THE PADISHAH OF HIS TIME

The Middle Ages were a period which the Europeans call "dark ages". When any, even the most terrible diseases were treated in Europe by bloodletting, the East was a centre of culture and science.

Not trying to idealize the era, we can say that talented people - doctors, astronomers, mathematicians and poets - all felt more or less comfortable here. And among the rulers there were those who not only helped these people, but themselves took an active part in the cultural life of their countries. One of them was Shah Ismail - not only the founder of the Safavid dynasty and a military leader, but also a famous poet.

From war to peace

Shah Ismail was a master of court intrigues and politics. However, it is hardly worth reproaching him for this - he was only a child of his time. From childhood, he was in a difficult position. He was born in 1487 in Ardabil into the family of renowned religious leader of the family of Sheikh Safi ad-Din - Sheikh Haydar. His maternal grandfather was Uzun Hassan - the ruler of the famous Ag Qoyunlu state. When he died, the descendants of the dynasty began a bloody struggle for power, which also involved Ismail himself as a child.

His father Sheikh Haydar was killed in the war with the Shirvanshahs, while his mother Alam Shah Begum, he himself and his brothers were imprisoned in Istahr Castle. The family went to great lengths to get out of prison, and many were killed. After imprisonment, Ismail studied in Lahijan from the outstanding scientist of those years, Shamsaddin Lahij. He learned Arabic and Persian languages and several sciences from him.

The fate of one of the heirs to the throne forced Ismail to live in constant tension. From childhood, he was an excellent rider, and as a young man, he learned to excellently wield the sword, and later, commanding people, he became a great military leader and successfully fought for power.

A significant role in his life was played by the old teacher Lahij, which became evident after the famous Battle of Chaldiran.

The thing is that expanding the boundaries of his state, Ismail damaged relations with the Ottoman Empire. The tension between the two Turkic states ended in a battle on the plain called Chaldiran in August 1514. Adhering to conservative views, Ismail refused to use cannons. In his opinion, it was unbecoming of a man to wage a war from behind fortifications. He recognized only hand-to-hand fighting in which he personally took an active part.

To strengthen the spirit of the army with his example, he threw himself under the fire of Turkish artillery with a sword in his hand. His horse was slain, and he himself was almost captured. Only the courage of one of his associates, who pretended to be Ismail, saved his life. As a result, Turkey seized Tabriz, and only unrest that broke out in Anatolia saved Ismail's state from collapse.

After that battle, Ismail dedicated his life to the strengthening of the state (except for his campaigns in Shirvan and Georgia). Becoming the founder of a new dynasty, Ismail led the country to flourishing during his short life (only 37 years), encouraged science and poetry, renovated cities and built roads.

Peace and poetry

Shah Ismail is known to us as a poet who wrote under the pseudonym of Khatai. Today, he is considered a classic of Azerbaijani poetry. He took up literature in his teens when he read verses of poets from Persia, India, and Arab states.

The most amazing thing is that Shah Ismail wrote most of his works in his native Azeri language, and therefore, although he ruled a much vaster territory than modern Azerbaijan, we call him an Azerbaijani ruler and poet. After all, his native language and ethnicity was Turkic.

 "Unfortunately, not all the heritage of Khatai survived to this day," says art critic Lacin Samadzada. "Among his surviving works is the poem Dehnameh, 400 ghazals and 100 qasidas in Azeri, as well as four beyts and one muqamma (poem) in Farsi." The oldest manuscript of poems of Khatai (Divan), says Samadzada, is currently kept in Tashkent. Of course, this is not the original (paper is very brittle material). This manuscript was copied in the palace of Shah Tahmasib I by the famous calligrapher Shah Mahmud Nishapuri. However, there are other manuscripts of Khatai too.

"His works clearly show how educated and erudite the Shah was," Samadzada went on to say. "The poems Nasiyyatnameh and Dehnameh reflect his knowledge of philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, music and literature."

His letters and diplomatic correspondence with foreign rulers have not so much literary as historical value. They show the breadth of his interests. In addition, few people know that Khatai had mastered the technique of painting and calligraphy, played musical instruments and sang.

Shah Ismail Khatai encouraged the development of not only science and art, but also crafts and trade. His poems were spread around the world by travelling ashugs and dervishes. During his life, Khatai became a character of many folk legends and dastans. His contemporary and compatriot great Fizuli called Shah Ismail Khatai the "padishah of his time", and today both of these poets are rightly called founders of the literary Azeri language.