Khagani Shirvani (1126-1199)
Afzaladdin Khagani Shirvani, the poet-thinker of the 12th century, is one of the most famous literary figures not only of Azerbaijan, but of the entire East. He is the first and most brilliant representative of the Renaissance period literature in Azerbaijan.
The poet who had been brought up in an Azerbaijani family in the city of Shamakhi mastered Arabic and Persian literature, linguistics, Koran and mathematics.
Khagani who was the author of the first poem called “Tufat al-Irqayn” (“Gift of the Two Iraqs”)” in Azerbaijani literature influenced the outstanding personalities of the East, such as Amir Khosrov Dahlavi, Abdurrahman Jami, Mahammad Fuzuli, etc. He brought a strong social-humanist content and high artistry to the literature. The poet’s traces can already be felt in the works of Nizami, who started his creativity 15-20 years after Khagani.
Khagani's rich literary heritage consists of 17,000 beyts of lyric verses, and 60 letters the interesting patterns of artistic prose. The poet wrote his works in the genres of qasida, ghazals, rubai, marsiyeh, habsiyah. Such socio-philosophical works as “Shiniyya”, “The Ruins of Madain” and the poem “Habsiyya” brought him fame.