddin." The journal became his most significant contribution to Azerbaijani culture, aiding the development of critical realism in educated Azerbaijani circles. It accurately portrayed the social and economic conditions in the Caucasus at the beginning of the 20th century and satirized backwardness and obscurantism. Eight issues of the journal were published in Tabriz since "Molla Nasreddin" was banned by the Russian censorship in 1917. Mammadguluzadeh's satirical style later influenced the development of satire in Iran.