The roots of Turkish-Azerbaijani brotherhood can be found in medieval poetry
by Zaur Hasanov*

One warrior called his loyal commanders and told them he wanted thousands of Turkish fighters “inhabiting areas from the Caspian to the Chinese seas” to join his dangerous adventure. Asked why, Alexander responded, “Our minds may differ, but to Russians they are equally hostile.”

Of course, there were no “wild Russian tribes” attacking Caucasian nations during Alexander’s tenure, nor were there Turks fighting side-by-side with the great hero. This story is from an epic “Iskander-name” (Story of Alexander the Great) by the medieval Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjevi (1141-1209). In “Iskander-name,” Alexander also fights against Persian King Darius III in Mosul and Arabs in North Africa, and converts many nations of Central Asia and the Caucasus to Islam. Nizami’s Alexander fought against nations and tribes who opposed Turkish rulers and challenged their dominance in the region.

What led a poet, often considered a Persian poet outside Azerbaijan, to praise Turks? There are at least two explanations. First, Nizami lived and wrote during the renaissance of the first Azerbaijani-Turkic “Atabeg” state (1136-1225). The title of atabeg was common during the Selçuk rule of the Near East from the 12th century: When a Selçuk prince died, leaving minor heirs, a guardian would be appointed to protect the young princes. They called those influential court appointees atabegs.

In Nizami’s era Shamseddin Eldagiz and later his son, Jahan Pahlavan, were atabegs of a vast territory including present Azerbaijan, Gilan, Hamedan, Rei, Mazandaran and Isfahan.

By any account, Atabeg Eldagiz was a unique statesman. Sold into slavery in childhood, he managed to become appointed an atabeg of Azerbaijan from Baghdad. He defeated rivals in neighboring regions, accumulated power and later successfully lobbied for his son-in-law Arslan’s claim to the throne in Baghdad.

Today, we can see the signs of the first Azerbaijani state all over Eldagiz’s former dominion. Roughly 25 million Azeris in northern Iran, 9 million in the Republic of Azerbaijan and up to 3 million Turkmens in northern Iraq speak the same language.

While the Georgian Queen Tamara patronized Shota Rustaveli, Atabeg Eldagiz and his son Jahan’s court were filled with scholars, historians and poets. Even though Nizami Ganjevi refused to become a courtier, his “Khosrov and Shirin” poem was written at the request of Jahan Pahlavan.

Second, Nizami Ganjevi, who lived all his life in Ganja, was a Turk himself. He wrote in Persian but as Mammad Amin Rasulzade, founder of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, points out in his book “Azerbaijani Poet Nizami,” the values Nizami preached in his poetry all related to the Turkish mindset: “…who dares to say ‘he [Nizami] was not a Turk’ about the poet who named someone beautiful and grand a Turk, who saw in beauty and grandeur Turkishness, who called a beautiful and great word Turkish, and who named this country of beauty and grandeur Turkestan?”

Those details are a perfect setting for Nizami’s writings, and explain why he was so preoccupied with his Turkish identity and his nation’s values. Remember, we are not talking about an ordinary writer. There are more statues of Nizami in the former USSR and European capitals than any other Azerbaijani poet; streets are named after him in most cities of Azerbaijan; and Nizami’s poems are the first to be learned from high school textbooks. Nizami’s influence on Azerbaijani consciousness is as great as that of Abu Abdullah Rudaki (860-941) on Tajik or Alisher Navoi (1441-1501) on Uzbek mentality.

This year we Azerbaijanis celebrate the 870th birthday of Nizami and 20 years of our independence. The poet’s ideas and values have survived the test of time and Turkish-Azerbaijani relations have reached a strategic level. On July 28, in a joint press conference, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in all senses spoke the same language in their responses to recent territorial claims made by Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan. In this moment, the oft-quoted idea of “one nation, two states” proved itself in action.

This brotherhood does not only exist at the governmental or official level but among the common people of both nations. Nigar Jamal bore a Turkish flag when she took the stage as the winner of Eurovision. You will see as many Turkish flags as Azerbaijani ones in Baku next year when we host Eurovision 2012.