Ahmed Agayev Books

Akhmad Agayev is an Azerbaijani author, politician and journalist. He was one of the first advocates of Turkish nationalism based on the Turkic language and ethnicity as a link between the Turkish people scattered in Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and even Turkestan located in western China, along with many states and republics scattered in the Russian Federation. Ahmed Bey Agayev was born in the city of Shusha in Azerbaijan in 1869 AD into a Shi’ite Muslim family. He received a good education as he studied at the Russian universities of Saint Petersburg and the French Sorbonne. He was also intellectually influenced by the views of some French orientalists. After graduating, Agayev worked in journalism, writing in various fields, supported by his wide knowledge and proficiency in five different languages. He returned to Azerbaijan, leaving France to call for Turkish nationalism, and with the establishment of the “Azerbaijan Democratic Republic” in 1918, Agayev obtained Azeri citizenship and was elected a member of the new Azerbaijani parliament, but he immigrated to Turkey in 1919 with the Soviets’ control of Azerbaijan and its annexation to the Soviet Union, where he worked in the press and completed his political activities. Agayev was close to Kemal Ataturk (the founder of modern Turkey), as they were combined with secular and liberal ideas calling for Turkey to move towards the West and separate religion from the state. Agayev believed that national liberation and the progress of Turkish society would occur when there was a cultural and educational renaissance that would enlighten minds and fight reaction. Therefore, we find him concerned with the issue of women's liberation and education. Agayev also played an important role in the efforts to end the clashes in 1905 AD between Muslim Azeris and Armenians from Armenia, Azerbaijan's arch-neighbour. Agayev died in 1932 in Istanbul, Turkey, after a busy life, most of which he spent seeking to unite the Turks under the banner of Turkish nationalism.