Irène Mélikoff (; ; 7 November 1917 – 8 January 2009) was a Russian-born French

Turkologist Turkology (or Turcology or Turkic studies) is a complex of humanities sciences studying languages, history, literature, folklore, culture, and ethnology of people speaking Turkic languages and the Turkic peoples in chronological and comparative c ...

with

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

i ancestry.

Life

Mélikoff's ancestors had been major industrialists in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, but she was born in the Russian capital. The family fled revolutionary Russia soon after the

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

takeover within weeks of her birth, arriving in France in 1919, when she was just two. There she graduated in Oriental languages from

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University () is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to the Middle Ages in 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon as a constituent college of the Unive ...

in Paris. She gained her doctorate there in 1957. Mélikoff married Faruk Sayar, the son of the Turkish mathematician Salih Zeki Sayar, in 1940 and moved to Turkey in 1941 with her husband. Returning to France in 1948, she conducted research in the field of Turkology and wrote famous works. Her research has covered

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. She was the head of the faculty of Turkology and Iran at the University of Strasbourg. Mélikoff has been elected a member of many international scientific organizations, including well-known societies such as Asia Society and Ernest Renan Society. She long headed the Turkic and Iranian Studies Institute at

Strasbourg University The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

and was one of the co-founders of Turcica magazine as well as chairwoman of the Turkic Development Group. She was the author of a number of publications on Turkic studies — particularly on

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

, the

Alevis Alevism (; ; ) is a syncretic heterodox Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Islamic teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, who taught the teachings of the Twelve Imams, whilst incorporating some traditions from shamanism. Differing ...

and

Bektashis Bektashism (, ) is a Sufi order of Islam that evolved in 13th-century western Anatolia and became widespread in the Ottoman Empire. It is named after the ''walī'' "saint" Haji Bektash Veli, with adherents called Bektashis. The Bektashi co ...

- and received more than ten prestigious awards for her contribution to Oriental studies. She was an honorary doctor at

Baku State University Baku State University (BSU) (BDU; ) is a public university located in Baku, Azerbaijan. Established on 1 September 1919 by the Parliament of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the university started with faculties of history and philology, physics ...

. Mélikoff was editor-in-chief of Turkika, the only Turkology magazine published in Western Europe, also visited

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

in Iran and collected rich material about her beloved Shah Ismail Khatai. The prominent scientist praised Azerbaijani literature and its prominent representatives, and expressed her admiration for MF Akhundov's work. She died from a serious illness in January 2009 in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

Relations with Azerbaijan

In an interview, she expressed her love for Azerbaijan and said that she first came into contact with Azerbaijan in 1968 while in Central Asia. At that time, she communicated with Azerbaijanis who came to the scientific conference. She also studied the history and literature of Azerbaijan. After the Soviet Army's massacre in Baku on January 20, 1990, Melikoff rallied in Paris with many members of the Azerbaijani exile.

Family

Her father was the Azerbaijani oil tycoon, merchant, intellectual and philanthropist Iskander bey Malikov, and her mother was the Russian ballerina Yevgenya Nikiferovna Mokshanova. In 1940, she married Farooq Sayar, the son of the Turkish mathematician Saleh Zaki Sayar. The marriage later ended in divorce. From this marriage, she had three daughters, Sonya, Ladin and Shirin Laura. Following in her mother's footsteps, her daughter Shirin Malikova specialized in Azerbaijani literature and received a doctorate. In October 2019, she was awarded the Jubilee Medal of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan by the Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan to the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

Bibliography

* La Geste de Melik Danişmend (Paris, 1960) * Abu Muslim, le “Portre-Hache” du Khorassan dans la tradition épique Turco-Iraienne, (Paris, 1962) * Uyur İdik Uyardılar Alevîlik-Bektaşîlik Araştırmaları (Istanbul, 1992) * De L’épopée au Mythe/Itinéraire Turcologique, (Istanbul 1995) * Hacı Bektaş/Efsaneden Gerçeğe * Hadji Bektach: Un Mythe et ses avatars/Genèse et évolution du Soufisme populaire en Turquie, Leiden (New York-Köln, 1998) * Tarihî ve Kültürel Boyutlarıyla Türkiye’de Alevîler-Bektaşîler-Nusayrîler (Istanbul, 1999) * Kırklar’ın Cemi’nde (Istanbul, 2008) She has written more than 70 scientific articles.

References

External links

Institut Français d'Etudes Anatoliennes d'Istanbul

Tribute at Strasbourg University Turkish Studies Department

Turkologist Melikoff dies at 91

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melikoff, Irene 1917 births 2009 deaths University of Paris alumni Academic staff of the University of Strasbourg French orientalists French people of Azerbaijani descent Russian people of Azerbaijani descent Writers from Paris White Russian emigrants to France