Name Jalil Mammadguluzadeh Role Writer | Books Dead Men: A Play | |
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Born 22 February 1866 Nakhchivan City, Erivan Governorate, Russian Empire Occupation Teacher, journalist and writer Died January 4, 1932, Baku, Azerbaijan Spouse Hamida Javanshir (m. 1907) Education Transcaucasian Teachers Seminary People also search for Hamida Javanshir, Uzeyir Hajibeyov, Ahmad bey Javanshir, Ibrahim bey | ||
"Günəş Ömrü"
Jalil Huseyngulu oglu Mammadguluzadeh, also spelled as Jalil Mohammad Qolizadeh (Azerbaijani: Cəlil Məmmədquluzadə; 22 February 1866 – 4 January 1932), was an Azerbaijani satirist and writer. He is considered as one of first feminists in Azerbaijan and Middle East and had a big role in foundation of first women's magazine in Azerbaijan.
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Early life
Mammadguluzadeh was born in Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan, his father was an Iranian Azerbaijani merchant. Mammadguluzadeh considered himself to be Iranian, and was proud of the fact that his ancestors hailed from Iran. In 1887, he graduated from the Gori Pedagogical Seminary and for the next ten years was involved in teaching at rural schools in Bash-Norashen, Ulukhanli, Nehram and other towns and villages of the Erivan Governorate.
Mammadguluzadeh was a strong activist of the language unification movement. He condemned many of his contemporaries for what he considered a corruption of the Azeri language by replacing its genuine vocabulary with newly introduced Russian, Persian and Ottoman Turkish loanwords, often alien and confusing to many readers. Later he became deeply involved in the process of Romanization of the Azeri alphabet.
In 1898, he moved to Erivan; in 1903, he moved to Tiflis where he became a columnist for the local Sharqi-Rus newspaper published in the Azeri language. In 1906, he founded a satirical magazine entitled Molla Nasraddin.
Frequent military conflicts and overall political instability in the Caucasus forced him to move to Tabriz, Persia, where he continued his career as a chief-editor and columnist for Molla Nasraddin. He eventually settled in Baku in 1921.
Molla Nasraddin
In 1905, Mammadguluzadeh and his companions purchased a printing-house in Tiflis, and in 1906 he became the editor of the new Molla Nasraddin illustrated satirical magazine.
The magazine accurately portrayed social and economic realities of the early-20th century society and backward norms and practices common in the Caucasus. In 1921 (after Molla Nasraddin was banned in Russia in 1917), Mammadguluzadeh published eight (8) more issues of the magazine in Tabriz, Persia. After Sovietization, the printing-house was moved to Baku, where Molla Nasraddin was published until 1931. Mammadguluzadeh's satirical style influenced the development of this genre in Middle East. Writers of first satirical magazines in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were influenced by Jalil Mammadguluzadeh and Molla Nasraddin (magazine)
Religious views
Mammadguluzadeh's religious views have been disputed. Some sources claim he was an atheist while others claim he supported Muslim democracy while being critical of extremism and ignorance. Due to his harsh criticism of religion he was sometimes threatened with death by extremists.
Literature
Mammadguluzadeh wrote in various genres, including short stories, novels, essays, and dramatics. His first significant short story, "The Disappearance of the Donkey" (part of his Stories from the village of Danabash series), written in 1894 and published in 1934, touched upon social inequality. In his later works (The Postbox, The Iranian Constitution, Gurban Ali bey, The Lamb, etc.), as well as in his famous comedies The Corpses and The Madmen Gathering he ridiculed corruption, snobbery, ignorance, religious fanaticism, etc.
Personal life and death
In 1907, the twice-widowed Mammadguluzadeh married Azerbaijani philanthropist and feminist-activist Hamida Javanshir. He died in Baku in 1932, aged 65.
Legacy
A drama theatre in Nakhchivan, a street in Baku, the city of Jalilabad (formerly Astrakhan-Bazaar) and the town of Jalilkand (former Bash-Norashen) were all named for him.