Abbas Sahhat
Encyclopedia
Abbas Sahhat born Abbasgulu Aliabbas oglu Mehdizadeh (1874, Shamakhi
– 11 July 1918, Ganja
), was an Azerbaijan
i poet and dramatist.
in Mashhad
and Tehran
. After returning to Shamakhi around 1900 he abandoned his professional field, as Russian institutions did not recognize medical diplomas from Iran. Sahhat started teaching Azeri and literature first in primary schools and then in a Realschule
. This period is considered the beginning of his career as a poet and playwright. In 1903 he began writing articles for the Azeri-language newspaper Sharg-i Rus, published in Tiflis. His articles mostly discussed topics in contemporary literature.
As a poet, Sahhat adhered generally to romanticism
. His poetry was influenced by Ali bey Huseynzadeh, editor of the Fuyuzat magazine in 1905–1907. Sahhat also translated works of Pushkin, Lermontov
, Nadson
, Krylov
, Hugo
, Musset
, Prudhomme
, Amir Khusro
as well as a number of German
and Armenian
poets into Azeri.
In 1912 he published his first collection of poems entitled Sinig saz ("Broken Saz
"), his narrative poem Ahmadin shujaati and his translations of Western European literature under the name Garb gunashi ("The Sun of the West"). In 1916 his romantic poem
Shah, muza va shaharli was published. In his literary style, influence of classical poets such as Nizami, Hafez
and Saadi
, and modern poets such as Tevfik Fikret
, is seen.
Among his dramatic pieces, Neft fontani (1912) and Yoxsullug ayib deyil (1913) are noteworthy. There are accounts of a novel written by Sahhat and entitled Ali and Aisha. It was never published and its manuscript is believed to have perished during the Dashnak
occupation of Shamakhi in April 1918, when Sahhat's house was ravaged and burned. The poet himself managed to escape the town with his family, fleeing first to Kurdamir
and later to Ganja, where he died some months later of stroke.
Abbas Sahhat was in favour of liberal
bourgeoisie
and, due to his Iran
ian academic upbringing, disagreed with mass secularisation that was taking place among Azeris beginning in the early 20th century. Instead he promoted a more moderate idea of all-Muslim westernization
. He dedicated some of his finest pieces of poetry to the Iranian Constitutional Revolution
, in which he presented himself as a realist
poet.
Shamakhi
Shamakhi or Shamakhy is a rayon of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and a town in the rayon. It is the historical center of the region of Shirvan.The town is west of Baku. It has more than 20,000 inhabitants, among them Azerbaijanis and Russians...
– 11 July 1918, Ganja
Ganja, Azerbaijan
Ganja is Azerbaijan's second-largest city with a population of around 313,300. It was named Yelizavetpol in the Russian Empire period. The city regained its original name—Ganja—from 1920–1935 during the first part of its incorporation into the Soviet Union. However, its name was changed again and...
), was an Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
i poet and dramatist.
Life and career
Abbas Sahhat was born into a family of a cleric in the city of Shamakhi. He received his primary education from his father. At age 15 he started writing amateur poems. Beginning in 1892 he studied medicineMedicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
in Mashhad
Mashhad
Mashhad , is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world. It is also the only major Iranian city with an Arabic name. It is located east of Tehran, at the center of the Razavi Khorasan Province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its...
and Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
. After returning to Shamakhi around 1900 he abandoned his professional field, as Russian institutions did not recognize medical diplomas from Iran. Sahhat started teaching Azeri and literature first in primary schools and then in a Realschule
Realschule
The Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...
. This period is considered the beginning of his career as a poet and playwright. In 1903 he began writing articles for the Azeri-language newspaper Sharg-i Rus, published in Tiflis. His articles mostly discussed topics in contemporary literature.
As a poet, Sahhat adhered generally to romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
. His poetry was influenced by Ali bey Huseynzadeh, editor of the Fuyuzat magazine in 1905–1907. Sahhat also translated works of Pushkin, Lermontov
Mikhail Lermontov
Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov , a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucasus", became the most important Russian poet after Alexander Pushkin's death in 1837. Lermontov is considered the supreme poet of Russian literature alongside Pushkin and the greatest...
, Nadson
Semen Nadson
Semyon Yakovlevich Nadson was a Russian poet.Nadson's grandfather was a Jew who converted to the Greek Orthodox religion, his father was an official in St. Petersburg...
, Krylov
Ivan Krylov
Ivan Andreyevich Krylov is Russia's best known fabulist. While many of his earlier fables were loosely based on Aesop and Jean de La Fontaine, later fables were original work, often satirizing the incompetent bureaucracy that was stifling social progress in his time.-Life:Ivan Krylov was born in...
, Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
, Musset
Alfred de Musset
Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.Along with his poetry, he is known for writing La Confession d'un enfant du siècle from 1836.-Biography:Musset was born on 11 December 1810 in Paris...
, Prudhomme
Sully Prudhomme
René François Armand Prudhomme was a French poet and essayist, winner of the first Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1901....
, Amir Khusro
Amir Khusro
Ab'ul Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrow , better known as Amīr Khusrow Dehlawī , was an Indian musician, scholar and poet. He was an iconic figure in the cultural history of the Indian subcontinent...
as well as a number of German
German literature
German literature comprises those literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German part of Switzerland, and to a lesser extent works of the German diaspora. German literature of the modern period is mostly in Standard German, but there...
and Armenian
Armenian literature
-Early literature:Armenian literature begins about 406 with the invention of the Armenian alphabet by Mesrop.Isaac, the Catholicos of Armenia, formed a school of translators who were sent to Edessa, Athens, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Caesarea in Cappadocia, and elsewhere, to procure...
poets into Azeri.
In 1912 he published his first collection of poems entitled Sinig saz ("Broken Saz
Saz
Saz can be a nickname for the given name Sarah, or may refer to:* Saz , a family of Iranian and Turkish stringed musical instruments* Sameh Zakout, rap artist* saz, the ISO 639-3 code for the Saurashtra language...
"), his narrative poem Ahmadin shujaati and his translations of Western European literature under the name Garb gunashi ("The Sun of the West"). In 1916 his romantic poem
Romantic poetry
Romanticism, a philosophical, literary, artistic and cultural era which began in the mid/late-1700s as a reaction against the prevailing Enlightenment ideals of the day , also influenced poetry...
Shah, muza va shaharli was published. In his literary style, influence of classical poets such as Nizami, Hafez
Hafez
Khwāja Shamsu d-Dīn Muhammad Hāfez-e Shīrāzī , known by his pen name Hāfez , was a Persian lyric poet. His collected works composed of series of Persian poetry are to be found in the homes of most Iranians, who learn his poems by heart and use them as proverbs and sayings to this day...
and Saadi
Saadi (poet)
Abū-Muḥammad Muṣliḥ al-Dīn bin Abdallāh Shīrāzī better known by his pen-name as Saʿdī or, simply, Saadi, was one of the major Persian poets of the medieval period. He is not only famous in Persian-speaking countries, but he has also been quoted in western sources...
, and modern poets such as Tevfik Fikret
Tevfik Fikret
Tevfik Fikret was an Ottoman poet who is considered the founder of the modern school of Turkish poetry.-Biography:...
, is seen.
Among his dramatic pieces, Neft fontani (1912) and Yoxsullug ayib deyil (1913) are noteworthy. There are accounts of a novel written by Sahhat and entitled Ali and Aisha. It was never published and its manuscript is believed to have perished during the Dashnak
Armenian Revolutionary Federation
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation is an Armenian political party founded in Tiflis in 1890 by Christapor Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, and Simon Zavarian...
occupation of Shamakhi in April 1918, when Sahhat's house was ravaged and burned. The poet himself managed to escape the town with his family, fleeing first to Kurdamir
Kurdamir
Kurdamir is a district in Azerbaijan. The capital of the district is Kürdəmir....
and later to Ganja, where he died some months later of stroke.
Abbas Sahhat was in favour of liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
and, due to his Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian academic upbringing, disagreed with mass secularisation that was taking place among Azeris beginning in the early 20th century. Instead he promoted a more moderate idea of all-Muslim westernization
Westernization
Westernization or Westernisation , also occidentalization or occidentalisation , is a process whereby societies come under or adopt Western culture in such matters as industry, technology, law, politics, economics, lifestyle, diet, language, alphabet,...
. He dedicated some of his finest pieces of poetry to the Iranian Constitutional Revolution
Iranian Constitutional Revolution
The Persian Constitutional Revolution or Iranian Constitutional Revolution took place between 1905 and 1907...
, in which he presented himself as a realist
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
poet.