Khurshidbanu Natavan ( az, خورشیدبانو ناتوان / Xurşidbanu Natəvan; 6 August 1832 – 2 October 1897) was an Azerbaijani poet and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. She is considered one of the best lyrical poets of

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 th ...

. Her poems are in either Azerbaijani or

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and she was most notable for her lyrical

ghazals The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a p ...

. Natavan was the daughter of Mehdigulu Khan, the last ruler of the

Karabakh Khanate The Karabakh Khanate was a semi-independent Turkic peoples, Turkic Khanates of the Caucasus, Caucasian khanate on the territories of modern-day Armenia and Azerbaijan established in about 1748 under Safavid dynasty, Iranian suzerainty in Karaba ...

(1748–1822).

Life

Natavan was born on August 5, 1832 in

Shusha / hy, Շուշի , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = ShushaCollection2021.jpg , image_caption = Landmarks of Shusha, from top left:Ghazanchetsots Cathedral • Yukhari Govhar ...

, a town in present-day Azerbaijan, in the disputed

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked country, landlocked region in the Transcaucasia, South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik, and covering the southeastern range o ...

region, to Mehdigulu Khan (1763-1845) and Badir Jahan Begüm (1802-1861). Being the only child in the family and descending from

Panah Ali Khan Panah Ali Khan Javanshir (, ; 1693 – 1759 or 1763) was the founder and first ruler of the Karabakh Khanate under Persian suzerainty. Ancestry Panah Ali Khan was from the Sarijali branch of the clan of Javanshir, who with their associate clan o ...

, she was the only heir of the Karabakh khan, known to general public as the "daughter of the khan" ( az, Xan qızı). Her name Khurshid Banu ( fa, خورشیدبانو) is from Persian and means "Lady Sun". Her

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

''Natavan'' () is also from

and means ''powerless''. She was named after her grandmother - Khurshud Begüm, daughter of

Javad Khan Javad Khan Qajar (; ; c. 1748 – 1804) was a member Ziyadoghlu Qajar, a clan of the Qajar tribe, as well as the sixth and the last khan of the Ganja Khanate from 1786 to 1804 before it was lost to Russia. Background Javad was born in 1748 as ...

. After her father's death, she inherited vast amounts of lands from her father including 1,315 households, 41 nomadic territories and 7 villages at age of 14. She was put in care of her aunt Gawhar agha who taught her music, poetry and painting. She probably married Kumyk noble Khasay Utsmiev in 1847. She inherited additional number of 9 villages from her mother Badir Jahan Begüm in 1861 after her death. She founded and sponsored the first literary societies in Shusha and in the whole of Azerbaijan. One of them called ''Majlis-i Uns'' ("Society of Friends") founded in 1864 became especially popular and concentrated major poetic-intellectual forces of Karabakh of that time. Natavan was closely engaged in philanthropy, promoting the social and cultural development of Karabakh. Among her famous deeds was a

water main A water distribution system is a part of water supply network with components that carry potable water from a centralized treatment plant or wells to consumers to satisfy residential, commercial, industrial and fire fighting requirements. Defini ...

that was first laid down in Shusha in 1872, thus solving the water problem of the townsfolk. The local Russian "Kavkaz" newspaper wrote at the time: "Khurshud Banu-Begum left an eternal mark in the memories of the Shushavians and her glory will pass on from generation to generation". The aqueduct built by Natavan from famous Shusha white stones were called by the townsfolks "Natavan springs" and were also considered historical monuments under protection. Natavan also did a lot for the development and popularization of the famous breed of

Karabakh horse The Karabakh horse ( az, Qarabağ atı) is a mountain-steppe racing and riding horse breed. It is named after the Karabakh region, from which the breed originates. The breed is noted for its good temperament and speed; in 2004, a Karabakh horse n ...

s. Natavan's Karabakh horses took part in the

Exposition Universelle (1867) The International Exposition of 1867 (french: Exposition universelle 'art et d'industriede 1867), was the second world's fair to be held in Paris, from 1 April to 3 November 1867. A number of nations were represented at the fair. Following a dec ...

, agricultural exhibition in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

(1869), in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

(1882) and were awarded golden medals and certificates of honour. Karabakh horses were also awarded at the Second All-Russian Exhibition in 1869: Meymun - silver medal, Tokmak - bronze medal. At the

in Paris, Khan got a silver medal. Humanism, kindness, friendship and love were the main themes of Natavan's

and ruba'yat. These sentimental romantic poems express the feelings and sufferings of a woman who was not happy in her family life and who lost her son. Many of these poems are used in

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

s nowadays.

Khurshidbanu Natavans Tomb

Natavan died in Shusha on October 2, 1897. She was buried in Aghdam in the

Imarat Cemetery The Imarat Garvand cemetery ( az, İmarət Qərvənd qəbristanlığı), or simply as the Imarat cemetery ( az, İmarət qəbristanlığı) is a royal cemetery and a complex located in Aghdam, Azerbaijan. It contains the graves of some of the A ...

. After the occupation of

Agdam District Aghdam District ( az, Ağdam rayonu) is one of the 66 administrative divisions of Azerbaijan. It is located in the west of the country and belongs to the Karabakh Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Khojaly, Kalbajar, Tartar ...

by Armenian forces following the

First Nagorno-Karabakh war The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in th ...

, her tomb was damaged. In January 2021, after control of the district was returned to Azerbaijan following the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, the surrounding territories. It was a major escalation of ...

, French-Iranian Azerbaijani

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...

Reza Deghati Reza Deghati (born July 26, 1952) is an Iranian-French photojournalism, photojournalist who works under the name Reza ( fa, رضا). Early life Reza was born in Tabriz, Iran. He is of Iranian Azerbaijanis, Azerbaijani origin.

Monument in Shusha

According to the Azerbaijani government, a Soviet-era monument of Natavan in

Shusha / hy, Շուշի , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = ShushaCollection2021.jpg , image_caption = Landmarks of Shusha, from top left:Ghazanchetsots Cathedral • Yukhari Govhar ...

by sculptress Hayat Abdullayeva, and other famous monuments of Karabakh Azerbaijanis including Hajibekov and

Bulbul The bulbuls are members of a family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized passerine songbirds, which also includes greenbuls, brownbuls, leafloves, and bristlebills. The family is distributed across most of Africa and into the Middle East, tropical As ...

, which once decorated the central streets of Shusha, were severely damaged and dismantled by Armenian forces. Polad Bulbuloghlu, then the Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan bought the bronze busts from a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

scrap metal yard and transported them to Baku.

Thomas de Waal Thomas Patrick Lowndes de Waal (born 1966) is a British journalist and writer on the Caucasus. He is a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe. He is best known for his 2003 book '' Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War''. Lif ...

who saw the monuments in Baku, wrote: "I saw the three bronze heads, forlorn and pocked with bullets, lying in the courtyard of the headquarters of the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

in the center of Baku: the poet Natevan, an earnest girl in a head scarf reading a book, missing a thumb; the composer Hajibekov, a bullet-ridden gentleman in double-breasted suit and broken spectacles; and Bul Bul, a famous singer with a serious domed bronze forehead". The monuments were kept in the yard of the Azerbaijani Museum of Arts in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

for many years, with Natavan's bust returning to Shusha on 16 January 2021 after the city's recapture by Azerbaijan.

Family

She probably married Kumyk nobleman, Khasay Utsmiev, in 1847 and had two children with him: * Mehdigulu Khan Vafa — Poet, lieutenant-colonel of

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

* Khanbike Khanum (1856-1921) — Poetess She later married a commoner named Seyyid Huseyn Agamirov (1833-1891) in 1866 with whom she had 5 children: * Mir Abbas Agha (1868-1885) * Mir Hasan Agha (1870-1903) * Mir Jabbar Agha (?-1914?) * Sara Begum * Hajar Bike (1869-?)

References

External links