Mammad Said Ordubadi ( az, Məmməd Səid Ordubadi; 24 March 1872,
Ordubad
Ordubad is the second largest city of Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and the capital of an eponymous district. Ordubad is a medieval city of the Caucasus and in its current capacity of a town was founded in the 18th century. The town ...
- 1 May 1950,
Baku) was
Azerbaijani writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
,
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...
,
playwright and
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
.
Ordubadi, started his career as a poet. His articles and poetry were published in many of the magazines in
Azerbaijani language at that time. During the
Iranian Constitutional Revolution
The Persian Constitutional Revolution ( fa, مشروطیت, Mashrūtiyyat, or ''Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh''), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911. The revolution led to the establishment of a par ...
, Ordubadi joined
Muslim Social Democratic Party
The Muslim Social Democratic Party, usually referred to as Hummet ( az, Hümmət) ("Endeavor"), was a political party in South Caucasus. In 1920, it merged with "Adalat" ( az, Ədalət) ("Justice") communist cell in Baku, forming the first Communi ...
(Hummet). He then published ''Bloody Years'' about the
clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani populations in 1905. In 1918, he joined to Communist Party and his articles have published in the official newspaper of Hummet organization. He, along with XI Red Army, goes to
Dagestan and publishes ''Red Dagestan'' magazine there. After the
Sovietization of Azerbaijan he returns to Baku.
Today, Ordubadi is remembered as one of the most important intellectuals of Azerbaijan during Soviet era. He served twice as a deputy of the
Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR, the highest legislative institution in the country. His novels include ''Sword and the Pen'', about the personality of
Nizami Ganjavi
Nizami Ganjavi ( fa, نظامی گنجوی, lit=Niẓāmī of Ganja, translit=Niẓāmī Ganjavī; c. 1141–1209), Nizami Ganje'i, Nizami, or Nezāmi, whose formal name was ''Jamal ad-Dīn Abū Muḥammad Ilyās ibn-Yūsuf ibn-Zakkī'',Mo'in ...
, ''
Foggy Tabriz'' about the
Iranian constitutional revolution
The Persian Constitutional Revolution ( fa, مشروطیت, Mashrūtiyyat, or ''Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh''), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911. The revolution led to the establishment of a par ...
, also ''Mysterious Baku'' and ''Fighting City'' which both are about the revolutionary activities of
Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
and
26 Baku Commissars
The 26 Baku Commissars were Bolshevik and Left Socialist Revolutionary (SR) members of the Baku Commune. The commune was established in the city of Baku, which was then the capital of the briefly independent Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, and ...
. He also published articles about ''Narimanovism'' about the activity of national communism symbol in Azerbaijan,
Nariman Narimanov
Nariman Karbalayi Najaf oghlu Narimanov ( az, Nəriman Kərbəlayi Nəcəf oğlu Nərimanov, russian: Нарима́н Кербелаи Наджа́ф оглы Нарима́нов; – 19 March 1925) was an Azerbaijani Bolshevik revolutionary, w ...
.
Biography
Early life
He was initially educated at religious school,
medrese
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
, and later studied at Mahammad Sidgi's secular school ''"Əxtər"'' (Star). Mahammad Sidgi was well-known intellectual for his enlightenment activity in Russian
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
and the rest of
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...
in the beginning of the 20th century.
Mammed Said lost his father at early age and had to work in a textile factory.
Works
He started writing in the 1890s. His first writing was published in
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...
(then
Tiflis
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...
) in a newspaper "
Shargi-Rus" (''Oriental Russia'') in 1903. In his early publications Ordubadi criticised ignorance, backwardness and religious fanaticism. In 1906 in
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...
he published his poetry book ''"Qəflət"'' (Ignorance) and in 1907 ''"Vətən və hürriyyət"'' ''(Fatherland and Freedom)''. He wrote for several Azerbaijani publications, including ''"Molla Nasraddin", "Irshad", "Sada"'' and others. Ordubadi covered various political, social and educational issues. He firmly stood for the necessity of the enlightenment of the Azerbaijani society under the Russian rule. In 1911, Ordubadi published a book ''"Qanlı sənələr"'' (Bloody years) - collection of first hand accounts of the
Armenian-Tatar massacres in 1905-1906. In the 1910s, Ordubadi published several plays, stories and novels. In 1915, Russian authorities arrested him and exiled to
Tsaritsyn
Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stalingrád, label=none; ) ...
. In 1918, he joined the Communist Party and returned to
Baku in May 1920, after the Bolshevik conquest of Azerbaijan.
Ordubadi became the editor-in-chief of ''"Əxbar", "Yeni yol", "Molla Nasraddin".''
During the Soviet period, Ordubadi wrote extensively novels, satiric stories, plays, librettos (to operas - ''"Koroğlu", "Nərgiz", "Nizami"''). His famous works include ''"Dumanlı Təbriz"'' (
Foggy Tabriz) (1933–1948) and ''"Qılınc və qələm"'' (Sword and Quill) (1946–1948). He wrote novels about poets and writers -
Nizami Ganjavi
Nizami Ganjavi ( fa, نظامی گنجوی, lit=Niẓāmī of Ganja, translit=Niẓāmī Ganjavī; c. 1141–1209), Nizami Ganje'i, Nizami, or Nezāmi, whose formal name was ''Jamal ad-Dīn Abū Muḥammad Ilyās ibn-Yūsuf ibn-Zakkī'',Mo'in ...
,
Fuzûlî,
Molla Panah Vagif
Molla Panah ( az, Molla Pənah), better known by his pen-name Vagif (), was an 18th-century Azerbaijani poet, statesman and diplomat. He is regarded as the founder of the realism genre in Azerbaijani poetry. He served as the vizier—the minist ...
,
Mirza Alakbar Sabir
Mirza Alakbar Sabir ( az, Mirzə Ələkbər Sabir); born Alakbar Zeynalabdin oglu Tahirzadeh (30 May 1862, in Shamakhy – 12 July 1911, in Shamakhy) was an Azerbaijani satirical poet, public figure, philosopher and teacher. He set up a new atti ...
.
External links
Ordubadi's "Bloody Years" in Russian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ordubadi, Mammed Said
Azerbaijani poets
Azerbaijani dramatists and playwrights
Azerbaijani journalists
1872 births
1950 deaths
Azerbaijani communists
Soviet Azerbaijani people
20th-century Azerbaijani people
20th-century Azerbaijani poets
20th-century Azerbaijani dramatists and playwrights
People from Ordubad
Honored Art Workers of the Azerbaijan SSR