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ANKARA: The Roots Of Turkish-Azerbaijani Brotherhood Can Be Found In

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  • ANKARA: The Roots Of Turkish-Azerbaijani Brotherhood Can Be Found In

    THE ROOTS OF TURKISH-AZERBAIJANI BROTHERHOOD CAN BE FOUND IN MEDIEVAL POETRY
    Zaur Hasanov

    Today's Zaman
    Aug 10, 2011
    Turkey

    Shortly after his ascent to the throne, Caucasian nations approached
    Alexander the Great and begged him to protect them against "wild
    Russian tribes" periodically attacking from the north.

    One warrior called his loyal commanders and told them he wanted
    thousands of Turkish fighters "inhabiting areas from the Caspian
    to the Chinese seas" to join his dangerous adventure. Asked why,
    Alexander responded, "Our minds may differ, but to Russians they are
    equally hostile."

    Of course, there were no "wild Russian tribes" attacking Caucasian
    nations during Alexander's tenure, nor were there Turks fighting
    side-by-side with the great hero. This story is from an epic
    "Iskander-name" (Story of Alexander the Great) by the medieval
    Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjevi (1141-1209). In "Iskander-name,"
    Alexander also fights against Persian King Darius III in Mosul and
    Arabs in North Africa, and converts many nations of Central Asia and
    the Caucasus to Islam. Nizami's Alexander fought against nations and
    tribes who opposed Turkish rulers and challenged their dominance in
    the region.

    What led a poet, often considered a Persian poet outside Azerbaijan,
    to praise Turks? There are at least two explanations. First, Nizami
    lived and wrote during the renaissance of the first Azerbaijani-Turkic
    "Atabeg" state (1136-1225). The title of atabeg was common during the
    Selcuk rule of the Near East from the 12th century: When a Selcuk
    prince died, leaving minor heirs, a guardian would be appointed
    to protect the young princes. They called those influential court
    appointees atabegs.

    In Nizami's era Shamseddin Eldagiz and later his son, Jahan Pahlavan,
    were atabegs of a vast territory including present Azerbaijan, Gilan,
    Hamedan, Rei, Mazandaran and Isfahan.

    By any account, Atabeg Eldagiz was a unique statesman. Sold into
    slavery in childhood, he managed to become appointed an atabeg of
    Azerbaijan from Baghdad. He defeated rivals in neighboring regions,
    accumulated power and later successfully lobbied for his son-in-law
    Arslan's claim to the throne in Baghdad.

    Today, we can see the signs of the first Azerbaijani state all over
    Eldagiz's former dominion. Roughly 25 million Azeris in northern Iran,
    9 million in the Republic of Azerbaijan and up to 3 million Turkmens
    in northern Iraq speak the same language.

    While the Georgian Queen Tamara patronized Shota Rustaveli, Atabeg
    Eldagiz and his son Jahan's court were filled with scholars, historians
    and poets. Even though Nizami Ganjevi refused to become a courtier, his
    "Khosrov and Shirin" poem was written at the request of Jahan Pahlavan.

    Second, Nizami Ganjevi, who lived all his life in Ganja, was a Turk
    himself. He wrote in Persian but as Mammad Amin Rasulzade, founder of
    the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, points out in his book "Azerbaijani
    Poet Nizami," the values Nizami preached in his poetry all related to
    the Turkish mindset: "...who dares to say 'he [Nizami] was not a Turk'
    about the poet who named someone beautiful and grand a Turk, who saw in
    beauty and grandeur Turkishness, who called a beautiful and great word
    Turkish, and who named this country of beauty and grandeur Turkestan?"

    Those details are a perfect setting for Nizami's writings, and explain
    why he was so preoccupied with his Turkish identity and his nation's
    values. Remember, we are not talking about an ordinary writer. There
    are more statues of Nizami in the former USSR and European capitals
    than any other Azerbaijani poet; streets are named after him in
    most cities of Azerbaijan; and Nizami's poems are the first to be
    learned from high school textbooks. Nizami's influence on Azerbaijani
    consciousness is as great as that of Abu Abdullah Rudaki (860-941)
    on Tajik or Alisher Navoi (1441-1501) on Uzbek mentality.

    This year we Azerbaijanis celebrate the 870th birthday of Nizami and 20
    years of our independence. The poet's ideas and values have survived
    the test of time and Turkish-Azerbaijani relations have reached a
    strategic level. On July 28, in a joint press conference, Azerbaijani
    President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
    in all senses spoke the same language in their responses to recent
    territorial claims made by Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan. In this
    moment, the oft-quoted idea of "one nation, two states" proved itself
    in action.

    This brotherhood does not only exist at the governmental or official
    level but among the common people of both nations. Nigar Jamal bore a
    Turkish flag when she took the stage as the winner of Eurovision. You
    will see as many Turkish flags as Azerbaijani ones in Baku next year
    when we host Eurovision 2012.

    *Zaur Hasanov is author of "Mountaineer," a semi-fictional book which
    parallels the history of the Chechen wars and Nizami Ganjevi's account
    of Alexander the Great.



    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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