Gasim bey Zakir
Encyclopedia
Gasim bey Zakir was Azerbaijani
poet of 19th century and one of the founders of the critical realism and satirical genre in Azerbaijani literature
.
, then the capital of the Karabakh khanate
. Zakir belonged to the clan of Javanshir
, which was the ruling clan in the Karabakh khanate. His grand grandfather Kazim-agha was the brother of Panah Ali khan
– the founder of and the Karabakh khanate and its capital Shusha.
Zakir's childhood and youth comes to the period of upheavals in Azerbaijan
, which was made the battlefield between Russia
and Iran
. After the Karabakh khanate became a part of the Russian Empire
, Zakir served in the Caucasian
Muslim
cavalry regiment and distinguished himself in many battles. He had special deserts in preventing the Iranian troops from relocating the Azeri population of Karabakh to the inner parts of Iran. For his courage during the Russo-Iranian wars Zakir was awarded with the silver medal from the Russian Tsar
.
From the 1830's Zakir, who spent his life mostly in the battlefields, settled down and began to run his household. For his straightforward and generous nature he was highly esteemed among the people. However, Zakir had many enemies too, whom he earned mainly because of his satirical verses. In his satirical poetry and fables Zakir lashed out at the vices then rampant in society, at the hypocrisy and bigotry of the clergy, at the venality of the Tsarist officials, the greed of merchants and the cruelty of the landowners. Zakir had been constantly persecuted for his satire. In 1849, under pretext that Zakir gave refuge to his relative who was in odds with the Russian government, he was exiled from Karabakh to Baku
, his son and nephew were exiled to the inner parts of Russia and family left alone in Shusha
. Only after several months did Zakir, with help of his friends, writer Mirza Fatali Akhundov
, Georgian kniaz I. Orbeliani, and the governor of Baku M. Golyubyakin manage to return back home, whereas his son and nephew lived in exile for three years. Zakir lived in need and under the police surveillance till his last days. Only in 1857 the authorities decided to allocate a pension for him “for his deserts before the Russian State ”. But when this pension reached Shusha, the poet has already departed.
traditions, writes gazals
, goshmas, gerayli, in which he glorifies love.
Zakir, the author of lyrics and beautiful patterns of love poetry, was famed for his satirical works. Zakir sharply criticized tsar’s officers and arbitrariness of local beys (landlords) and clergies.
Today Zakir's literary legacy has been preserved in verses ranging from sharply critical satire to the tender lyrics praising pure and passionate love.http://shusha.aznet.org/shushavians.html#zakir
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...
poet of 19th century and one of the founders of the critical realism and satirical genre in Azerbaijani literature
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...
.
Life
Zakir was born in 1784 in a noble family of bey in PanahabadShusha
Shusha , also known as Shushi is a town in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus. It has been under the control of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic since its capture in 1992 during the Nagorno-Karabakh War...
, then the capital of the Karabakh khanate
Karabakh khanate
The Karabakh khanate was a semi-independent khanate on the territories of modern Azerbaijan and Armenia established in about 1750 under Persian suzerainty in Karabakh and adjacent areas. The Karabakh khanate existed until 1805, when the Russian Empire gained control over it from Persia...
. Zakir belonged to the clan of Javanshir
Javanshir clan
The Javanshir clan was a Turkic clan in Karabakh, which belonged to the Afshar tribe in turn a branch of Oghuz Turks. In the mid-18th century, after the death of Nader Shah, the Javanshir tribe seized power of the region. Panah Khan, the chief of the Javanshir tribe, established the Karabakh...
, which was the ruling clan in the Karabakh khanate. His grand grandfather Kazim-agha was the brother of Panah Ali khan
Panah Ali Khan
Panah-Ali khan Javanshir was the founder and first ruler of Karabakh khanate, initially under nominal Persian suzerainty and by 1748 an independent feudal state that existed in 1747–1822 in Karabakh and adjacent areas..-Origins and early life:Panah Ali Khan was from the Sarijali branch of the...
– the founder of and the Karabakh khanate and its capital Shusha.
Zakir's childhood and youth comes to the period of upheavals 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...
, which was made the battlefield between Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and 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 the Karabakh khanate became a part of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, Zakir served in the Caucasian
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...
Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
cavalry regiment and distinguished himself in many battles. He had special deserts in preventing the Iranian troops from relocating the Azeri population of Karabakh to the inner parts of Iran. For his courage during the Russo-Iranian wars Zakir was awarded with the silver medal from the Russian Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
.
From the 1830's Zakir, who spent his life mostly in the battlefields, settled down and began to run his household. For his straightforward and generous nature he was highly esteemed among the people. However, Zakir had many enemies too, whom he earned mainly because of his satirical verses. In his satirical poetry and fables Zakir lashed out at the vices then rampant in society, at the hypocrisy and bigotry of the clergy, at the venality of the Tsarist officials, the greed of merchants and the cruelty of the landowners. Zakir had been constantly persecuted for his satire. In 1849, under pretext that Zakir gave refuge to his relative who was in odds with the Russian government, he was exiled from Karabakh 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...
, his son and nephew were exiled to the inner parts of Russia and family left alone in Shusha
Shusha
Shusha , also known as Shushi is a town in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus. It has been under the control of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic since its capture in 1992 during the Nagorno-Karabakh War...
. Only after several months did Zakir, with help of his friends, writer 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"...
, Georgian kniaz I. Orbeliani, and the governor of Baku M. Golyubyakin manage to return back home, whereas his son and nephew lived in exile for three years. Zakir lived in need and under the police surveillance till his last days. Only in 1857 the authorities decided to allocate a pension for him “for his deserts before the Russian State ”. But when this pension reached Shusha, the poet has already departed.
Creativity
Gasim bey was the prominent representative of critical realism of Azerbaijani literature in the first half of the 19th century. Gasim bey’s poetry is characterized by diversity of genres. In lyric poetry the poet follows Molla Panah Vagif’sMolla Panah Vagif
Molla Panah Vagif was an 18th-century poet, the founder of the realism genre in the Azerbaijani poetry and also a prominent statesman and diplomat, vizier – the minister of foreign affairs in the Karabakh khanate.- Life :...
traditions, writes gazals
Ghazal
The ghazal is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, with each line sharing the same meter. A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. The form is ancient, originating in 6th century...
, goshmas, gerayli, in which he glorifies love.
Zakir, the author of lyrics and beautiful patterns of love poetry, was famed for his satirical works. Zakir sharply criticized tsar’s officers and arbitrariness of local beys (landlords) and clergies.
Today Zakir's literary legacy has been preserved in verses ranging from sharply critical satire to the tender lyrics praising pure and passionate love.http://shusha.aznet.org/shushavians.html#zakir
| English Translation Since your departure-O Inconstant One- I wait beside the road, my spirits low. I asked a breeze what I should do, it said: Pay her obeisance, if her curls you'd know Heaven hears my cries: deaf-eared, you let me rave- Why won't you pity your unhappy slave? Your love brought many lovers to the grave: Can twigs be saved where tumbling torrents go? Your charms long since my heart made desolate... She has not come, still by the road I wait... They say where curls veil cheeks that captivate With every smile her dancing dimples show. A Christian's ringlets made cruel war on me- Despoiled me, heart and being, utterly. And none should judge or even censure me- That I, before Love's forces, meekly bow. Now parted from your native climes, Zakir, The steppelands roam, the mountains climb, Zakir; From shock of this despairing time-Zakir Lies helpless as absinth when gale winds blow. |