Mirza Fatali Akhundov

Mirza Fatali Akhundov (Mirza Fatali Akhundzadeh) was born in Sheki.

In 1814, he moved with his family to the settlement of Khamna near Tabriz, lived in various regions of Iranian Azerbaijan until the age of 13, and returned to Sheki with his mother in 1825. Akhund Haji Alasgar (his mother's uncle), who wanted to become a cleric, took him to Ganja in 1832. Here he studied logic and jurisprudence, as well as calligraphy from Mirza Shafi Vazeh. In 1833, he entered the Russian school opened in Sheki. In 1834, he was appointed a translator of Eastern languages ​​in the civil affairs department of the Caucasus Viceroy's office in Tbilisi, and worked in this position until the end of his life. In 1873, he was given the rank of colonel. In 1851, he was elected a member of the Caucasian branch of the Russian Geographical Society, and later was involved in research work at the Caucasian Archeological Commission.

He began his artistic creativity by writing poetry under the pseudonym Sabuhi. With the six comedies he wrote in 1850-1855, he laid the foundation for realistic drama in Azerbaijani and all Middle Eastern literature. The comedies “The Story of Molla Ibrahimkhalil the Chemist”, “The Story of Musyo Jordan the Doctor, the Herbalist and the Dervish Masteli Shah the Witch-Famous”, “The Adventure of the Vizier-Khani-Lankaran”, “The Story of the Thirst Thief”, “The Adventure of the Greedy Thief” and “The Story of the Lawyers of the Court” were included in the repertoire of all theaters in Azerbaijan.

Mirza Fatali Akhundov died in Tbilisi in 1878 and was buried there.