Alisher Navoiy

Alisher Navoi, the great thinker of the Uzbek people, has made a tremendous contribution to world literature, culture, human happiness, public well-being, and the development of the country. Alisher Navoi is the most famous representative of the literature of the Turkic world. Because no one else has served the flourishing of this language and literature as he did. A global figure like Navoi unified the Turkic tribes spread «from China to Khorasan» under one banner and, at the same time, had a great impact on the nation's economic, political, and spiritual prosperity.

Alisher Navoi was born on February 9, 1441, in Herat during the reign of Shahrukh Mirza, son of Amir Timur.

His father, Ghiyasiddin Muhammad (also called Ghiyasiddin Kichkina), was an official in the Timurid court and a trusted person in the household. His mother was the daughter of the nobleman Sheikh Abusaid Chang, and her name is unknown. Alisher's grandfather was a milk-brother (kökaldosh) of Umar Shaikh, the son of Timur.

Contemporaries often wrote about him as «Nizamiddin Mir Alisher». «Nizamiddin» means order of faith and piety, a quality given to wise officeholders, and «mir» means emir.

The great poet expresses in his works the pride he felt in being close to this sacred court. Also, some episodes related to his biography are found in his works. Some information about this sacred person is provided by his contemporaries in their books.

Since Alisher lived in the court environment, he grew up with special upbringing and supervision. From an early age, he fell in love with poetry and music. He was in the circle of scholars and wise men. At the age of three or four, he surprised guests by reciting a poem by the famous poet of his time, Qasim Anwar. A year later, he was sent to school. He studied together with the future Sultan Husayn Bayqara. Word of his keen mind and talent spread among the people.

In 1447, Shahrukh Mirza passed away, and a struggle for the throne began among the Timurid princes. Herat became unstable. Alisher's family left for Iraq. On the way, in the city of Taft, Alisher met the famous historian of his time, the author of the «Zafarnama», Sharafiddin Ali Yazdi.

Alisher's family returned to Herat in 1451. In 1452, Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza ascended the throne of Khorasan, and the unrest subsided. Ghiyasiddin Muhammad was appointed governor of Sabzavar, and Alisher continued his studies. School introduced young Alisher to the world of poetry and literature. The future poet read the works of Saadi Shirazi, «Gulistan» and «Bustan», and Fariduddin Attar's «Mantiq ut-Tayr» (Conference of the Birds) with endless passion.

In particular, the stories told in the language of birds and their profound meaning completely captured Alisher's thoughts. The fantasy of «Mantiq ut-Tayr» accompanied Alisher for his whole life. At the end of his life, he wrote a book under the name «Lison ut-Tayr» («Language of the Birds»). Although «Lison ut-Tayr» was written in the Turkic language, Navoi published it under the pen name Fani. The future poet also loved to read the works of Nizami Ganjavi and Khusraw Dehlavi.

In 1453, Alisher's father, Ghiyasiddin Muhammad, passed away. Alisher entered the service of Abul-Qasim Babur. He lived first in Sabzavar, then in Mashhad. Two school friends, Husayn and Alisher, were together again. On one occasion, he said that he had memorized 50,000 couplets and 100,000 lines of poetry. Poetry was not just a development of speech; it was also an exercise for enlightenment and contemplation.

At the age of 15, Navoi attracted the attention of the famous poets of his time with his poems. According to Khwandamir, Alisher, who was just beginning to become known for his poems, went to serve the renowned poet of his time, Mawlana Lutfi. Mawlana asked him to recite a poem. Alisher recited his ghazal starting with the matla:

Orazin yopg‘och, ko‘zimdin sochilur har lahza yosh,

Bo‘ylakim, paydo bo‘lur yulduz nihon bo‘lg‘och quyosh.

(As you veil your face, tears spill from my eyes at every moment, just as a star appears when the sun is hidden.)

Amazed by the poem, the old poet said: «By Allah, if it were possible, I would exchange my 12,000 couplets written in Persian and Turkic for this ghazal, and I would consider it my greatest achievement.» This was a sign that a very great talent was entering Turkic (Uzbek) poetry.

In 1457, Abul-Qasim Babur died. Abusaid Mirza came to power. Husayn Bayqara plunged into the struggle for the throne. Navoi continued his studies in the madrasas of Mashhad. He made friends. He met the old poet Kamal Turbati there. This poet from Turbat met Alisher during a discussion of a couplet. The poet returned to Herat in 1464. However, troubles awaited him in the capital. Abusaid Mirza had been persecuting and suppressing the close associates of Husayn Bayqara, who was competing with him for the throne, including his uncles Mirsaid Kabuli and Muhammad Ali Gharibi, whom he had executed one after another. They were talented poets.

Alisher's paternal property had been confiscated, and he did not even have a roof over his head. He could not stay in the city for long. Even though it was a time when the young poet's creativity was in full bloom. He had gotten to know the great scholar and writer of his time, Abdurahman Jami, very well, had taken lessons from him, and gained his affection. This famous poet and scholar, whom Navoi cherished as «Mahmud Nuran», kept himself away from politics and even made a place for himself next to the tomb of Sa'diddin Kashgari (a famous sheikh who died in 1456, Jami's mentor) outside the city and lived there.

In the second half of the 60s, Navoi lived in Samarkand. Finally, Samarkand also captivated Navoi with its beauty. The poet called it «firdavsmonand» (paradise-like) and wished that «the dust of destruction» would never settle on it - that it would never face decline. During these years, Navoi began to gain great fame as a poet. In 1465-1466, his admirers collected his poems and compiled a «diwan». This book is known today as the «First Diwan».

At the end of 1468, Abusaid was killed in a battle for the control of Iran. Husayn Bayqara seized Herat at the beginning of 1469 and sent a letter to Samarkand, summoning Navoi to his side. Husayn Bayqara involved him in state affairs. He appointed him as a seal-bearer.

Statesman and public figure

Alisher Navoi worked as a seal-bearer in 1469-1472 and as a vizier in 1472-1476. He was governor of Astarabad in 1487-1488. Alisher was a creative person. By nature, he was far from command and authority, inclined to contemplation and imagination, and an extremely refined person. No matter how high his positions were, they were a heavy burden for him, and only his devotion and love for Husayn Bayqara kept him from resigning.

Despite this, he served with loyalty. Through his wisdom and resourcefulness, he prevented many rebellions and bloodshed, turning wars into peace treaties. This virtue of his was clearly manifested, especially during his ministry in 1472-1476.

Husayn Bayqara relied on Navoi's intelligence and loyalty in matters of government. Despite his resistance, he appointed him to high ranks, and in 1472, he appointed him as an «emir» (vizier). The great poet was honored with the titles «Amiri Kabir» (Great Emir) and «Amirul-Muqarrab» (Emir closest to the King). His years as a vizier were a time when urban development flourished in Herat, and culture bloomed. The Great Emir himself led the way in bringing water to arid lands, had old canals cleaned, and had new ones dug. He had old buildings repaired and new ones built. He built many madrasas and khanaqahs.

Embraced by creativity

Alisher Navoi valued poetry and being a poet above all else. Even in the rank of vizier, he did not stop writing poetry. Those around him viewed his work with encouragement and respect. King Husayn Bayqara himself acted as his patron. While the great poet's first poetic diwan was compiled by his admirers, he compiled his first diwan, «Badoye ul-Bidoya» («The Beginning of Artistry»), himself in 1472-1476 according to the king's command and wish.

In 1485-1486, the second diwan, «Navodir un-Nihoya» («Endless Rarities»), emerged. Alisher Navoi wrote the work «Waqfiya» in 1481-1482. A waqf is a land or property set aside to cover the expenses of any charitable work. Alisher Navoi's greatest dream was to write epics, primarily to create a «Khamsa», which had become the benchmark of poetic power since the great 12th-century poet Nizami Ganjavi (1141-1209).

Nizami's «Khamsa», which went down in history under the name «Panj Ganj», consisted of 5 masnawis: «Makhzan ul-Asror» («Treasury of Secrets»), «Khusraw and Shirin», «Layli and Majnun», «Hayf Paykar» («Seven Beauties»), and «Iskandarnoma». A hundred years later, Khusraw Dehlavi (1253-1325) responded to it. He called his epics «Matla ul-Anwar» («Rising of the Lights»), «Shirin and Khusraw», «Majnun and Layli», «Hasht Behisht» («Eight Paradises»), and «Oynayi Iskandariy» («Mirror of Iskandar»).

But all of these were written in Persian. Only Persians and those who knew the language enjoyed them. The fact that his own people were deprived of such a treasury troubled Navoi. Navoi went to his mentor Abdurahman Jami for advice. Jami encouraged Navoi to start this work immediately and strengthened his belief in his own strength and capabilities. Navoi finished the five epics in two years.

He started writing his own «Khamsa» in 1483 and finished it at the beginning of 1485. If the days the poet worked are counted, the massive 54,000-line monument was finished in 6 months. For the first time, a «Khamsa» was created in the Turkic language. Scholars and intellectuals greeted this event with great applause. From Zayniddin Wasifi's «Badoye' ul-Waqoye'»: «The King says to Navoi: "A problem between you and us has remained unsolved for a long time, let's settle it once and for all today." This problem was that Sultan Husayn had long dreamed of being Alisher's disciple and called him «my pir» (my spiritual master).

Alisher, every time, would say: «Oh Allah, oh Allah, what is this talk! In fact - we are the disciples, you are the pir for all.»

Now Sultan Husayn asked Alisher: «What is a pir, and what is a disciple?»

Alisher replied:

«The wish of the pir should be the wish of the disciple.»

«Then Sultan Husayn ordered his white horse to be brought. The horse was very wild and swift.

Sultan Husayn said:

«If you are to be the pir and I am to be the disciple, you will ride this horse, and I will lead it.»

Alisher was compelled to mount the horse. The horse was extremely wild and would not let anyone except the king come near it. As soon as Alisher placed his foot in the stirrup, the horse began to struggle, Sultan Husayn hissed at his horse, and the horse obeyed and waited for Alisher to mount. As soon as Alisher sat in the saddle, Sultan Husayn grabbed the horse's bridle and began leading it. Alisher fainted. They had to lift him off the saddle. Such a thing had never been seen in history. At no time had a king acted as a groom for a poet.

The years 1480-1490 were a productive period for Navoi in artistic creativity. Not long after «Khamsa», the poet created prose books in succession. «Tarixi Mulki Ajam» («History of the Kings of Ajam»), which he wrote in 1488, was one of them. In «Muhokamat ul-Lughatayn», this work is also called «Zubdat ut-Tawarikh» («The Cream of Histories»). In the late 1480s and early 1490s, Navoi's close friends and mentors, Sayyid Hasan Ardasher (1489), Abdurahman Jami (1492), and Pahlavon Muhammad (1493), died one after another.

Navoi wrote works such as «Holoti Sayyid Hasan Ardasher», «Khamsat ul-Mutahayyirin», and «Holoti Pahlavon Muhammad» dedicated to them. One of Navoi's greatest services in the 1490s was the compilation of «Khazoin ul-Maoni» («Treasury of Meanings»). This huge poetic anthology, consisting of 4 parts of diwans compiled in 1492-1498, covered almost all of the poet's lyrical poems written in the Turkic language.

The poet considered the period from his 7-8 years of age to his 20th year the springtime of his life and called the diwan of that period «Gharoyib us-Sighar» («Wonders of Youth»).

The last years of his life, the heavy losses of the early 1490s, especially the loss of his 40-year friend Pahlavon Muhammad and his mentor Jami, had a strong impact on Navoi.

In 1498, Alisher Navoi reviewed and supplemented «Majolis un-Nafois». The number of poets reached 459. That same year, he wrote a response to «Mantiq ut-Tayr», which had been imprinted in his heart since childhood. «Lison ut-Tayr» is one of the works concluding Navoi's creativity. In 1498-1499, the great poet collected his letters and compiled «Munshaot». It contains 88 letters, most of which were sent by the poet to kings and princes.

Alisher Navoi used 1 million 378 thousand 660 unique words in his poetry. The reason is that he skillfully used words not only from Turkic but also from Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Chinese, Mongol, and other languages.

The poet's work «Mahbub ul-Qulub», which he finished writing at the end of 1500, became his final work. Navoi passed away on January 3, 1501. The whole nation - from king to beggar, from scholar to shepherd, from poet to farmer - mourned the death of their great son with grief and agony.