Template:Short description Template:Redirect2 Template:Good article Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox writer Seyid Ali Imadaddin NasimiTemplate:Efn (Template:Langx; Template:Circa), commonly known as simply Nasimi (Template:Langx), was a 14th- and 15th-century Hurufi poet who composed poetry in his native Azerbaijani, as well as Persian and Arabic languages. He is regarded as one of the greatest Turkic poets of his time and one of the most prominent figures in Azerbaijani literature.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Born around 1369–70, Nasimi received a good education and was drawn to Sufism at an early age. After becoming a faithful adherent of the Hurufism movement, Nasimi left Azerbaijan to spread Hurufism in Anatolia and later Aleppo following the execution of its founder and Nasimi's teacher, Fazlallah Astarabadi. In Aleppo, he gained followers as a Hurufi sheikh but faced resistance from Sunni circles who eventually convinced the Mamluk sultan to order his death for his religious beliefs around 1418–19. Nasimi was executed and buried in a Sufi lodge (Template:Transliteration) in Aleppo.
His surviving works include two Template:Transliteration (collections of poems) in Azerbaijani and Persian, along with some poems in Arabic. Nasimi's poems mainly centre around Hurufism and contain many references to Islamic texts. His poetry combines harmonious melodies and easily understood expressions with more complex topics related to religion. Nasimi had great influence on Turkic literature and influenced many major future poets such as Habibi, Haqiqi (pen name of Jahan Shah), Khatai (pen name of Ismail I), among others. He is also considered the founder of Azerbaijani classical Template:Transliteration poetry (poetry using quantifying prosody) and Template:Transliteration poetry (a form of love poetry), as well as the first lyric poet in Oghuz Turkic classic literature.
NameEdit
Nasimi's given name was Ali,Template:Sfn but he adopted the epithet (laqab) ImadaddinTemplate:Efn ('Pillar of Faith'), which superseded his original name in use.Template:Sfn Some sources attribute other names to him, such as Nesîmüddin, Celâleddin and Ömer.Template:Sfnm
His most prevalent pen name was Nasimi. Its etymology is disputed but most plausibly explained as an echo of Naimi, the pen name of Nasimi's teacher Fazlallah Astarabadi.Template:Sfn It may also have been derived from the Arabic word nasim, meaning 'breeze, breath of wind'.Template:Sfn He also employed other pen names sporadically, such as Hüseyni, Haşimi, Seyyid, Ali and İmad.Template:Sfn His epithet Imadaddin or the title seyid (marking his claim of descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad) are often added in order to distinguish him from other figures who also bore the name Nasimi.Template:Sfn
BiographyEdit
Much of Nasimi's life is considered obscure. His year of birth is uncertain, but it is commonly assumed to be 1369–70 without conclusive evidence.Template:Sfn Some sources state that he was born in 1339.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> His exact birthplace is also contested: it has been argued as Shamakhi, Tabriz, Baghdad, Aleppo, Shiraz or Diyarbakır.Template:Sfnm<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was of Azerbaijani Turkic originTemplate:Sfnm and spoke Azerbaijani as his native language,Template:Sfn as well as fluent Persian and Arabic.Template:Sfn
Nasimi had a good education as a child and pursued Sufism at an early age.Template:Sfnm While in Tabriz, he met the mystic Fazlallah Astarabadi, who introduced him to Hurufism. Nasimi stayed with him in Baku and Shirvan for some time and became one of the most faithful adherents of the Hurufism movement, as well as Astarabadi's successor (khalifa).Template:Sfnm After the Timurid emperor Miran Shah executed Astarabadi for his religious views, Nasimi left Azerbaijan and travelled to Anatolia to spread Hurufism. He arrived in Bursa during Murad I's (Template:Reign1362–1389) reign but was not welcomed there. He also attempted to meet the Sufi saint Haji Bayram Veli in Ankara but was turned away because of his Hurufi beliefs.Template:Sfnm
Unable to find a suitable environment for his beliefs in Anatolia, he went to Aleppo, which was the main centre of Hurufis in Syria at that time. Islamic scholar Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani wrote about Nasimi's activity in Aleppo as a Hurufi sheikh and his increasing followers. He used his poetry skills to further spread his beliefs. His ideas, such as "the human face being the manifestation of God" and "describing all the body organs with letters"Template:Efn faced resistance in Sunni circles.Template:Sfn In Aleppo, Nasimi continued to fight for freedom of expression through his poetry, challenging strict rules and religious intolerance.Template:Sfn Some contemporary Arab sources say that a group of Sunni Muslim scholars who followed the main schools of law tried to get Nasimi killed by the Mamluk deputy of Aleppo based on vague rumours, but they failed. The deputy then reportedly referred the case to the Mamluk sultan Al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh (Template:Reign1412–1421) in Cairo, who ordered Nasimi's death, likely due to his religious beliefs; Nasimi is sometimes referred to as a kafir, or unbeliever.Template:Sfn According to the Turkologist Michael Hess, while some sources claim that Nasimi was killed by being flayed alive, there is no clear evidence of this in contemporary sources. Some texts do mention flaying, but it may have been done posthumously for the purpose of public display.Template:Sfn The most likely year of execution is 1418–9, although some historians suggest 1417 and other dates have also been proposed.Template:Sfn Nasimi's body was buried in a Template:Transliteration (Sufi lodge) named after him in Aleppo.Template:Sfnm
Nasimi's execution is believed to have had a political component due to his Turkic ancestry, which brought him closer to Mamluks' rival Turkic dynasties in Syria and Anatolia. According to Hess, Al-Mu'ayyad's order to distribute pieces of Nasimi's body to local Turkic rulers like the Dulkadir and the Aq Qoyunlu was motivated by politics.Template:Sfn
PoetryEdit
Nasimi's surviving works include two Template:Transliteration (collections of poems), one in Azerbaijani and the other in Persian.Template:Sfnm Although the 16th-century Ottoman poet and bibliographer Latifî claimed that Nasimi had a "Template:Transliteration in all three languages", implying the existence of an Arabic Template:Transliteration as well, no evidence of such a work has been found.Template:Sfnm His Azerbaijani Template:Transliteration contains over four hundred Template:Transliteration (a form of love poetry) and several hundred other poems, including Template:Transliteration (a poem written in rhyming couplets) and quatrains (a four-line poem).Template:Sfn According to the Turkologist Kathleen Burrill, Nasimi was able to maintain the quality of his Azerbaijani language in his poetry while using the Template:Transliteration form (poetry using quantifying prosody). This sets him apart from later poets who relied heavily on borrowing from Persian because of what Burrill described as their "lack of skill" in mastering the Template:Transliteration form.Template:Sfn His Persian Template:Transliteration consists of almost three hundred Template:Transliteration and discusses topics such as Hurufism, praise to Twelve Imams and Imam Ali, as well as Fazlallah Astarabadi.Template:Sfn
Nasimi's writing style often involves repeating sounds and grammatical patterns. His poems mainly centre around Hurufism and contain many references to Islamic texts such as the Quran. However, some of the beliefs behind his poems fall outside of mainstream Islam. Michael Hess states that Nasimi's poetry blends easily comprehensible language with more intricate themes related to Hurufism. Hess also notes that while Fuzuli's poems have remained popular due to their emotional depth and technical proficiency, the concepts behind them are not as widely understood.Template:Sfn Burrill notes that some of Nasimi's poems can be difficult to read due to their complex religious references, when this is not the case, they convey his themes of love through "easy-flowing, harmonious melodies".Template:Sfn
LegacyEdit
Nasimi is considered one of the greatest figures of Turkic literature.Template:Sfn According to the modern scholar Sakina Berengian, Nasimi was the first major poet not only in Azerbaijani literature but also in all of Turkic literature.Template:Sfn His influence on poetry extended throughout the Turkic world and impacted major poets such as Habibi, Haqiqi (pen name of Jahan Shah), Khatai (pen name of Ismail I), and others.Template:Sfnm Nasimi is also regarded as the founder of Azerbaijani classical Template:Transliteration poetry, Template:Transliteration poetry, as well as the first lyric poet in Oghuz Turkic classic literature.Template:Sfnm His works had a significant impact on the development of both Azerbaijani and Ottoman literature.Template:Sfnm Nasimi's style has greatly influenced the general style of Azerbaijani poetry.Template:Sfn According to the professors of Turkish literature Azmi Bilgin and İlyas Üzüm, the Timurid poet Ali-Shir Nava'i's words of praise about Nasimi show that he was also considered an "important personality in the Central Asian Turkic world".Template:Sfn
In 1973, UNESCO declared the 600th anniversary of Nasimi's birth to be celebrated worldwide. Representatives from many countries participated in the celebrations held in Baku and Moscow.Template:Sfnm Tokay Mammadov was commissioned to create Nasimi's statue.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Due to the short time frame for completion, Tokay Mammadov collaborated with his colleague Ibrahim Zeynalov. Initially, a 69-centimeter model and a 2-meter mock-up of the statue were prepared. Subsequently, based on this mock-up, a 6.5-meter statue of Nasimi was created and installed in one of the central gardens of the city.<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Azerbaijan, 2019 was declared the "Year of Nasimi" to commemorate the 650th anniversary of the poet's birth.Template:Sfn A street, a metro station, and a district in Baku are also named after Nasimi. The National Institute of Linguistics of Azerbaijan is also named in his honour. Additionally, there is a 1973 Azerbaijani biopic film about his life.
In 2019, an asteroid that was discovered at Kleť Observatory in 1995 was named "32939 Nasimi" in honour of the poet.Template:Sfn
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
NotesEdit
CitationsEdit
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SourcesEdit
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External linksEdit
Template:Azerbaijani Turkic literature Template:Persian literature Template:Authority control