Axundzadə, Mirzə Fətəli - Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE
[Article]
Heß, Michael R.
Leiden
Brill
(1,146 words)
Mirzə Fətəli Axundzadə (Russ. Akhundov) (1812-78) was a groundbreaking playwright, literary critic, journalist, language reformer, and poet from Azerbaijan. Axundzadə wrote in Azerbaijani, Persian, and Russian. Some of his works have come down in more than one language; some editions do not specify the original language(s). After receiving a traditional Islamic education, Axundzadə became interested in Russian culture in the early 1830s. In 1834, he met the poet Mirzə Şəfi Vazeh (d. 1852), who encouraged him to give up his plans of becoming an Islamic scholar.