User:Khodabandeh14/On Nizami Ganjavi Article

More up to date notes found here: These are older notes but has some additional stuff and criticism.

Siavash Lornejad, Ali Doostzadeh "On the Modern Politicization of the Persian Poet Nezami Ganjavi", Edited by Victoria Arakelova, YEREVAN SERIES FOR ORIENTAL STUDIES, Yerevan, October 2012.  

Again for newer notes see here: 

See also my Persian page:  

A good advice from another poet: غلام همت آنم كه زير چرخ كبود

ز هر چه رنگ تعلق پذيرد آزادست

Excellent information on the population of Ganja from a contemporary source
Even probably Nozhat al-Majales would not have been enough to convince some people that Persian was the everyday and predominant language of Ganja. I haven't seen a single Nezami scholar or Iranian scholar know about this source. Too bad Dr. Muhammad Amin Riyahi passed away before this. Note the translation from Grabar (Classical Armenian) has translated the word Persian to Iranian.

Kirakos Gandzakats'i's History of the Armenians / translation from Classical Armenian by Robert Bedrosian. — New York: 1986. — page. 197.

Note wikipedia article on him is here: [] He was born in Ganja (so he had first hand account on the population) and lived there. So he was not just a traveller but someone that knew the area well. His work has been translated into English by Armenian scholar R. Bedrosian.

Here is the section we are concerned with: [] Note the analysis is right before the Mongol Invasion (1225-1230s,.. Nezami passed away in 1209). "21. Concerning the destruction of the city of Gandzak This city was densely populated with Iranians and a small number of Christians. It was extremely inimical to Christ and His worship, insulting and cursing the Cross and the Church, scorning and deriding the priests and attendants. Therefore, when their limit of sin had filled up, the protest against their wickedness rose to the Lord. Earlier a sign of their [impending] destruction appeared, just as had happened above Jerusalem, before its destruction. For suddenly the ground tore asunder and black water gushed forth. An extremely large poplar tree (which they call chandari) which was close to the city was observed to turn around. At this apparition [g235] the entire city trembled. But then they saw that the tree was positioned as before. This happened two or three times; thereafter the tree fell over and stood no more. Then the wise men [of Gandzak] commenced examining the sign to learn what it meant. And when they learned that it was a foreshadowing of the city's destruction, they stopped abusing the crosses [198] which they had placed under the threshold of the city's gates. They had put them there for abuse so that all passersby would step on them."

So it clearly states: This city was densely populated with Iranians and a small number of Christians.

I already know the arguments of the people that want to deny this and they would want to translate "Iranian" to Muslim. However, thankfull, the same source also differentiates between Iranian, Turks and Arabs. So Iranian cannot be taken to mean "Muslim". Author differentiates between the three groups of Muslims (Iranians (Persians), Arabs and Turks).

For example, he calls Iranians as Zoroastrians (before Islam):

"As soon as they experienced victory, they went against the Iranian lordship and killed the Iranian king Yazkert. Thus ended the kingdom of the Iranian Sasanians. In this period, half the sun darkened from the fall month of Areg [the eighth month of the moveable Armenian calendar] to the summer month of K'aghots' [the fifth month of the calendar]. Then [the Muslims] released armies in three directions: one to Byzantium, under a certain Yaz and an advisor Yovel (who destroyed 70,000 Byzantines). The emir Uthman (Ot'man) and the general Mu'awiya (Mawie) were sent toward Iran. They defeated [g58] Mihrdat's 20,000 and Mushegh, the sparapet of Armenia with his brigades, and they ruled the entire territory of Armenia, Iran and Syria, Egypt, Media and Parthia. They began to propagate their faith, but were not accepted. "

The Arabs throughout this work are called Tachik (which the Zoroastrians also used for the term Arab.}}

""During the destruction of 20,000 people in the city of Dwin by the Ishmaelites, the holy altar and basin were covered with the blood of those cut down, while [g60] more than 35,000 others were taken into slavery. The patriarch gathered the bones of the slain into the same chapel. He constructed the place of Saint Gregory['s imprisonment], Virap, and likewise built [the church of] Saint Gregory, which astonished those who saw it. This place was later ruined by the Tachiks.""

Clear example of differentiating Iranian from Arabs: " The Iranians residing there aided him and he captured [189] the city killing many people and forcing many others to abandon Christianity and accept the deceptive and fanatical teaching of the Tachiks. "

Note "Fanatical Teaching of Tachiks" is this Christian authors name for "Islam" (which in our opinion like every other religion has its good and bad (fanatics)).

Also Turks are differentiated from Iranians.

When Kirakos means Turks, he uses the "Armenian" word "T'urk'".  "He then assembled his countless troops from among the Iranians, Tachiks and Turks, and came to Armenia." [grabar edition, p. 224; English trans. p. 187],

Another one: The king who sat in Baghdad was not called sultan or melik as the Turkish, Iranian or Kurdish autocrats customarily are, but caliph, that is, a descendant of Mahmet Find on Turk. There are five references cite as grabar edition, p. 364, p. 376, p. 378, p. 380, p. 388. English trans. p. 301, p. 313, p. 314, p. 316, p. 324.}}

Here is an email from the translator (Dr. Bedrosian) {[cquote| The passage in Kirakos at the beginning of Chapter 21, (http://rbedrosian.com/kg8.htm) may be cited as:

(this is the classical Armenian critical edition): Kirakos Gandzakets'i, Patmut'iwn Hayots' [Kirakos of Gandzak, History of Armenia], edited by K.A. Melik'-Ohanjanyan, (Erevan, 1961), p. 235.

I made the English translation from the above critical edition. That translation, which is online, was also published in book format. The citation for the same passage is as follows:

Kirakos Gandzakets'i's History of the Armenians, translated by Robert Bedrosian (New York, 1986), p. 197.

Here is a transliteration of the grabar text: Ays k'aghak's bazmambox lts'eal parsko'k', ayl sakaw ew k'ristone'iwk'...

In the early translations I made (1971-about 1980) I used "Iranian" and "Iran" in place of the grabar "Persian" and "Persia." I no longer do this. So, a litteral translation of the above is: "This city was densely populated with PERSIANS and a small number of Christians." Armenian consistently uses Persia/Persian in all the historical texts. }}

Sources if necessary
The correct word for Nezami would be Persian poet irregardless of ethnicity. This is supported by google books: where nothing shows up for "Turkish poet Nizami"  or "Turkic poet". Of course one can argue, that instead of Turkish it should be "Azeri" (give couple of links one from USSR and one from Brenda Shaffer with no expertise), but Azeri as an ethnonym was not used then and actually the area was called Arran (see section on ethnonym of Azerbaijani). Also Nizami Ganjavi's work are all in Persian and actually draw from Iranian folklore. Azerbaijan used for Nezami would be simply a geographical location, that is using a geographical designation for a poet of 12th century, which actually is invalid, but it does occur.

Just like Shah Esmail I despite his Kurdish ancestry, or Shahriyar/Nasimi despite being Seyyeds (which means from the lineage of the Prophet Muhammad) are considered Turkic or Azeri-Turkic poets. Or Putin is considered a Russian poet despite his Ethiopian ancestry. In the case of Nezami Ganjavi both ancestries were Iranian (Iranic Kurd from motherside and Iranic also from father's side although some people dispute his father's side). However what is clear is that all of his works is in Persian and thus he is a Persian poet. Just like Esmail I or Nasimi or Shahriyar (these actually had Persian works as well) are Azeri-Turkic poets because of the significant contriubtions they made or Pushkin is a Russian poet. So just like no one is going to remove Esmail I from list of Azeris, Nasimi or Shahriyar because they did not have a Turkic paternal line (see Safavid article were Esmail's I Iranic ancestry is agreed by such scholars Minorsky, Savory and etc and for the Seyyed ancestry of the other two, Shahriyar is clear but Nasimi is also clear from Encyclopedia of Islam and he is called Seyyed Imad al-Din Nasimi). Thus Persian poet is a cultural/language designation and is clear. Ethnic wise, nezami was at least half Iranian and we shall bring sources that say it was full Iranic. But the ethnicity of his father does not matter as much as culture/language since he was orphaned very early and raised by his maternal Kurdish uncle. There is no proof of anything but an Islamic Iranian culture at that time during the Caucasus among the Muslims.

Easily one can bring hundreds of sources with regards to Nezami being called a Persian poet (search google book for example).

Here 20 of these were chosen:

Here are 125+ or so sources or so that use Persian poet. On purpose they cover both sources related to Nezami, but also sources that have to do with other subjects like art, science, fiction, history of literature and etc. Here are the same sources for Wikipedia formatting:

1) John R. Haule, “Divine madness: archetypes of romantic love”, Shambhala, 1990. Pg 301: “The Persian poet, Nizami, collected most of the lovers' legends into a single  poem, which mainly follows the life of Majnun and observes how love transforms”

2) Bill Beckley, David Shapiro, “Uncontrollable Beauty: Toward a New Aesthetics”, Allworth Communications, Inc., 2002. Excerpt from pg 132: “... and in the epic poems of the twelfth-century Persian poet Nizami and in the fifteen century …”

3) Rudolf Gelpke, “The Story of Layla and Majnun”, Translated by Rudolf Gelpke, Omega Publications, 1997. Excerpt from pg xi: “somewhere in the western half of the Arabic peninsula, about 500 years before AD 1188 (584 H), the year in which the Persian poet Nizami wrote his poem”

4) Frank Tallis, “Love sick: love as a mental illness”, Thunder's Mouth Press, 2005. Pg 90:”..are the precursors of one of the most influential love stories ever written - the story of Layla and Majnun by the twelfth-century Persian poet Nizami.”

5) V. I. Braginskiĭ, “The comparative study of traditional Asian literatures: from reflective traditionalism to neo-traditionalism”, Routledge, 2001. Excerpt from Pg 119: “In the 12th century ideas very similar to those expounded above were graphically expressed in the works of the great Persian poet Nizami, especially in a chapter entitled the “Advantage of Strung Speech over Scattered Speech” in his mathnawi the “Depository of Mysteries” (Makhzan al-Asrar)”

6) Gholam-Reza Sabri-Tabrizi, “Iran: A Child's Story, a Man's Experience “, International Publishers Co, 1990. Excerpt from 197: “Nizami School was called after a great Persian poet — Nizami Ganjavi. Nizami Ganjavi (his real name was Ilyas ibn-Yusuf), …”

7) Gülru Necipoğlu, Julia Bailey, “Muqarnas: An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic World”, BRILL, 2005. Pg 99: “Trying to emulate another great Persian poet, Nizami,Hatifi attempted to write a Khamsa (Quintent) but only produced four works …”

8) Giusto Traina, "428 AD: An Ordinary Year at the End of the Roman Empire",Princeton University Press (May 31, 2009) pg 118:"... in the poem Haft Paikar ("The Seven Beauties") by the Persian poet Nezámi, who lived from 1141 to 1209 in the Caucasian ..."

9) Svatopluk Soucek, “A history of inner Asia “,Cambridge University Press, 2000 . pg 134: “..based on the number five, translatable as "Quintet") is a cycle of five lyrico-epic poems modeled on the work of the Persian poet Nizami (1141-1203)…”

10) Barbara Brend, “Perspectives on Persian painting: illustrations to Amīr Khusrau's Khamsah”, Routledge, 2003. Back cover: “..composed between 1298 and 1302, follows the main lines of that of the  Persian poet Nizami..”

11) Nagendra Kr Singh, Nagendra Kumar Singh, “International Encyclopedia of Islamic Dynasties”, Anmol Publications PVT. LTD., 2000. Pg 894: “in the fashion of the famous Persian poet Nizami [qv], with his Khamsa, two well-known poets can be mentioned here”

12) Julie Scott Meisami, Paul Starkeym, “Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature”, Taylor & Francis, 1998. Pg 69:“In Arabic literature there has been no artistic elaboration of the story  comparable to that undertaken by the Persian poet Nizami “

13) Philippe de Montebello, "The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide Revised Edition (Hardcover)", Metropolitan Museum of Art; 2 edition (2000) page 338: "... hunter in the romantic epic Haft Paykar by the twelfth-century Persian poet Nizami. This miniature exemplifies the classic style of Persian painting, ..."

14) María Rosa Menocal, “Shards of love: exile and the origins of the lyric”, Duke University Press, 1994. Pg 143: ““In London he began reading the medieval Persian poet Nizami, author of a renowned version of a story already famous in Arabic..”

15) Amina Okada,”Indian miniatures of the Mughal court”, H.N. Abrams, 1992.   pg 226: “Nizami: An anthology of five poems by the Persian poet Nizami (1140-1202).”

16) Juvaynī, Alā al-Dīn Atā Malik, 1226–1283 (1997). Genghis Khan: The History of the World-Conqueror [Tarīkh-i jahāngushā]. tr. John Andrew Boyle. Seattle: University of Washington Press. Pg 345-346: “Their story forms the subject of an epic by the Persian poet Nizami”

17) Francesca Orsini, “Love in South Asia” Cambridge University Press, 2006. Pg 116: “The poet's model was clear from the start, namely the great Persian poet Nizami ...”

18) Bernard Lewis, “Music of a distant drum”, Princeton University Press, 2001. Pg 9: “The Persians went a step further, creating authentic epic tradition comparables with those of Greece, Rome and the Vikings.  This too, became in time, a form of Persian national self definition.  The most famous of Persian epic poets, Firdawsi (940-1020) has been translated several times.  An extract from the story of Farhad and Shirin, as told by the twelfth century Persian poet Nizami, exmpelified another form of narrative”

19) Bernard Lewis, “Race and Slavery in the Middle East: An Historical Enquirty”, Oxford University Press US, 1992. Pg 96-97: “In one picture, illustrating a manuscript of the book of Alexander by the Persian poet Nizami, and painted in Qazvin towards the end of the sixteenth century, Alexandar (Iskandar) is seen fighting the blacks”

20) Howard R. Turner, “Science in medieval Islam“,University of Texas Press, 1997.pg 112:”In a celebrated romantic saga Khusraw and Shirin, written by the twelfth-century Persian poet Nizami and based on a pre-Islamic legend, Khusrau, princely ruler of Sassanian empire, must endure many trials before finally winning the hands of his love, the Armenian princess Shirin”

21) Gunilla Lindberg-Wada, “Studying transcultural literary history”, W. de Gruyter, 2006. Pg 237:”It was the Persian poet Nizami (1188) who achieved the major shift in both language and genre”

22) S. Wise Bauer, “The Middle Ages: From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Renaissance”, Peace Hill Press, 2003. pg 138: “This beautifully illustrated collection of tale is based on the epic by the twelfth-century Persian poet Nizami”

23) Anjaan Chakravery, “Indian Miniature Painting”, Roli Books Private Limited, 2006. Pg 142: “The poetical manuscripts, some of which were prepared for the emperor’s personal delectation, comprise of Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sadi, Khamsa (The Five Poems) of Persian poet Nizami, Baharistan (The Garden of Spring) by Jami and Divans (Collected Poems) of Hafiz and Anvari.

24) David James Smith, “Hinduism and Modernity”, Wiley-Blackwell, 2003. Pg 56: “One of the most splendid commissions was the classical ‘Quintent’ of the twelfth-century Persian poet Nizami.  The last part of this text, the Iskandar Nama, is the Persian version of the deeds of Alexander the Great”

25) Guida Myrl Jackson-Laufer, Guida M. Jackson.  “Encyclopedia of literary epics”, ABC-CLIO, 1996.  Pg 269:“Persian poet Nizami composed five epics at the end of the twelfth century; one was based on ill-starred lovers, Layli and her cousin Qays.  Qays, distressed that he cannot marry his cousin, goes mad and becomes known as Majnun”

26) Maria Sutenly, “Visionary Rose: Methaphorical Application of Horticultural Practice in Persian Culture” in Michel Conan and W. John Kress, “Botanical progress, horticultural information and cultural changes”, Dumbarton Oaks, 2007.  Pg 12: “In a highly evocative tale he relates in the Makhzan al-Asrar (“Treasury of Secrets”), the twelfth-century Persian poet, Nizami whose oeuvre is an acknowleged repository of Iranian myths and legends, illustrates the way in which the rose was perceived in the Medieval Persian imagination”

27) Orhan Pamuk, “My name is Red” translated by Erdağ M. Göknar, Vintage International, 2002. Pg 415: “c. 1141-1209: The Persian poet Nizami lived.  He wrote the romantic epic the Quintet, comprised of the following stories, all of which have inspired miniaturist”

28) Percy Brown, “Indian Paintings”, Read Books, 2007. Pg 49:  “The adaptability of these Hindu craftsman may be realised by the fact that their royal patron commissioned them to illustrate the works of the Persian poet, Nizami, and other literary productions, normally foreign to theis genius”,

29) Walter G. Andrews, Mehmet Kalpakli, “The age of the beloved”, Duke University Presspg 59:“This was to be the fourth in a series of five mesnevi poems (a hamse or “pentad”) intended to match the famed thirteenth-century hamse of the Persian poet Nizami of Ganja”

30) Encyclopedia Americana, Glorier incorporated. Pg 421: “..a place named for his Armenian Christian bride, his love for whom was immortalized by the 12th century Persian poet Nizami in Khosrow and Shirin”, Glorier, 1998, v.28.

31) John R. Haule, “The ecstaties of St. Francis: The way of LadyPoverty”,  SteinerBooks, 2004.  pg 66: “The Persian poet Nizami collected them into an episodic novel-length poem right around the time of Francis..”

32) Gene Santoro, “Dancing in your head”, Oxford University Press, 1995. Pg 62: “At the same time, he started to the read The Layla and Majun, by the Persian poet Nizami”.

33) David Christian, Craig Benjamin, Macquarie University. Ancient History Documentary Research Centre, Australasian Society for Inner Asian Studies. Conference, David Christian, Craig Benjamin, Macquarie University. Ancient History Documentary Research Centre. “Worlds of the silk roads: ancient and modern : proceedings from the Second Conference of the Australasian Society for Inner Asian Studies (A.S.I.A.S.), Macquarie University, September 21-22, 1996”, Brepols, 1998.  Pg 258: “Formly and thematically he was influenced by the pentalogies, especially that of the Persian poet Nizami (12th century),..”

34) Francis Lenormant, “Chaldean Magic Its Origin and Development”, Pg 159:“Later in the period of the Sassanian dynasty, the Persian poet Nizami, author of the Haft-Paykar, describers this style as prevailing in the place of the seven plants built by Bahram Gour or Varahan V.”

35) Lloyd. V. J. Ridgeon, “’Aziz Nasafi”, Routledge, 1998.  pg 159: “By the twelfth and thirteen century, himma had become a technical of the Sufis.  For example, the great Persian poet Nizami (b. 1140) refers to himma in his Makhzan al-Asrar (1166) when he describes how Mahmud Ghazna (969-1030) fell sick while besieging an Indian city”

36) Gerhard Endress, Carole Hillenbrand, “Islam a historical Introduction”, 2nd edition, Edinburgh University Press, pg 2002. Pg 178:“Death of the Persian poet Nizami of Ganja, important author of romantic verse epics.”

37) Mesrovb Jacob Seth, “Armenians in India, from the earliest times to the present day”, Asian Educational Service, 1992. pg 178: “In the preface to the Lahore edition of Sarmad’s quatrains, it is stated that Sarmad was born in Ganja, an important Armenian ciy in the Karabakh district, south of the Caucasus.  The famous Persian poet Nizami, was also born in that city”

38) Ernst Robest Curtis, Williard Ropes Trask, “European literature and Latin Middle Ages” translated by Williard Ropes Trask and Peter Godman, 7th edition, Princeton University Press, 1990.  Pg 347: “Goethe confuses the name with that of the Persian poet Nizami — in pious resignation puts it into the hands of God himself ('Master of Love,' 'Beloved')”

39) Slezkine, Yuri. “The Soviet Union as a Communal Apartment.”in Stalinism: New Directions. Ed. Sheila Fitzpatrick, Routledge, New York, 2000. pages 335: “The Azerbaijani delegate insisted that the Persian poet Nizami was actually a classic of Azerbaijani literature because he was a “Turk from Giandzha” and that Mirza Fath Ali Akhundov was not a gentry writer, as some proletarian critics had charged, but a “great philosopher-playwright” whose “characters [were] as colorful, diverse and realistic as the characters of Griboedov, Gogol’and Ostrovskii.”

40) Armando Maggi, “The Resurrection of the Body”, University of Chicago Press, 2009. pg 187: “Pasolini here blends two mythic sources: The Greek Orpheus and Alexandar the Great depicted as a prophetic figure in The Book of Alexandar the Great by the twelfth-century Persian poet Nizami of Ganja”

41) Edmund Herzig, Russian and CIS Programme (Royal Institute of International Affairs), Former Soviet South Project, “Iran and the former Soviet South”, Royal Institute of International Affairs, Russian and CIS Programme, 1995. Pg 50: ”It is not hard to understand why Iranians ridicule claims such as Azerbaijan's  to the Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi, or Uzbekistan's to the great Ibn Sina”

42) Sheila Blair, Jonathan M. Bloom, Hood Museum of Art, Asia Society, “Images of Paradise in Iaslamic Art”, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, 1991. Pg 36: “and flying through the firmament are found in manuscripts of several poetic texts, including the popular Khamsa (Five Poems) of the Persian poet Nizami”

43) D.A. Spelling, “Politics, Gender and Islamic Past: The legacy of ‘Aisha bint Abi Bakr”, Columbia University, Press, 1996. Pg 215:“The Persian poet Nizami (d. 606/ I 209) named one of his female characters Fitna in his work the Khamsa.”

44) Diane Woklstein, “The first love stories: from Isis and Osiris to Tristan and Iseult “,HarperCollinsPublishers, 1991. Pg 266:“In the twelfth century C.E., Shirvanshah Akhsetan, a a Caucasian ruler, commissioned the elegant Persian poet Nizami to write a Persian romance based on Arabic folk legends, dating back ..”

45) Jean Bottéro, André Finet, Bertrand Lafont, Antonia Nevill, “Everyday life in ancient Mesopatima”, JHU Press, 2001. Pg 159: “This was a romantic epic written by the Persian poet Nizami (twelfth century), recounting the loves of the Sassanid King Khosroes II Parviz (590-628) and the Christian woman Shirin..”

46) Geoffrey Wigoder, “Dictionary of Jewish biography”, Simon & Schuster, 1991. Pg 40: “From 1867 he attended the University of Budapest, receiving his doctorate for a thesis on the 12th- century Persian poet, Nizami.”

47) Edgar Allan Poe, Thomas Ollive Mabbott, Eleanor D. Kewer, Maureen Cobb Mabbott, “Tales and Sketches: 1831-1842”, University of Illinois Press, 2000. Pg 636: “Retelling a traditional Arabian love story from the version by the twelfth-century Persian poet Nizami”

48) Luisa Passerini, “Europe in Love, Love in Europe: Imagination and Politics in Britian”, I.B.Tauris, 1999. Pg 22: “and Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi between the end of '900 and the beginning of the  first century of our millennium, in the work of the Persian poet Nizami, author of the 1188 tale Layla and Majnun”

49) Mian Mohammad Sharif, “A history of Muslim philosophy: with short accounts of other disciplines and the modern renaissance in Muslim lands”, Low Price Pub, Vol 1., 1999. Pg 22:“His version of the Khusrau wa Shirin of the Persian poet Nizami is more than a mere translation”

50) Emily. A. Haddad, “Orientalist poetics: the Islamic Middle East in nineteenth-century English and French poetry”, Ashgate, 2002. Pg 193:“Goethe's models are, Gautier asserts, Eastern ones in both form and content; Goethe follows the example of the Persian poet Nizami rather than Shakespeare”

51) John Renard, “101 Question and Answers on Islam”, Paulist Press, 2005.  pg 112: “A story told long ago by the Persian Poet Nezami (d. 1209) in his splendid mystical epic, Seven Portraits, offers a solution”

52) Sharon Kinoshita, “Medieval boundaries: rethinking difference in Old French literature”, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006.  Pg 255: “Compare Khamsa by the twelfth- century Persian poet Nizami, in which a ten-year-old boy and girl who meet at Quranic school “embark on a chaste romance lasting the rest of their lives’”.

53) Rudolf Steiner, Catherine E. Creeger, “An outline of Estoric Sciences”, SteinerBooks, 1997. Pg 316:“A story attributed to the Persian poet Nizami (1141-1203), and adopted by Goethe for inclusion in his West-ostlicher Divan”, Quranic school “embark on a chaste romance lasting the rest of their lives’”.

54) Daniel Joseph Boorstin, “The Creators”, Random House, 1992. Pg 196: “The Persian poet Nizami (c.H4O-c.1202) depicted an ancient competition at the court of Alexander the Great. One spring day while Alexander was entertaining..”

55) Anne Varichon, Toula Ballas, “Colors what they mean and how to make them”, Abrams, 2007. Pg 183:”At the end of the twelfth century Persian poet Nizami (c. 1140-1209) wrote The Seven Beauties. which describes the tales told to the Sassanian ruler”

56) Tony Abboud, “Al-Kindi; the Father of Arab Philosophy”, The Rosen Publishing Group, 2006 .  pg 26: “This sixteenth-century illustration from the Khamsa (Five Poems) by Persian poet Nizami portrays Caliph al-Mamun being groomed by a barber and other”

57) Meyer Waxman, “History of Jewish Literature Part 4”, Kessinger Publishing, 2003. pg 567: “At the age of twenty, he was awarded the doctor's degree by the University of Leipzig for his dissertation on the Persian poet, Nizami.”

58) Stephen Farthing, Geoff Dyer, ”1001 paintings you must see before you die”, Universe, 2007. Pg 232: “AThe painting once illustrated a copy of the Khamsa (Five Poems), by the twelfth century Persian poet Nizami, which included popular narrative poems..”

59) Mohan Lan Nigam, Anupama Bhatnagar, “Romance of Hyderabad culture”, Deva Publications, 1997.  Pg 64: “He calls himself the disciple of the famous Persian poet, Nizami”

60) John William Seyller, “Workshop and patron in Mughal India: the Freer Rāmāyaṇa and other illustrated manuscripts of ʹAbd al-Raḥīm”, Artibus Asiae Publishers, 1999. Pg 344: Khamsa Quintet, a collection of five epic romance written by the Persian Poet Nizami (1141-1209)”

61) Jennifer Doane Upton, Charles Upton, “Dark way to Paradise: Dante’s Inferno in light of the Spiritual Path”, Sophia Perennis, 2005. Pg 15: The great Persian poet Nizami, writing of the lovers Layla and Majnun, tells of  how Majnun finds a piece of paper with his name and Layla's written on it"

62) George Stephen Nestory, “Young Ukraine: the Brotherhood Saints Cyril and Methodius in Kiev”, University of Ottawa Press, 1991. Pg 74: “In his spare time he wrote learned treatises on the Georgian poet Rustaveli, the Persian poet Nizami, and the relation of the Georgian language to ..”

63) Petra de Bruijin, Abdulhak Hamit, “The two worlds of Eşber: Western orientated verse drama and Ottoman Turkish poetry by 'Abdülḥaḳḳ Ḥāmid (Tarhan)”, Research School CNWS, 1997. Pg 279: “the metre used by the Persian poet Nizami for his romantic mesnevi Leyla ve Mecnun and which was adopted by, amongst others, the Ottoman Turkish poet”

64) Edward Morgan Forster, Jeffrey M. Heath, “The creator as critic and other writings by E.M. Forster”, Dundurn Press, 2008. Pg 276: “While preparing this broadcast I've been looking at his edition of a sixteenth-century manuscript of the Persian poet Nizami, and reminding myself of what..”

65) Joseph T. Shipley, “Encyclopedia of Literature Vol. 1”, READ BOOKS, 2007.  Pg 504: “A love romance on a theme fro Paykar (1660) and Sikandar Nama (1673), adaptations of two of the famous romances of the Persian poet Nizami (ca. 1141-1203);

66) Paul Pearsall, “The Beethoven Factor: The New Positive Psychology of Hardiness, Happiness, Healing, and Hope”, Hampton Roads Pub. Co., 2003. Pg 219: “The paper had a statement by the Persian poet Nizami, and it can serve as  reminder to all of us about the importance of an optimistic explanatory style and”

67) Kevin Alan Brooks, “The Jews of Khazaria”, Jason Aronson, 1999.  Pg 253: “The Persian poet Nizami (circa 1141-1203) described in one of his poems how the Cumans worshipped their ancestors and predecessors by kneeling down before..”

68) Marie-Luise von Franz, “Individuation in fairy tales”, Shambala, 1990.  Pg 82: “Here the role of the storytelling person is represented by an anima figure. In a  famous twelfth-century story by the Persian poet Nizami entitled, “The Seven Stories of the Seven Princess,” against every night a princess tells the King a beautiful fairy tale”.

69) David Comfort, “The First Pet History of the World”, Simon & Schuster, 1994. Pg 38: “..A PARABLE BY PERSIAN POET NIZAMI..”

70) Tetsuo Nishio, Kokuritsu Minzokugaku Hakubutsuka, “Cultural change in the Arab world”, National Museum of Ethnology, 2001. Pg 148: “it seems that these "randomly strung pearls" of the tale of Majnun were not restrung by a deliberate writer's hand (as the Persian poet Nizami would do..”

71) Sadiq Naqvi, “The Iranian Afaquies Contribution to the Qutb Shahi and Adil Shahi Kingdoms”, A.A. Hussain Book Shop, 2003. Pg 109:” He started writing a Khamsa in the style of the famous Persian poet Nizami. But he could write only four volumes. He believed that his works were better”

72) Nathan Light, “Slippery paths: the performance and canonization of Turkic literature and Uyghur muqam song in Islam and modernity”, Indiana University, 1998. Pg 227:”and even suggested that Naval do a nazira ('version') of the tradition of composing a Khamsa (Five Epics) begun by the Persian poet Nizami, and reworked by Amir Khusrau and Jami himself”

73) Julián Baldick, “Imaginary Muslims: the Uwaysi Sufis of Central Asia”, Imaginary Muslims: the Uwaysi Sufis of Central Asia. Pg 27: “and has included the celebrated Persian poet Nizami”

74) John Reeve, Karen Armstrong, Everett Fox, Colin F. Baker, F. E. Peters, British Library, “Sacred: books of the three faiths : Judaism, Christianity, Islam”, British Library, 2007.  Pg 161: “the poems of the celebrated Persian poet, Nizami. According to tradition, the face of the Prophet Muhammad has been whitened out”

75) John Renard, “Responses to 101 questions on Islam”, Paulists Press, 1998. Pg 112: “A story told long ago by the Persian poet Nizami..”

76) Mikhaĭl Borisovich Piotrovskiĭ, John Vrieze, Stichting De Nieuwe Kerk, “Earthly beauty, heavenly art: art of Islam”,De Nieuwe Kerk, 1999. Pg 135: ““A story told long ago by the Persian poet Nizami..”

77) Wiebke Walther, “Women in Islam”, M. Wiener Pub., 1993. Pg 44: “Also in his Haft Paykar, the hero of a celebrated romance by the Persian poet Nizami, and of many other romances by Turkish imitators..”

78) Wilhelm Geiger, “Civilization of the Eastern Irnians in Ancient Times: With an Introduction on the Avesta Religion”, BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2009. Pg 229:”Later, in the period of the Sassanian dynasty, the Persian poet Nizami describes this style as prevailing in the ' Palace of the Seven Planets ' built by..”

79) Sir Richard F. Burton (translator), “Arabian Nights, in 16 Volumes: Vol. V”, Cosimo, Inc., 2008. Pg 254:“Much of the above is taken from the Sikandar-nameh (Alexander Book) of the great Persian poet, Nizami, who flourished AH 515—597, between the days of”

80) Caitlín Matthews, Olwyn Whelan, “The Barefoot Book of Princesses”, Barefoot Books, 2004.Pg 64: “The Mountain Princess The story comes from the work of the twelfth-century Persian poet Nizami, one from a series of delightful stories about seven”

81) Barbara Brend, “The Emperor Akbar’s Khamsa of Nizami”, British Library, 1995.  “a five-part work in verse by the twelfth-century Persian poet Nizami; its stories are among the most famous in Persian literature”

82) Wilhem Baum, “Shirin: Christian, Queen, Myth of Love; a Women of late antiquity”, Gorgias Press LLC, 2004. Pg 88: “Among the Persian poets whom Goethe was interested were Firdausi, Nizami and Hafis” (note this book uses anachronistic term as well)

83) R. Gelpke, “The story of the seven princesses”, Cassirer, 1976.  Pg 2: “Haft Paykar (the seven images) by the Persian poet Nizami (1141-1202) is a precious jewel of oriental narrative art, to be compared only with the most beautiful stories out of Thousand and one nights”

84) Francis Jacques Sypher, Sarah L. Prakken, Bessie Graham, Jack Alden Clarke, Hester Rosalyn Jacoby Hoffman, “The Reader's Adviser: A Layman's Guide to Literature”, Bowker, 1977, v.2 edition 12. Pg 638: “a lyric poet with encyclopedic erudition, whose long poem "Iskender-name" continued the tradition of the Alexander romance of the Persian poet Nizami..”

85) Classical Arabic poetry: 162 poems from Imrulkais to Maʻarri, “Classical Arabic poetry: 162 poems from Imrulkais to Maʻarri”, KPI, 1985. “Five hundred years later, the subject was taken up by the Persian poet Nizami and formed into an epic running to over 4000 distichs”

86) Herbert Mason, “A legend of Alexander ; and, The merchant and the parrot: dramatic poems”, University of Notre Dame Press, 1986. Pg 3: “their mythical encounter to the twelfth-century Persian poet Nizami, whose celebrated Khamsa includes among its "five epics"”

87) Janardan Prasad Singh, “Sir William Jones, his mind and art”, S. Chand, 1982. Pg 217: “Of the longest allegory in the collection, The Seven Fountains'.  Jones said in  his Preface that it was written in imitation of the Persian poet Nizami.”

88) Henry George Raverty, “Selections from Pushto Poetry”, al-Biruni, 1978.   Pg 29: “and his mistress Layla are the subject of one of the most celebrated mystic  poems of the Persian poet Nizami, and famous throughout the East”

89) Joseph Reese Strayer, “Dictionary of the Middle Ages”, v.5, Scribner, 1985. Pg 418:”This famous composition by the Persian poet NizamI also had a strong influence on..”

90) Kolarz, Walter. “Russia and her Colonies”, London: George Philip. I952. Pg 245: “The attempt to ‘annex’ an important part of Persian literature and to transform it into ‘Azerbaidzhani literature’ can be best exemplified by the way in which the memory of the great Persian poet Nizami (1141-1203) is exploited in the Soviet Union.”

91)

Claude Cahen, “Pre-Ottoman Turkey: a general survey of the material and spiritual culture and history c. 1071-1330”, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1968. Pg 252: “…of the great Persian poet Nizami of Ganja (a town in the extreme north-west of Iran), and it is possible that he was acquainted with another poet,..”

92) Pepe Escobar, "Red Zone Blues”, Nimble Books LLC, 2007. Pg 94: “And Eurasia is the would be nothing but echoing the great 12th Century Persian poet Nezami, who in the famous Haft Paykar(“The Seven Portratins”) wrote that “The world is the body and Iran is its heart”

93) Felix J. Oinas, “Heroic Epic and Saga: An Introduction and Handbook to the World's Great Folk Epics”, Indiana University Press, 1978.  Pg 324: “His model was the work of the great Iranian poet Nizami (1 152-1205?). The following generations of Ottoman poets continued to develop the romance genre”

94) Garth Fowden, “Qusayr’ Amra: art and the Ummayad elite in the late antique Syria”, University of California Press, 2004. Pg111: “As by the twelfth-century Iranian poet Nizami continued to develop the romance genre"

95) Gregory Minissale, “Framing consciousness in Art: Transcultural Perspectives”, Rodopi, 2009.  Pg 304: “The author of the original text in the twelfth century, the Iranian poet Nizami, who composed the poetic imagery which the painting is meant to evoke”

96) Mikhaĭl Borisovich Piotrovskiĭ, John Vrieze, Stichting De Nieuwe Kerk, “Earthly beauty, heavenly art: art of Islam”, De Nieuwe Kerk, 1999. Pg 140: “The Khamsa (Quintet) by the renowned Iranian poet Nizami Ganjavi (1 141-1209) comprises five poems: The treasury of mysteries', 'Khusraw and Shirin'”

97) Wilhelm Bacher, Samuel Robinson, “Memoir of the Life and Writings of the Persian Poet Nizami, and Analysis of the Second Part of His Alexander-book”, Williams & Norgate, 1873.

98) Abraham Valentine Williams Jackson, “Persia Past and Present: A Book of Travel and Research, with More Than Two Hundred Illustrations and a Map”, The Macmillan Company, 1906. Pg 5: “Its chief claim upon our interest perhaps is the fact that Ganjah was the home of the Persian poet Nizami, who died about the year A.D. 1208.”

99) Friedrich Spiegel, Dārāb dastur Peshotan Sanjānā, “Irānian Art”, H. Frowde, 1886. Pg 2:“Later, in the period of the Sassanian dynasty, the Persian poet Nizami describes this style as prevailing in the ' Palace of the Seven Planets ' built by “

100) William Alexander Clouston, Edward Rehatsek(Translator), “A Group of Eastern Romances and Stories from the Persian, Tamil, and Urdu”, Privately printed [W. Hodge & Co.], 1889. Pg 173: “Alexander the Great, of whom Muslim writers relate many  wonderful stories — especially the Persian poet Nizami, in his famous Sikandar..”

101) Jullia Scot Meisami, “Nizami c. 1141-c1209: Persian Poet” in Encyclopedia of literary translation in English, Olive Classe, Taylor & Francis, 2000.  2nd edition.   pg 1005-1006.

102) Chelkowski, P. “Nizami Gandjawi, jamal al-Din Abu Muhammad Ilyas b. Yusuf b. Zaki Muayyad .”Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman , Th. Bianquis , C.E. Bosworth , E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2008. Brill Online. Excerpt:"Nizami Gandjawi, Djamal al-Din Abu Muhammad Ilyas b. Yusuf b. Zaki Muʾayyad, one of the greatest Persian poets and thinkers."

103) A. Netzer, “BACHER, WILHELM” in Encyclopedia Iranica. http://www.iranica.com/newsite/index.isc?Article=http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/unicode/v3f4/v3f4a001.html   Excerpt: “In 1870 he earned his doctorate writing a dissertation on the life and poetry of the Persian poet Neẓāmī”

104) Yo'av Karny, “Highlanders : A Journey to the Caucasus in Quest of Memory”, Published by Macmillan, 2000. Pg 124: “In 1991 he published a translation into Khynalug of the famous medieval poet Nezami, who is known as Persian but is claimed by Azeri nationalists as their own.”

105)

Ronald Grigor Suny, Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies, American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies. “Nationalism and Social Change: Essays in the History of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia”, University of Michigan Press, 1996. page 20. «…the great Persian poet Nizam ud-Din Abu Muhammad Ilyas…»

106) The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, John L. Esposito, Oxford University Press US, 2003.  page  235: “Nizami, Jamal al-Din Abu Muhammad II- yas ibn Yusuf ibn Zaki Muayyad (d. ca. 1209) Persian poet. Author of the Khamsa”

107) Encyclopedia of Asian History: Vols 1-4. Ainslie Thomas Embree (Professor Emeritus of History Columbia University), Robin Jeanne Lewis, Asia Society, Richard W. Bulliet. Scribner, 1988. page.55: “..five historical idylls (1299—1302) as a rejoinder to the Khamsa of the Persian poet Nizami…”

108) Ali Akbar Husain, "Scent in the Islamic Garden: A Study of Deccani Urdu Literary Sources", Oxford University Press, USA (March 8, 2001). page 29: "... Muhammad Quli acknowledges his debt to the poetry of the Iranian poets, Nizami and Khaqani…”

109) Dr. Julie Scott Meisami, "The Haft Paykar: A Medieval Persian Romance (Oxford World's Classics)", Oxford University Press (T), 1995. Pg XXXV: “Nizami's imagery was the subject of a study by Hellmut Ritter, who compared the Persian poet's style to that of Goethe, contrasting the vividness and immediacy of the latter to Nizami's supposed ‘metaphorical transformation' of physical phenomena which permits the invention-of new relationships which have no basis in 'reality'.”

110) Dr. Colin Turner (translator and scholar), Layla and Majnun: The Classic Love Story of Persian Literature [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover), “John Blake; illustrated edition edition (June 1, 1997)”. Page ix (Forward): “The Persian poet Nizami was commissioned to write Layla and Majnun by the Caucasian ruler, Shirvanshah in AD 1188. “

111) Camron Micheal Amin (Editor), Benjamin C. Fortna (Editor), Elizabeth B. Frierson (Editor), "The Modern Middle East: A Sourcebook for History ", Oxford University Press, USA (November 24, 2007). Page 140: "composed by the twelfth-century Persian poet Nizami and first translated into Ottoman in the fifteenth"

112) Oxford Encyclopedia of World History, Oxford University Press, USA (April 8, 1999), excerpt page 18: “In Persian sources, his search for knowledge takes precedence over world conquest. In the Iskandar-namah (Book of Alexander) by the Persian poet Nizami, Alexander is depicted as the half-brother of the conquered King”

113) Edward G. Browne, “A literary History of Persia”, Vol. 2 (London, 1906). Pg 403: “And if his genius has a few rivals amongst the poets of Persia, his character has even fewer.  He was genuinely pious, yet singularly devoid of fanaticism and intolerance..” (Also quoted in Mirror of the Invisible World: Tales from the Khamseh of Nizami, Peter J. Chelkowski, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975, pg 5.)

114) Frank Griffel, “Al-Ghazali’s Philosophical Theology”, Oxford University Press, USA (May 28, 2009). Pg 75: “Janza would become known as the home of the famous Persian poet Nizámi (d. c. 604/1207).”

115)

Giampaolo Casati, "Alexander the Great: Conquerer", Thunder Bay Press (CA) (February 28, 2005). page 131: "Magog behind a wall of iron, while the famous Persian poet Nezami, in Iskander-name, makes the conqueror into a just and wise ..."

116) W. Ouyang, "New Perspectives On Arabian Nights", Routledge; 1 edition (September 22, 2005) .pg 46: “.. of the latter version in the first tale of the Persian poet Nezámi's (died 1202) Haft peikar-e Bahrám-Gur and..”

117) Afkham Darbandi, and Dick Davis, “Conference of the Birds” (Attar), Penguin Classics (July 3, 1984). Pg 231: “on this story, the most famous being that of the Persian poet Nezami. Majnoun's madness is a frequent symbol in Islamic mystical poetry”

118) Nikolaj Serikoff, “Islamic Calligraphy from the Wellcome Library”, Serindia Publications, Inc. (June 1, 2007). Pg 12: "...beings, animals, birds, trees, etc. For example the 12th century Iranian poet Nizami Gandjawih described the master of the world, the Prophet Muhammad, ..."

119) Gregory Minissale, “Framing Consciousness in Art: Transcultural Perspectives. (Consciousness, Literature & the Arts)”, Rodopi (May 5, 2009). page 304: "... author of the original text in the twelfth century, the Iranian poet Nizami, who composed the poetic imagery which the painting is meant ..."

120) New Encyclopedia of Islam: A Revised Edition of the Concise Encyclopedia of Islam. Cyril Glasse (Columbia university),Huston Smith, Altamira, 2003. “NizamI (Abu Yusuf Muhammad Ilyas ibn Yusuf Nizam ad-Dîn) (535-598l\ 141—1202). A Persian poet and mystic, he was born in Ganja in Azerbaijan”

121) Garth Fowden, "Qusayr 'Amra: Art and the Umayyad Elite in Late Antique Syria (Transformation of the Classical Heritage)", University of California Press; 1 edition (September 20, 2004) . page 111:"..As by the twelfth-century Iranian poet Nizami, Haft paykar 25–26..."

122) Kamran Talattof and Jerome W. Clinton, K. Allin Luthe. The Poetry of Nizami Ganjavi: Knowledge, Love, and Rhetoric. Palgrave, 2001 . Excerpt from Forward of book: “The work of Nezami Ganjavi, one of the great Persian poets, has achieved enduring significance” Excerpt from Pg 51: “Women are featured in the works of three major classical Persian poets, Nizami Ganjavi (1140-1202), Abu al-Qasim Firdawsi (932-1020), and Abd al-Rahman Jami (1414-92)

123) Seyyed Hossein Nasr, "The Garden of Truth: The Vision and Promise of Sufism, Islam's Mystical Tradition",HarperOne; Reprint edition (September 2, 2008). pg 67:"... on this story, but much elaborated, is by the twelfth-century Persian poet Nizámi, who turned it into one of the masterpieces of ..."

124) A.A. Seyed-Gorhab, "Magic in classical Persian amatory literature", Iranian Studies, 1475-4819, Volume 32, Issue 1, 1999, Pages 71 – 97. Excerpts: "A meticulous description of Qays's demoniac had to wait till the twelfth century when the Persian poet Nizami of Ganjah composed an artistic and refined story of Majnun's legend. In recounting his version of the lives and love of Layla and Majnun, Nizami relies on a popular folkloristic theme in which a young prince is smitten by love for a fairy."

125) Richard N. Frye Reviewed work(s): The Turkic Languages and Literatures of Central Asia: A Bibliography by Rudolf Loewenthal. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 21, (Dec., 1958), p. 186. excerpt: Many works that appear in this bibliography have no proper place in it; for example, publications on the Persian poet, Nizami (page 73), as well as articles on such political matters as pan-Turkism

126) C. A. (Charles Ambrose) Storey and Franço de Blois (2004), “Persian Literature - A Biobibliographical Survey: Volume V Poetry of the Pre-Mongol Period.”, RoutledgeCurzon; 2nd revised edition (June 21, 2004). Pg 363: “Nizami Ganja’i, whose personal name was Ilyas, is the most celebrated native poet of the Persians after Firdausi. His nisbah designates him as a native of Ganja (Elizavetpol, Kirovabad) in Azerbaijan, then still a country with an Iranian population..”

127) Annemarie Schimmel, "And Muhammad Is His Messenger: The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety (Studies in Religion)",The University of North Carolina Press (November 30, 1985) . pg 18: “In Persian sources, his search for knowledge takes precedence over world conquest. In the Iskandar-namah (Book of Alexander) by the Persian poet Nizami, Alexander is depicted as the half-brother of the conquered King “

128)

(Abel, A.; Ed(s). "Iskandar Nama." Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis , C.E. Bosworth , E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2007. Brill online) Excerpt:"At the time of Niẓami, however, Islam is from then onwards well established in Iran, and it is the prophetic and ecumenical aspect of his destiny that the poet makes evident in his hero. As a learned Iranian poet, Niẓami, who demonstrates his eclecticism in the information he gives (he says, “I have taken from everything just what suited me and I have borrowed from recent histories, Christian, Pahlavi and Jewish ... and of them I have made a whole”), locates the story of his hero principally in Iran. He makes him the image of the Iranian “knight”, peace-loving and moderate, courteous and always ready for any noble action. Like all Niẓami's heroes, he conquers the passions of the flesh, and devotes his attention to his undertakings and his friendships. These features appear in the account, which follows ancient tradition, of his conduct towards the women of the family of Darius, in his brotherly attitude on the death of that ruler, in his behaviour towards queen Nushaba (the Kaydaf of Firdawsi, the Kandake of the pseudo-Callisthenes) whom he defends against the Russians."

Comment on the role of Seljuqs and Persian poetry
It was mentioned (in Email from an Azeri user): "So obviously, the region had all those ethnic elements, and Persian poetry appeared in the region only after the Seljuk conquest (but not before)"

However, this argument(favored by USSR and then copy & pasted blindly by some others) is actually the old type of argument which has been dismissed now by the find of Nozhat al-Majales (as virtually 90% of the 115 poets were not court poets and a good number of Women). USSR authors did not have access to Nozhat al-Majales (it was printed in 1987 in limited numbers and reprinted again 10 years later in limited numbers, but now has been internetized). Quatrains are not court poetry.. Before Nozhat al-Majales, we have only the name of 5-10 poets from the area till the Mongol era. Now have 115 names, majority not affiliated with the court. 1) Actually, Persian poetry at least started from Shaddadid and Rawwadid times (before Seljuqs). Two names come to mind: Qatran (from the old Dehqan class and speaker of Fahlavi) and Asadi Tusi (Rawwadid).  Qatran was a Western Persian (Dehqan).  Qatran lived before the Seljuq invasion and spoke the Tabrizi Iranian language that is also found in the recent manuscript of Safinayeh Tabriz.  Qatran served the courts of Shaddadids who captial was Ganja.

On Qatran he lived before the Seljuqs.. and spoke the old Iranian language of the area (which is called Old Azari, Fahlavi and Parsi (not to be taken as Khorasanian Persian)) by the sources. Francois De Blois, Persian Literature - A Biobibliographical Survey: Volume V Poetry of the Pre-Mongol Period Volume 5 of Persian Literature, Routledge, 2004. 2nd edition. pg 187: "The point of the anectode is clear that the diwans of these poets contained Eastern Iranian (i.e. Sogdian etc.) words that were incomprehensible to a Western Persian like Qatran, who consquently took advantage of an educated visitor from the East, Nasir, to ascertain their meaning" So already Asadi Tusi and Qatran Tabrizi were serving local rulers and Qatran Tabrizi specifically served in Ganja under the Shaddadids.

2) There is even Muhammad ibn Ba'ith which is earlier in Azerbaijan. Minorsky writes: Minorsky, “Marand” in Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis , C.E. Bosworth , E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Vol. 6, (1991): pg 504 "According to one of al-Tabari's authorities (iii, 1388), the shaykhs of Maragha who praised the bravery and literary ability (adab) of Ibn Bai'th also quoted his Persian verses (bi'l-farisiyya). This important passage, already quoted by Barthold, BSOS, ii (1923), 836-8, is evidence of the existence of the cultivation of poetry in Persian in northwestern Persia at the beginning of the 9th century. Ibn Bai’th must have been Iranicised to a considerable extent, and, as has been mentioned, he relied for support on the non-Arab elements in his Rustakhs (‘Uludj Rasatikhi’)”

3)

Istakhri and Muqaddesi are clear that Persian was widespread in Arran before the Seljuqs. On Istakhri: Estakhri of 10th century also states: “In Azerbeijan, Armenia and Arran they speak Persian and Arabic, except for the area around the city of Dabil: they speak Armenian around that city, and in the country of Barda people speak Arranian.” Original Arabic: و لسان اذربيجان و ارمينيه و الران الفارسيه و العربيه غير ان اھل دبيل و حواليھا یتکلمون بالارمنيه، و نواحی بردعه لسانھم ارانيه (Estakhari, Abu Eshaq Ebrahim. Masalek va Mamalek. Bonyad Moqufat Dr. Afshar, Tehran, 1371 (1992-1993)) Russian: http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Kavkaz/Karaulov/frametext1.htm Information Arab writers of the Caucasus, Armenia and Aderbeydzhane : I. Al - Istahri / / collection of materials for the description of places and tribes of the Caucasus, Vol. 29 . Tiflis. 1901 Текст воспроизведен по изданию: Сведения арабских писателей о Кавказе, Армении и Адербейджане: I. Ал-Истахрий // Сборник материалов для описания местностей и племен Кавказа, Вып. 29. Тифлис. 1901 Excerpt: “Язык в Адербейджане, Армении и Арране персидский и арабский, исключая области города Дабиля: вокруг него говорят по-армянски: в стране Берда'а язык арранский.”

On Muqaddesi: Al-Muqaddasi (d. late 4th/10th cent.) considers Azerbaijan and Arran as part of the 8th division of lands. He states: “The languages of the 8th division is Iranian (al-’ajamyya). It is partly Dari and partly convoluted (monqaleq) and all of them are named Persian” (Al-Moqaddasi, Shams ad-Din Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Ahmad, Ahsan al-Taqasi fi Ma’rifa al-Aqalim, Translated by Ali Naqi Vizieri, Volume One, First Edition, Mu’alifan and Mutarjiman Publishers, Iran, 1981, pg 377.) المقدسي، شمس‌الدين ابوعبدالله محمدبن احمد، احسن التقاسيم في معرفه الاقاليم، ترجمه دكتر علينقي وزيري، جلد 1، چاپ اول، انتشارات مؤلفان و مترجمان ايران، 1361، ص 377. Al-Muqaddasi also writes on the general region of Armenia, Arran and Azerbaijan and states: “They have big beards, their speech is not attractive. In Arminya they speak Armenian, in al-Ran, Ranian (Aranian); Their Persian is understandable, and is close to Khurasanian (Dari Persian) in sound” (Al-Muqaddasi, ‘The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions’, a translation of his Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Ma’rifat al-Aqalim by B.A. Collins, Centre for Muslim Contribution to Civilization, Garnet Publishing Limited,1994. pg 334).

Some secondary sources 4)

История Востока. В 6 т. Т. 2. Восток в средние века. М., «Восточная литература», 2002. ISBN 5-02-017711-3 (History of the East. In 6 volumes. Volume 2. Moscow, publishing house of the Russian Academy of sciences «East literature»): The polyethnic population of Albania left-bank at this time is increasingly moving to the Persian language. Mainly this applies to cities of Aran and Shirvan, as begin from 9-10 centuries named two main areas in the territory of Azerbaijan. With regard to the rural population, it would seem, mostly retained for a long time, their old languages, related to modern Daghestanian family, especially Lezgin. (russian text: Пестрое в этническом плане население левобережнoй Албании в это время все больше переходит на персидский язык. Главным образом это относится к городам Арана и Ширвана, как стали в IX-Х вв. именоваться два главные области на территории Азербайджана. Что касается сельского населения, то оно, по-видимому, в основном сохраняло еще долгое время свои старые языки, родственные современным дагестанским, прежде всего лезгинскому.

5) Chelkowsi already mentions the widespreadness of Persian before the Seljuqs... pp 1: "By the end of the tenth century, Persian literature was world renowned; it was heralded from the eastern Mediterranean to the banks of the Indus" pp2:"Because he was not a court poet and it was his poetry rather than his life or his political connections that won him enduring fame, he does not appear in the annals of the dynasties..."

Note Seljuqs took over in 1075 where the end of the tenth century is 1000 A.D.

6) C.H. De Fouchecor (translated by Kamron Talatoff and Arjang Talatoff), "The story of the Ascension (Mi'raj) in Nizami's work" in K. Talattof & J.W. Clintom, The Poetry of Nizami Ganjavi: Knowledge, Love, and Rhetoric. - New York, 2001. pp 180: "However, from the fourth to the tenth centuries, a rich literature of Persian expression had prevailed over the Iranian cultural area, and had developed with originality of this story of the Ascension of the Prophet" Note 4th century of Islam is 10th century where 399 Hjiri corresponds to 1008 C.E.

7) Shirvanshah and Eldiguzids were really hardly under Seljuq control.. They were only nominally under ther Seljuqs.

Daniela Meneghini, “Saljuqs: Saljuqid Literature” in Encyclopedia Iranica. Excerpt:"The Saljuqs never governed the vast conquered territories as a centralized empire. The main power centers were Hamadān and Isfahan in the west, and Marv and Nišāpur (Nishapur) in the east, but their courts changed location several times over the decades. There were also branches of the Saljuq dynasty in Kermān, Syria, and in Anatolia, and the dynasty’s strong tendency towards decentralization led in the 12th century to the establishment of the atābak, or ‘parallel’ dynasties of Turkish slaves, put in government in some areas (Marāḡa, Tabriz, Shiraz, etc.) ‘external’ to the main centers of power. This phenomenon favored the development of a vigorous cultural life in cities such as Ray, Shiraz, and Yazd and especially in the urban centers of Azerbaijan and Arrān such as Tabriz and Šervān.” “With their capital, Šarvān (Šervān), in the lands of the eastern Caucasus, the Šarvānšāh dynasty also always maintained its independence from the Great Saljqus” “The geographical closeness of the territories subject to the Ildeguzids and those under the Šarvānšāh encouraged the flow of intellectuals and poets from one court to the other. It is also possible to speak of a certain similarity of inspiration and of style between the poets born and educated in these areas, to the point of defining them as belonging to the ‘Azerbaijan school’ (Rypka, Hist. Iran Lit., pp. 201-9). The complexity of the language and of the compositional techniques, the originality and multiplicity of the themes, the presence of Persian archaisms and, at the same time, a wide range of borrowings from Arabic vocabulary are among the stylistic features which are common to poets in this cultural context compared with other contemporaries closer to the Khorasani style.”

Additionaliy: The content of Nezami's poetry (Shahnameh, Sassanids, etc.) makes it clear the area had a primarily Iranian culture. Also note in this book(nozhat al-majales), all the 24 poets from Ganja are titled Ganjei (which is Persian term). Out of these 115 poets, they all either have Arabic (mainly) or Persian names. Tabriz was more important than Ganja after the Seljuq invasion, however up to the Ilkhanid era, it retained its own Iranian dialect (called Zaban-e-Tabrizi (Tabrizi language) and demonstrated by an old manuscript). So I believe the same happened in Ganja. The reason is that no matter how mixed a city becomes, eventually one language emerges. However it looks like based on contemporary sources (Kirakos of Ganja)

8) In terms of Ganja, if the common everyday language was Turkish, then 24 poets from Ganja writing Persian Quatrains would not have occured. Quatrains are basically people/folk poetry, not court poetry.   They are meant for people for people, and not for Kings.  They are read in baazaars, tea houses, sufi houses and etc.  After the linguistic Turkicization of the region (although the genetic effect was not apparantly much according to recent studies and I believe the genetic effects of Indo-European groups was not much either in the region),  Persian remained but as a high class language (except for Tati and etc.).  That is after the spread of Turkish (specially during the Safavid era),  it was not the common/everyday language of the area, but rather the educated language and the educated classes were bilingual as you mentioned.  Elviya Chelebi at least gives mention of the languages of Naxchivan (16th century) and mentions Persian/Fahlavi in that region. However, in the 12th century, it was not the educated class, but rather the low class/women that was also producing Persian poetry (again 115 poets from Nozhat al-Majales).

9) Also the Persinization of Shirvanshah occured before the Seljuq. As Minorsky mentions, it was due to the Iranian families of the area.   Plus Iranian languages like Tati(Persian),Talysh,Kurdish (it is very close to Persian almost as much as Azeri and anatolian) was much more widespread at one time Actually Muqaddesi points to the Persian of everyday people in Armenia/Arran and says it is close to Khurasani.. other classical sources mention Persian in the area (Ibn Hawqal)..

10) New source on Ganja right before its destruction. Kirakos Gandzakats'i's History of the Armenians / translation from Classical Armenian by Robert Bedrosian. — New York: 1986. — page. 197. "This city was densely populated with Iranians and a small number of Christians." Note I believe the original Grabar has Persian (as far as I have enquired but will look to obtain the original from an expert).

Nezami's ancestry itself is pre-Seljuqid (assuming his ancestors where from Ganja). Either way, the themes of his works are from the Shahnameh, making his cultural association very clear.

11) It should be noted that the Seljuqs did not Tukicize Azerbaijan (some Turkic nomads were brought in the area but the major cultural centers were not Turkic).

Four reasons suffice:

a) Tabriz which was the capital of Ildeguzids was not Turkicized See here:

The book has poetry in what it calls the "Tabrizi language" which is an Iranian language: 

b) The population of Ganja right before the mongol invasion was majority Persian (Kirakos of Ganja) (see Kirakos of Ganja Below)

c) Maragha the capital of the Ahmadilis had kepts its Persian (Fahlavi) language as well. During the Mongol era (despite mass influx of Turkomen nomads who were part of the Mongol Army or were pushed in the area by the Mongols)

V.Minorsky, “Maragha” in Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth , E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2009. Brill Online."At the present day, the inhabitants speak Adhar Turkish, but in the 14th century they still spoke “arabicized Pahlawi” (Nuzhat al-Qolub: Pahlawi Mu’arrab) which means an Iranian dialect of the north western group."

d) Note the three reasons above are incontestable as there are primary sources describing the languages of each of these cities. Many sources now state the Seljuqs were themselves Persianized. Grousset, Rene, The Empire of the Steppes, (Rutgers University Press, 1991), pp 164:"It is to be noted that the Seljuks, those Turkomans who became sultans of Persia, did not Turkify Persia-no doubt because they did not wish to do so. On the contrary, it was they who voluntarily became Persians and who, in the manner of the great old Sassanid kings, strove to protect the Iranian populations from the plundering of Ghuzz bands and save Iranian culture from the Turkoman menace." Ehsan Yarshater, “Iran” in Encyclopedia Iranica:"The ascent of the Saljuqids also put an end to a period which Minorsky has called “the Persian intermezzo”(see Minorsky, 1932, p. 21), when Iranian dynasties, consisting mainly of the Saffarids, the Samanids, the Ziyarids, the Buyids, the Kakuyids, and the Bavandids of Tabarestan and Gilan, ruled most of Iran. By all accounts, weary of the miseries and devastations of never-ending conflicts and wars, Persians seemed to have sighed with relief and to have welcomed the stability of the Saljuqid rule, all the more so since the Saljuqids mitigated the effect of their foreignness, quickly adopting the Persian culture and court customs and procedures and leaving the civil administration in the hand of Persian personnel, headed by such capable and learned viziers as ‘Amid-al-Molk Kondori and Nezam-al-Molk." Jonathan Dewald, "Europe 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World", Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004, p. 24: "Turcoman armies coming from the East had driven the Byzantines out of much of Asia Minor and established the Persianized sultanate of the Seljuks."

According to Xavier Planhol, a well known scholar of historical geography (a branch that studies both history and geography and their interaction) and specialist on cultural history of Islam as well nomadicization of Iran, Central Asia and Turkey(IRAN i. LANDS OF IRAN in Encyclopaedia Iranica ): “This unique aspect of Azerbaijan, the only area to have been almost entirely "Turkicized" within Iranian territory, is the result of a complex, progressive cultural and historical process, in which factors accumulated successively (Sümer; Planhol, 1995, pp. 510 -- 12) The process merits deeper analysis of the extent to which it illustrates the great resilience of the land of Iran. The first phase was the amassing of nomads, initially at the time of the Turkish invasions, following the route of penetration along the piedmont south of the Alborz, facing the Byzantine borders, then those of the Greek empire of Trebizond and Christian Georgia. The Mongol invasion in the 13th century led to an extensive renewal of tribal stock, and the Turkic groups of the region during this period had not yet become stable. In the 15th century, the assimilation of the indigenous Iranian population was far from being completed. The decisive episode, at the beginning of the 16th century, was the adoption of Shi ʿ ite Islam as the religion of the state by the Iran of the Safavids, whereas the Ottoman empire remained faithful to Sunnite orthodoxy. Shi ʿ ite propaganda spread among the nomadic Turkoman tribes of Anatolia, far from urban centers of orthodoxy. These Shi ʿ ite nomads returned en masse along their migratory route back to Safavid Iran. This movement was to extend up to southwest Anatolia, from where the Tekelu, originally from the Lycian peninsula, returned to Iran with 15,000 camels. These nomads returning from Ottoman territory naturally settled en masse in regions near the border, and it was from this period that the definitive "Turkicization" of Azerbaijan dates, along with the establishment of the present-day Azeri-Persian linguistic border-not far from Qazvin, only some 150 kilometers from Tehran. (in the 15 st century assimilation was still far from complete, has been the adoption of a decisive Shiism in the 16 st Century)”

Professor Ehsan Yarshater who has also has studied the Iranic languages of Azerbaijan before the Seljuqs: “The gradual weakening of Āḏarī began with the penetration of the Persian Azerbaijan by speakers of Turkish. The first of these entered the region in the time of Maḥmūd of Ḡazna (Ebn al-Aṯīr [repr.], IX, pp. 383ff.). But it was in the Saljuq period that Turkish tribes began to migrate to Azerbaijan in considerable numbers and settle there (A. Kasravī, Šahrīārān-e gomnām, Tehran, 1335 Š./1956, III, pp. 43ff., And idem, Āḏarī, pp. 18-25). The Turkic population continued to grow under the Ildegozid atabegs of Azerbaijan (531-622/1136-1225), but more particularly under the Mongol il-khans (654-750/1256-1349), the majority of whose soldiery was of Turkic stock and who made Azerbaijan their political center. The almost continuous warfare and turbulence which reigned in Azerbaijan for about 150 years, between the collapse of the Il-khanids and the rise of the Safavids, attracted yet more Turkic military elements to the area. In this period, under the Qara Qoyunlū and Āq Qoyunlū Turkmen (780-874/1378-1469 and 874-908/1469-1502 respectively), Āḏarī lost ground at a faster pace than before, so that even the Safavids, originally an Iranian -speaking clan (as evidenced by the quatrains of Shaikh Ṣafī-al-dīn, their eponymous ancestor, and by his biography), became Turkified and adopted Turkish as their vernacular. Safavid rule (905-1135/1499-1722), which was initially based on the support of Turkish tribes and the continued backing and influence of the Qezelbāš even after the regime had achieved a broader base, helped further the spread of Turkish at the detriment of Āḏarī, which receded and ceased to be used, at least in the major urban centers, and Turkish was gradually recognized as the language of Azerbaijan. Consequently the term Āḏarī, or more commonly Azeri, came to be applied by some Turkish authors and, following them, some Western orientalists, to the Turkish of Azerbaijan (a large migration of Turks in 12 century, then age 13, Adar loses position in 16 th century during the Safavid)”

Professor Clifford Edmonds Bosworth, a giant in the field also states: "During this later medieval period, the gradual Turkicization of Azerbaijan was favored by the Il-khanids’ policy of allotting to their leading commanders land grants (eqṭāʿs, soyurḡāls) (cf. I. P. Petrushevsky, in Camb. Hist. Iran V, pp. 518ff.); by the presence of the khans themselves and their entourages in these favored regions of upland pasture, and then of their Turkman epigoni, beginning with the Jalayerids; and finally, by the incoming of fresh waves of Central Asian nomads accompanying Tīmūr on his campaigns to the west." C.E. Bosworth, “Azerbaijan: History up to 1941”, Encyclopedia Iranica.

According to Fridrik Thordarson: “ Iranian influence on Caucasian languages. There is general agreement that Iranian languages predominated in Azerbaijan from the 1st millennium b.c. until the advent of the Turks in a.d. the 11th century (see Menges, pp. 41-42; Camb. Hist. Iran IV, pp. 226-28, and VI, pp. 950-52). The process of Turkicization was essentially complete by the beginning of the 16th century, and today Iranian languages are spoken in only a few scattered settlements in the area. ” (Fridrick Thordarson, “Caucasus and Iran” in Encyclopedia Iranica)

Some more sources here: 

Be that it may, primary sources dealing with major cities like Ganja(Kirakos of Ganja, secondary source: Francois de Blois), Tabriz(Safinaye Tabriz, secondary source: Jean During) and Maragha(Hamdullah Mustawafi, Secondary source: Minorsky, Encyclopedia of Islam) state the population of these cities were Iranic speaking before the Mongol invasion (and also in terms of Tabriz and Maragha, the secondary sources are from after the Mongol invasion).

12) Sumamrize

Asadi Tusi (lived before Seljuqs and served in the courts of local rulers of Azerbaijan/Arran) Qatran Tabrizi (lived before Seljuqs)

Muhammad ibn Ba'ith (lived in the 9th century)

Nozhat al-Majales (shows common language)

Estakhri of 10th century also states: “In Azerbeijan, Armenia and Arran they speak Persian and Arabic, except for the area around the city of Dabil: they speak Armenian around that city, and in the country of Barda people speak Arranian.” Original Arabic: و لسان اذربيجان و ارمينيه و الران الفارسيه و العربيه غير ان اھل دبيل و حواليھا یتکلمون بالارمنيه، و نواحی بردعه لسانھم ارانيه (Estakhari, Abu Eshaq Ebrahim. Masalek va Mamalek. Bonyad Moqufat Dr. Afshar, Tehran, 1371 (1992-1993)) Russian: http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Kavkaz/Karaulov/frametext1.htm Information Arab writers of the Caucasus, Armenia and Aderbeydzhane : I. Al - Istahri / / collection of materials for the description of places and tribes of the Caucasus, Vol. 29 . Tiflis. 1901 Текст воспроизведен по изданию: Сведения арабских писателей о Кавказе, Армении и Адербейджане: I. Ал-Истахрий // Сборник материалов для описания местностей и племен Кавказа, Вып. 29. Тифлис. 1901 Excerpt: “Язык в Адербейджане, Армении и Арране персидский и арабский, исключая области города Дабиля: вокруг него говорят по-армянски: в стране Берда'а язык арранский.”

История Востока. В 6 т. Т. 2. Восток в средние века. М., «Восточная литература», 2002. ISBN 5-02-017711-3 (History of the East. In 6 volumes. Volume 2. Moscow, publishing house of the Russian Academy of sciences «East literature»): The polyethnic population of Albania left-bank at this time is increasingly moving to the Persian language. Mainly this applies to cities of Aran and Shirvan, as begin from 9-10 centuries named two main areas in the territory of Azerbaijan. With regard to the rural population, it would seem, mostly retained for a long time, their old languages, related to modern Daghestanian family, especially Lezgin. (russian text: Пестрое в этническом плане население левобережнoй Албании в это время все больше переходит на персидский язык. Главным образом это относится к городам Арана и Ширвана, как стали в IX-Х вв. именоваться два главные области на территории Азербайджана. Что касается сельского населения, то оно, по-видимому, в основном сохраняло еще долгое время свои старые языки, родственные современным дагестанским, прежде всего лезгинскому. (accessed September 2010)

Chelkowsi already mentions the widespreadness of Persian before the Seljuqs... pp 1: "By the end of the tenth century, Persian literature was world renowned; it was heralded from the eastern Mediterranean to the banks of the Indus" pp2:"Because he was not a court poet and it was his poetry rather than his life or his political connections that won him enduring fame, he does not appear in the annals of the dynasties..."

All of these are before Seljuqs..

It should however be mentioned the Seljuqs expansion further consolidated the trend above since the Seljuq administration was dominated by Iranians.

Inquired Comment on style/school and response
(Note that in their poetry, Nezami, Khaqani, Mojir al-Din Beylaqani have called their style as the "Iraqi style". Any other term madeup in the 20th century is a new invention and I will deal with this in a separate article outside of Wikipedia and bring to light a major falsification.. It is amazing that these authors called their style "Iraqi stye" and yet certain USSR scholars started a trend called "Caucasian" or "Azerbaijan style" in the 20th century, which some sources have mistakenly copied.  However, eventually, what these authors called their style was "Iraqi style" and this will eventually be the only main fact).

Email commentator I was asked about a book from a certain Sakina Berenjian which quotes Shafaq, Foruzanfar, Safa.

My response: "Thanks for the inquiry. I'll be happy to answer any question with regards to history although my time is limited. Shafaq, Foruzanfar, Safa do not mention "Azeri style", "Azerbaijani style", "Azerbaijani school" or etc on any of these pages (or in their book).  Safa only mentions Indian, Iraqi and Hindi style. Safa mentions the influence of Christianity, contact with non-Muslim cultures (Christians) and Old Iranian Azari(Old Iranian Fahlavi language which was a Western Persian) gave rise to a different flavor of Persian literature.  But he does not use any nomeclature like "Azerbaijani school", "Azeri style" or etc explicitly.  No where does he mention "Sabk-e-Azerbaijan" (Azerbaijani style).   That is such terms such as "Azeri style", "Azerbaijani style", "Azerbaijani School" are no where found.   They just discuss imagery, Christian imagery and symbolism and specially the fact that the poets spoke Western Persian dialects(Fahlavi/Old Azari). But no where does mention "Azerbaijani school" or "Azeri style"... So neither Foruzanfar, Shafaq or Safa use such terms. I have attached the relevant pages that was requested and some pages before and after them as well (complete section). Safa is very clear that Nezami, Khaqani ..spoke the old Iranian Fahlavi language (called also Old Azari)(see attached pages). So Berenjian is forging in a way her own intrepretation of Safa, Shafaq, Foruzanfar. As far as I can tell, in English literature, Rypka(died 42 years ago and did not have access to new manuscripts like Nozhat al-Majales, Safinaye Tabriz and etc.) first uses "Azerbaijani school". However this school was found by Qatran Tabrizi if we take his word, who was Iranian Fahlavi speaker. None of these three authors (Shafaq, Foruzanfar, Safa) wrote anything about "Azeri style", "Azerbaijani school" or etc. For your information I have attached all three references (Shafaq, Foruzanfar, Safa) that Berenjian mentions. The other reference "Shahriyar" I do not have, but it is not academic anyway. Overall, this influence of Old Azari (also called Fahlavi in sources) is also mentioned in Nozhat al-Majales (see Iranica where it is the language of the region). In general, one can say every poet has its own distinct style and the influence of Old Fahlavi language/Christianity is clear in the works of the poets of Arran, Sharwan and Azarbaijan. "The term "Transcaucasian" in bertel's classification, and "Azerbaijani" in the Persian classification, refers to the poetry by cluster of poets associated mainly with the Caucasian Shirvanshahs who, in the course of the eleventh and twelfth centuries enjoyed a relative independence from the Saljuqid empire. A few literary historians trace the origins of this style to Qatran of Tabriz (ca. 1009-1072), whose diction is taken to represent certain characteristics of the pre-Mongol Iranian-Azeri"(Sakina Berengian Azeri and Persian literary works in twentieth century Iranian Azerbaijan. — Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag, 1988. pg 7-8)

"The prevalent classification of classical literary schools into Central Asia, Transcaucasian, Persian, and Indian originated with Y.E. Bertel's whose primary emphasis seems to have been on ethnic and regional contributions. The corresponding nomenclature of Persian literary historians, i.e., "Khorasani, Azerbayjani, Eraqi", and "Hendi", on the other hand, denotes more than anything else, a chronological differentiation."(Sakina Berengian Azeri and Persian literary works in twentieth century Iranian Azerbaijan. — Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag, 1988. pg 2)

None of these are really ethnic terms. For example what authors call the Indian style was very popular under the Safavid domain. One of its most (if not most) important representative of the Indian Style was actually Sa'ib Tabrizi. And usually Khaqani Shirvani is classified as the 'Eraqi style. The fact is there is no single good book on these issues, however from a historical point of view, up to the 20th century, only the three "Eraqi", "Hendi" and "Khorasani" have been mentioned.

As per Chelkowski, chelkowski seems to mention this and for example put the Azerbaijani style under Eraqi style. "Peter Chelkowski Literature in Pre-Safavid Isfahan // International Society for Iranian Studies Iranian Studies, Vol. 7, No. 1/2. — Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of International Society for Iranian Studies, 1974. — С. 112-131.) "The three main literary styles which follow each other consecutively are known as: Khurasani, 'Iraqi, and Hindi. The time spans of each style are equally flexible. Within these broad geographical divisions we then come across certain "literary schools" which reflect regional peculiarities and idiosyncrasies and are identified with smaller entities like provinces or towns. For example, there are: the Azerbayjani school, the Tabriz school, or the Shirvan school. This paper deals with literature in Isfahan in pre-Safavid times."

"Azerbayjan became the heir to the Khurasani style. Here Qatran, the oldest poet of Azerbayjan, wrote his panegyrics for the rulers of Ganjah and Tabriz. Here Khaqani developed his extraordinary qasidah style with its strange composition, compounds, fancy imaginings and exotic similes and metaphors. Khaqani could be termed as one of the greatest poets of Iran and the cornerstone of the ‘Iraqi style. In Azerbayjan, MujIr, the follower of Khaqani, brought the style to its apogee. Here lived and died the greatest romantic poet of Persia, Nizimi. This drama-tist of love and life became the unsurpassed model for countless multilingual poets, writers and playwrights in the area stretching from the Caucasus to the Indian Ocean and from Central Asia to equatorial Africa. ." However, a careful analysis of Nozhat al-Majales, Dr. Amin Riyahi Khoi disagrees and uses the term "Arranian style" with the dual Christian/Fahlavi (Old Iranian dialects) influences.

Anyhow, the main point of all of these is that traces of the regional Fahlavi languages and contact with non-Muslim (specially Christian cultures) are seen in the style of Qatran, Khaqani, Nezami and etc. However, none of these are related to the nomadic Turkic cultures of the area at that time (while it is emphasized Azerbaijanis have also a Persian cultural component too). Here is a summary (if someone wants to give such a thing an ethnic affiliation):

Note one can do a google books to see its various names as well:  (Rypka for example users Shirvan School, Trans-Caucasian School and Azerbaijan School interchangeably)

Possible section in Persian poetry if necessary
The "Azerbaijan school", also called "Trans-Caucasian School" ,"Shirvan School", "Tabriz School" or "Arranian style" was a heir to the Khurasani style and has its earliest surviving representative in the Western Persian (different than literary Khurasani Persian)  pre-Seljuqid poet Qatran Tabrizi (d. 1072). Qatran Tabrizi served local princes, including the Shaddadid court of Ganja and his diction is taken to represent certain characteristic of the pre-Mongol Iranian AzeriSakina Berengian Azeri and Persian literary works in twentieth century Iranian Azerbaijan. — Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag, 1988. pp ix:"The oldest use of the term "Azeri" signifying a language occurs in the writings of Islamic historians, geographers, and travelers in the tenth to thirteenth centuries. During the nineteenth century, when Eastern linguistic studies began to interest Western scholars, this term was erroneously interpreted as indicating Southwestern Oghuz-Turkic or Azeri-Turkic.  This more or less commonly accepted usage, although false, continues to our day, even though historical and linguistic studies of the present century have definitely determined that, by "Azeri", the early writers meant the post-islamic, pre-Mongol Iranian language of Azerbaijan. Azeri Turkic did not take its definite form as a literary idiom until after the Mongol invasion in the early thirteenth century, when various other Turkic tribes joined the already settled and assimilated Oghuz Turks; the fresh influx of Turkic elements in the area enabled Azeri-Turkic to replace the original “Azeri” or Medic, the older Iranian language of the area" pp 2:” "The prevalent classification of classical literary schools into Central Asia, Transcaucasian, Persian, and Indian originated with Y.E. Bertel's whose primary emphasis seems to have been on ethnic and regional contributions. The corresponding nomenclature of Persian literary historians, i.e., "Khorasani, Azerbayjani, Eraqi", and "Hendi", on the other hand, denotes more than anything else, a chronological differentiation." Pp 7-8: “"The term "Transcaucasian" in bertel's classification, and "Azerbaijani" in the Persian classification, refers to the poetry by cluster of poets associated mainly with the Caucasian Shirvanshahs who, in the course of the eleventh and twelfth centuries enjoyed a relative independence from the Saljuqid empire. A few literary historians trace the origins of this style to Qatran of Tabriz (ca. 1009-1072), whose diction is taken to represent certain characteristics of the pre-Mongol Iranian-Azeri" Pg 4“Christian imagery and symbolism, quotations from the Bible and other expressions inspired by Christian sources occur so frequently in the works of Khagani and Nizami in particular, that a comprehension of their works is almost impossible without a thorough knowledge of Christianity.”.

The school is distinguished by its The complexity of the language and of the compositional techniquesDaniela Meneghini, “Saljuqs: Saljuqid Literature” in Encyclopedia Iranica.  “The Saljuqs never governed the vast conquered territories as a centralized empire. The main power centers were Hamadān and Isfahan in the west, and Marv and Nišāpur (Nishapur) in the east, but their courts changed location several times over the decades. There were also branches of the Saljuq dynasty in Kermān, Syria, and in Anatolia, and the dynasty’s strong tendency towards decentralization led in the 12th century to the establishment of the atābak, or ‘parallel’ dynasties of Turkish slaves, put in government in some areas (Marāḡa, Tabriz, Shiraz, etc.) ‘external’ to the main centers of power. This phenomenon favored the development of a vigorous cultural life in cities such as Ray, Shiraz, and Yazd and especially in the urban centers of Azerbaijan and Arrān such as Tabriz and Šervān.” “With their capital, Šarvān (Šervān), in the lands of the eastern Caucasus, the Šarvānšāh dynasty also always maintained its independence from the Great Saljqus” “The geographical closeness of the territories subject to the Ildeguzids and those under the Šarvānšāh encouraged the flow of intellectuals and poets from one court to the other. It is also possible to speak of a certain similarity of inspiration and of style between the poets born and educated in these areas, to the point of defining them as belonging to the ‘Azerbaijan school’ (Rypka, Hist. Iran Lit., pp. 201-9). The complexity of the language and of the compositional techniques, the originality and multiplicity of the themes, the presence of Persian archaisms and, at the same time, a wide range of borrowings from Arabic vocabulary are among the stylistic features which are common to poets in this cultural context compared with other contemporaries closer to the Khorasani style.” , the originality and multiplicity of the themes ,Persian Archaism and at the same time increased Arabic vocabulary, influence of the northwestern Pahlavi language"NOZHAT AL-MAJĀLES". Encyclopædia Iranica. http://www.iranica.com/articles/nozhat-al-majales. "The most significant merit of Nozhat al-majāles, as regards the history of Persian literature, is that it embraces the works of some 115 poets from the northwestern Iran (Arrān, Šarvān, Azerbaijan; including 24 poets from Ganja alone), where, due to the change of language, the heritage of Persian literature in that region has almost entirely vanished. The fact that numerous quatrains of some poets (e.g. Amir Šams-al-Din Asʿad of Ganja, ʿAziz Šarvāni, Šams Sojāsi, Amir Najib-al-Din ʿOmar of Ganja, Badr Teflisi, Kamāl Marāḡi, Šaraf Ṣāleḥ Baylaqāni, Borhān Ganjaʾi, Elyās Ganjaʾi, Baḵtiār Šarvāni) are mentioned together like a series tends to suggest the author was in possession of their collected works. Nozhat al-mājales is thus a mirror of the social conditions at the time, reflecting the full spread of Persian language and the culture of Iran throughout that region, clearly evidenced by the common use of spoken idioms in poems as well as the professions of the some of the poets (see below). The influence of the northwestern Pahlavi language, for example, which had been the spoken dialect of the region, is clearly observed in the poems contained in this anthology.”Quote:”It is noteworthy, however, that in the period under discussion, the Caucasus region was entertaining a unique mixture of ethnic cultures. Ḵāqāni's mother was a Nestorian Christian, Mojir Baylqāni's mother was an Armenian, and Neẓāmi's mother was a Kurd. Their works reflect the cultural and linguistic diversity of the region. Ḥobayš b. Ebrāhim Teflisi paraded his knowledge of different languages by mentioning the name of the drugs in his medical dictionary, Taqwim al-adwia in several languages, including Persian, Arabic, Syriac, and Byzantine Greek. This blending of cultures certainly left its mark on the works of the poets of the region, resulting in the creation of a large number of new concepts and terms, the examples of which can be noticed in the poems of Ḵāqāni and Neẓāmi, as well as in dictionaries.” Quote:”In contrast to poets from other parts of Persia, who mostly belonged to higher echelons of society such as scholars, bureaucrats, and secretaries, a good number of poets in the northwestern areas rose from among the common people with working class backgrounds, and they frequently used colloquial expressions in their poetry. They are referred to as water carrier (saqqāʾ), sparrow dealer (ʿoṣfori), saddler (sarrāj), bodyguard (jāndār), oculist (kaḥḥāl), blanket maker (leḥāfi), etc., which illustrates the overall use of Persian in that region", common use of spoken idiom and large number of new concepts and terms . Also Christian imagery and symbolism, quotations from the Bible and other expressions inspired by Christian sources occur so frequently in the works of Khagani and Nizami in particular, that a comprehension of their works is almost impossible without a thorough knowledge of Christianity.

Professor. Mohammad Amin Riahi considers this book a total reflection of the Iranian culture of Arran, Sherwan and Azerbaijan at that time. In the extensive introduction to this book, he notes that the historian Tabari mentions the first Persian poet of the area (Maragha/Marand in Azerbaijan) as Muhammad ibn Ba’ith whose ancestors had migrated from Arabia two generations before Jamāl-al-Din Ḵalil Šarvāni, Nozhat al-majāles, ed. Moḥammad Amin Riāḥi, Tehran, 2nd ed. Tehran, 1996.

On Mohammad ibn Ba’ith: صفحه 18: اما نباید این تصور را پیش آورد که سخن فارسی همراه سلجوقیان در آذربایجان و آران راه گشود. برعکس ، این را خوب میدانیم که شمال غرب ایران از آغاز همیشه پایگاه فرهنگ والای ایرانی بوده است، و پیش از آنکه محمد بن وصیف سگزی (نخستینه شاعر شناخهء ایران) در سیستان سرودن قصیده را آغاز کند، به گفتهء طبری پیران مراغه اشعار فارسی (یعنی فهلوی) محمد بن بعیث بن حلبس فرمانروای مرند (متوقی 235) را میخوانده‌‌اند. حلبس پدر بزرگ این مرد، خود از مهاجران تازی نجد و حجاز بود، و شعر فارسی گفتن نوه‌اش به سبب انس با محیط فرهنگ محلی بود. Translation: Pg 18: One should not erroneously claim that the Seljuqs brought Persian into Arran and Azerbaijan. Opposite to this idea, we know well that the North West has always been a rich center for Iranian culture. Even before Muhammad ibn Wasif Sagrzi (the first known poet of Iran) who composed in the Qasida form in Sistan, Tabari has mentioned that the elders of Maragha read the Persian Fahlavi vernacular) poetry of Mohammad ibn Ba’ith ibn Halbas, the ruler of Marand.  Halbas, which was his Grandfather, was himself a recent Arabian migrant from the lands of Najd and Hijaz, and the Persian poetry of his grandson was due to his accurlation in the local culture.

Pg 20 on USSR writers again: بنابراین ادعای سیاست پیشگان شوروی و جاهلانی که طوطی-وار حرفهای آنها را تکرار میکنند درست نیست، و وجود اینهمه شاعران فارسی‌گوی در قفقاز و آران تحت تأثیر فرامانروایان ایرانی آن سرزمین نبوده، بلکه درست برعکس این ادعای غرض آلود، زبان و فرهنگ بومیان آن دیار بود که فرمانروایان بیگانه را با فرهنگ ایرانی خوگرفت Translation of Page 20: “Thus the theory of politicized Soviet authors and those that ignorantly repeated them are not correct, and multitude of numbers of Persian poets from Caucasus and Arran was not due to the Iranian and Iranicized rulers of the area, but in opposite to this politicized theory, it was the language and culture of the people which Iranicized the rulers”

Pg 25-27 is devoted on Arranian Style (Sabk-e-Arrani): برخی پژوهندگان دیگر هم بدون توجه به شیوه‌ی سخن و نوع مضمون و خیال، تنها مناسبت زمانی را در نظرگرفته سخنسرایان آن دیار را جزو "شعرای عراق و اذربایجان" آورده و سخن آنان را در "سبک عراقی" شمرده‌اند. اما نگفته‌اند که شیوه‌ی نظامی و خاقانی کجا به سبک کمال اسماعیل شباهت دارد؟ در این باره باز هم نظر دقیق‌تر و به صحت نزدیک‌تر را دشتی اضهار کرده که بوی سبک هندی از سخنان این شاعران دیده میشود. صحیح‌تر این است که شیوه‌ی سخن این شاعران را در سبکی بعد از سبک خراسانی، و پیش از سبک هندی، و همزمان با سبک عراقی به نام "سبک ارانی" بنامیم. این پیشنهادی است که رد یا قبول آن انتشار همه‌ی آثار این شاعران، و بررسیها و سنجشهای دقیق‌تر محققان باز بسته است. Translation: Some researchers who were not careful with the style, theme and symbolic language and only based upon time period have called the poets of the area as “Poets of Iraq and Azerbaijan”. And thus they have claimed these poets as the Iraqi style. But they have not elucidated how the style of Nezami and Khaqani is similar to the style of Kamal Ismail. With this regard, the scholar Dashti is more correct that one can feel a sense of the Indian style in these poets. More correct than this, is that we should consider the style of these poets as the “Arranian Style”. Its timeline is after the Khurasanian style, concurrent with the Iraqi style and after the Indian style. This suggestion, can only be made clear after publication of the works of all these poets and careful analysis of the styles of thee poets.

Pg 21 (section on the culture of Arran): می‌بینیم که در انجا شغل همه‌ی شاعران مداحی نبود، و بسیاری از شاعران به کار و پیشه‌ای سرگرم بودند، و به حرفه‌ی معمولی خود شهرت داشتند، چون: جمال سقا، حسین سقا، جمال عصفوری، زکی اکاف، موفق سراج، مجدالدین جاندار، شهاب دفتر خوان و کاغذی، فخر نقاش، عزیر کحال.. و چنین می‌نماید که در آنجا نسبت با سایر نواحی ایران شماره‌ی زنان شاعر هم بیشتر است. و این می‌تواند نشانه‌ای از شگفتی‌ فرهنگی و اجتماعی آن سامان باشد. اما از مهستی گنجه‌ای و رضیه‌ی گنجه‌ای بگذریم، اینقدر هست که زنان شاعر با نام پدر خود نامیده میشوند: دختر سالار، دختر ستی، دختر سجستانیه، دختر حکیم گاو.

Translation: We can see that the job of all poets was not court related, and many of the poets were working in regular jobs and were famed in their own trade. Examples are Jamal-e-Saqaa (Jamal the watercarrier), Hossein-e-Saqaa (Hossein the watercarrier), Jamal-e ‘Osfuri (Jamal the sparrow dealer),, Mufawiq-e Sarraj (Mufawiq the Saddle Dealer), Majd al-Din Jandar (Majd al-Din the Body Guard), Fakhr-e Naqaas (Fakhr the Artistan), Aziz-e Kahaal (Aziz the oculist)… And it also appears that relative to other parts of Iran, the number of female poets was more. This is one of the amazement of the social and cultural peculiarities of that region. Not only Mahasi Ganjei and Razziyeh Ganjei, but there are more such that the femaile poets are known by their father: Dokhtar-e (Daughter of) Salar, Dokhtar-e (Daughter of) Satti, Dokhtar-i Sajastaniya, Dokhtar-i Hakim Gav.

pg 47 (Quatrains) and their significance: رباعی شعر زنده و جوشانه عامه‌ی مردم ایران بود، و می‌توان حدس زد که بیشتر همراه چنگ و نی سروده میشد: خنیاگران بزمها را بدان شور و شادی می‌بخشیدند، و صوفیان در مجلس‌های سماع از آن وجد و حال می‌یافتند. .. رباعی شعر پاکیزه و ناب ایران است. سخن دل است، به زبان دل. اینک تکلف و فضل‌فروشی و عالم‌نمایی راه ندارد. Translation of Pg 47: Quatrains are the living and lively poetry of the common folks. One can surmise that they were mainly song and accompanied by the harp and reed. The folk musician in their ceremonies brought them alive with joy. And the Sufis used them in the spiritual dance to accomplish ecstasy... The quatrain is a pure form of Iranian art. It is the speech of the heart, written for the heart. Here, there is no showing off in skill, complexity and knowledge.

Pg 28-46 is devoted on the Arranian Persian. Summary: differentiates between Arranian Persian and local Fahlavi dialects (Iranian vernacular dialects) of the area and the influence of Christian cultures and local Fahlavi dialects on the Persian of the area. He uses sources such as Muqaddesi, and other works which quote Estakhri and In Hawqal. Here are the quotes from referenced along other sources: On Muqaddesi: Al-Muqaddasi (d. late 4th/10th cent.) considers Azerbaijan and Arran as part of the 8th division of lands. He states: “The languages of the 8th division is Iranian (al-’ajamyya). It is partly Dari and partly convoluted (monqaleq) and all of them are named Persian” (Al-Moqaddasi, Shams ad-Din Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Ahmad, Ahsan al-Taqasi fi Ma’rifa al-Aqalim, Translated by Ali Naqi Vizieri, Volume One, First Edition, Mu’alifan and Mutarjiman Publishers, Iran, 1981, pg 377.) المقدسي، شمس‌الدين ابوعبدالله محمدبن احمد، احسن التقاسيم في معرفه الاقاليم، ترجمه دكتر علينقي وزيري، جلد 1، چاپ اول، انتشارات مؤلفان و مترجمان ايران، 1361، ص 377. Al-Muqaddasi also writes on the general region of Armenia, Arran and Azerbaijan and states: “They have big beards, their speech is not attractive. In Arminya they speak Armenian, in al-Ran, Ranian (Aranian); Their Persian is understandable, and is close to Khurasanian (Dari Persian) in sound” (Al-Muqaddasi, ‘The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions’, a translation of his Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Ma’rifat al-Aqalim by B.A. Collins, Centre for Muslim Contribution to Civilization, Garnet Publishing Limited,1994. pg 334). On Istakhri: Estakhri of 10th century also states: “In Azerbeijan, Armenia and Arran they speak Persian and Arabic, except for the area around the city of Dabil: they speak Armenian around that city, and in the country of Barda people speak Arranian.” Original Arabic: و لسان اذربيجان و ارمينيه و الران الفارسيه و العربيه غير ان اھل دبيل و حواليھا یتکلمون بالارمنيه، و نواحی بردعه لسانھم ارانيه (Estakhari, Abu Eshaq Ebrahim. Masalek va Mamalek. Bonyad Moqufat Dr. Afshar, Tehran, 1371 (1992-1993)) Russian: http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Kavkaz/Karaulov/frametext1.htm Information Arab writers of the Caucasus, Armenia and Aderbeydzhane : I. Al - Istahri / / collection of materials for the description of places and tribes of the Caucasus, Vol. 29 . Tiflis. 1901 Текст воспроизведен по изданию: Сведения арабских писателей о Кавказе, Армении и Адербейджане: I. Ал-Истахрий // Сборник материалов для описания местностей и племен Кавказа, Вып. 29. Тифлис. 1901 Excerpt: “Язык в Адербейджане, Армении и Арране персидский и арабский, исключая области города Дабиля: вокруг него говорят по-армянски: в стране Берда'а язык арранский.” . This is evidence of the existence of the cultivation of poetry in Persian in northwestern Persia at the beginning of the 9th century and that Ibn Ba’ith must have been Iranicised to a consider extent. Also by the 9th/10th centuries, Persian was becoming widespread in the urban centers of Arran and Sherwan. Professor. Riyahi believes that unlike the opinion of some Soviet era writers(and some who repeated them), Nozhat al-Majales decisively proves that it was the general Iranian culture of the area with both the Fahlavi language and Arranian Persian that was responsible for the Iranicization of Shirvanshahs (originally of Arabic descent) and other rulers of the area, and the spread of Iranian culture. According to him, it was the Iranian culture of the region (which according to him was in constant contact with other cultures of the Caucasus) that imposed itself on the courts (citing the extensive amount of poets, the use of Fahlavi vernacular, use of idiom in the language, majority of the poets not being associated with courts and having common jobs, as well as the number of women poets) and not due to the Iranian and Iraniczied rulers of the area.

The school flourished in the 11th-12th century for around three generations and is mainly associated with the courts of the Shirvanshah. However, In contrast to poets from other parts of Persia, who mostly belonged to higher echelons of society such as scholars, bureaucrats, and secretaries, a good number of poets in the northwestern areas rose from among the common people with working class backgrounds, and they frequently used colloquial expressions in their poetry. They are referred to as water carrier (saqqāʾ), sparrow dealer (ʿoṣfori), saddler (sarrāj), bodyguard (jāndār), oculist (kaḥḥāl), blanket maker (leḥāfi), etc., which illustrates the overall use of Persian in that region. It was at a time when the area was at the age of "full spread of Persian language and culture of Iran", with an Iranian population and the regional Fahlavi dialects. It is noteworthy, however, that in the period under discussion, the Caucasus region was entertaining a unique mixture of ethnic cultures. Ḵāqāni's mother was a Nestorian Christian, Mojir Baylqāni's mother was an Armenian, and Neẓāmi's mother was a Kurd. Their works reflect the cultural and linguistic diversity of the region. The most significant merit of Nozhat al-majāles, as regards the history of Persian literature, is that it embraces the works of some 115 poets from the northwestern Iran (Arrān, Šarvān, Azerbaijan; including 24 poets from Ganja alone), where, due to the change of language, the heritage of Persian literature in that region has almost entirely vanished.

"The centripetal tendency is evident in the unity of Persian literature from the points of view of language and content and also in the sense of civic unity. Even the Caucasian Nizami, although living on the far-flung periphery, does not manifest a different spirit and apostrophizes Iran as the Heart of the World".

Among notable figures of this school are Qatran Tabrizi, Khaqani, Nezami and Falaki Shirvani. Nizami's strong character, his social sensibility, and his poetic genius fused with his rich Persian cultural heritage to create a new standard of literary achievement. Using themes from the oral tradition and written historical records, his poems unite pre-Islamic and Islamic Iran. Khaqani’s is noted for his extremely rich imagery, drawn from and alluding to a wide range of fields of knowledge—a mannerist, in an even higher degree than other classical Persian poets, both in the way he absorbs and transforms the poetry of his predecessors and in his love of paradox. Due to change of language, the heritage of Persian literature in the area has almost entirely vanished.

Some more comments. Arranian, Azerbaijani, Shirvani, Tabrizi, Trans-Caucasian School of poetry
From original works of Safa, Shafagaqzadeh, Foruzanfar who do not talk about "School of Azerbaijan" but rather poetry in the Caucasus (Arran) and Azerbaijan and its special features (Christian imagery more Arabic vocabulary). So Sakina Berengian has wrongly quoted these authors and attributed these terms to them. Having an "Azerbaijan school of poetry", "Arranian school of poetry" or Trans-caucasian poetry does not define nationality, ethnicity or even regionality. Because for example someone like Saib Tabrizi and many other poets of Iran (specially in the Safavid era) followed the Indian style of poetry (Indian school) while someone of them never even set foot in India. None of them were from India or even Indian. So that is a classic example of WP:synthesis to assign a style of poetry with certain non-existent ethnicity concepts of the time. Also Qatran Tabrizi was clearly Iranian (lived before the Seljuq invasion even)(who is credited with the school) but had Western Persian (Fahlavi) language (which did not have the East Iranian words of Khorasani Persian).

From Chelkowski (Mirror of-the Invisible World)"Nizami's strong character, his social sensibility, and his poetic genius fused with his rich Persian cultural heritage to create a new standard of literary achievement. Using themes from the oral tradition and written historical records, his poems unite pre-Islamic and Islamic Iran"(pp6, Mirror of the Invsibile World(1975)) "Probably no Persian writer has inspired succeeding generation of poets more than Nizami"(pp 9, Mirror of the Invisible World) ""Khosrow and Shirin" proved to be a literary turning point not only for Nizami but for all of Persian poetry. Furthermore it was the first poem in Persian literature to achieve complete structural and artistic unity"(pp6, Mirror of the Invisible World(1975)), The Encyclopedia of Islam(Leiden one) article on Nezami is also a complete survey from a Nezami expert (Chelkowski).

To Rypka (whose work is now from almost 50 years ago and have been supplemented by much newer works Nozhat al-Majales and the book by Francois De Blois,etc.) “The centripetal tendency is evident in the unity of Persian literature from the points of view of language and content and also in the sense of civic unity. Even the Caucasian Nizami, although living on the far-flung periphery, does not manifest a different spirit and apostrophizes Iran as the Heart of the World. “(pg 76, History of Iranian literature)

Peter Chelkowski Literature in Pre-Safavid Isfahan // International Society for Iranian Studies Iranian Studies, Vol. 7, No. 1/2. — Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of International Society for Iranian Studies, 1974. — С. 112-131. The three main literary styles which follow each other consecutively are known as: Khurasani, Iraqi, and Hindi. The time spans of each style are equally flexible. Within these broad geographical divisions we then come across certain "literary schools" which reflect regional peculiarities and idiosyncrasies and are identified with smaller entities like provinces or towns. For example, there are: the Azerbayjani school, the Tabriz school, or the Shirvan school. This paper deals with literature in Isfahan in pre-Safavid times. ... Let us now compare Isfahan with other areas encom-passed within the range of this style. Despite its central position between the two great poles of literary activity, namely, Azerbayjan and Fars, Isfahan loses even in compar-ison with provincial Kirman, not to mention Hamadan which played at that time a very important political and cul-tural role. Azerbayjan became the heir to the Khurasani style. Here Qatran, the oldest poet of Azerbayjan, wrote his panegyrics for the rulers of Ganjah and Tabriz. Here Khiqani developed his extraordinary qasidah style with its strange composition, compounds, fancy imaginings and exotic similes and metaphors. Khaqani could be termed as one of the greatest poets of Iran and the cornerstone of the ‘Iraqi style. In Azerbayjan, MujIr, the follower of Khaqani, brought the style to its apogee. Here lived and died the greatest romantic poet of Persia, Nizimi. This drama-tist of love and life became the unsurpassed model for countless multilingual poets, writers and playwrights in the area stretching from the Caucasus to the Indian Ocean and from Central Asia to equatorial Africa. A score of the lesser known but good poets of Azerbayjan would amount to at least ten names.

Then the following is quoted in the Russian wikipedia: "Amonth those Persian writers who recognize "Azerbaijani" as a major school with particular references are: Shafag, R., Tarikh-e Adabiyat (Tehran, 1936), 212 ff.; Safa.Z., Tarikh-e Adabiyat dar Iran (Tehran, 1957), II, 342 ff.; Shahriyar. M.H., introduction to his Divan, IV, 6; Foruzanfar, B., Sokhan va Sokhanvaran, II, part 1, 1334."(Sakina Berengian Azeri and Persian literary works in twentieth century Iranian Azerbaijan. — Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag, 1988. — 238 с. — ISBN 3922968694) My comment However in actuality, none of these authors use the term "Azerbaijani school" or "Azerbaijani style". They simply write about the Arabic words, high symbolism and Christian phrases used by poets such as Khaqani.

My general comment: The regional styles (which still do not have a single unified name) are in reality subset of one of three major styles. This style of poetry, if we assume Rypka's text, was initiated with Qatran Tabrizi whose language was a Fahlavi dialect. Francois De Blois, Persian Literature - A Biobibliographical Survey: Volume V Poetry of the Pre-Mongol Period Volume 5 of Persian Literature, Routledge, 2004. 2nd edition. pg 187: "The point of the anectode is clear that the diwans of these poets contained Eastern Iranian (i.e. Sogdian etc.) words that were incomprehensible to a Western Persian like Qatran, who consquently took advantage of an educated visitor from the East, Nasir, to ascertain their meaning " He was not Turkish. Or for example many poets in Iran followed the Indian style. None of them were Indian or wrote Indian poetry. So an attempt to de-Iranianize(de-Persianize) these poets has no success. Specially if one wants to claim Turkish culture in the area, they have to bring an equivalent of Nozhat al-Majales. Dr. Amin Riyahi calls the style, the "Arranian style" and has done a good study upon it in the introduction of Nozhat al-Majales.

Ultimately, whatever one calls it:"Tabriz style, Sherwan style, Azerbaijani school, Arranian style, Trans-caucasian school"..none of these have to do with any particular ethnic or national identity concepts.

Enquirer about the Nezami article and a Russian wikiwebsite with random quotes
ip Commentor/Questioner:

Azeris - is a Turkic-speaking Shi'ite Muslims of eastern Transcaucasia and northern Iran, the Caucasus-Iranian origin with Oghuz component, but not turks. Pakistan does not recognize Armenia. Turkey closed the border with her because of solidarity with Azerbaijan. I understand that Iran does not want to interfere, but what it means to Pakistan to Azerbaijan and that means Iran to Azerbaijan.

Here is what the enquirer wrote: --- Let's create an article on Nizami section called Nizami in Azerbaijan. See the world's second publication in the world in the Azeri language in the world was about Nizami in 1813. In the section you can specify this source. Azeri historiography Bakikhanov counted Nizami to their compatriots. Kocharlinski in 1903, included Nizami in the fundamental work Literature of aderbeydzhan Tatars (at that time, Russian authorities have called the Azerbaijanis). This and many other things have to mention. Nizami in Azerbaijan revered very much. The paper should show how Azerbaijan revered Nizami. The paper should show how Azerbaijan revered Nizami. I do not want to offend you, but Rafsanjani did not try to improve relations with Azerbaijan + unrest among Iranian Azeris (Khiyabani, Pishevari, uprising in 1982, cartoon scandal in 2006). I am sure that Iran will return Azerbaijan as a brother (problems between Persians and Azeris became very much), but Nizami unites two people. In Azerbaijan, a specialized sources indicate that he wrote in Persian. In the section about the role of Nizami in Azerbaijan can write what scientists believe Azerbaijani poet Nizami. The section about the role of Nizami Azerbaijan can write some scholars point to the Nizami as Azerbaijani poet.

This must be stated
 * memory

In Baku, Ganja and other cities of Azerbaijan has numerous monuments of Nizami, his name streets and areas. Also Nizami monument erected in the Russian city of Cheboksary, and the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Moscow.

Named after him^

-
 * Nizami Gəncəvi — metro station in Baku.
 * High School Engineering and Physical Sciences named after Nizami (Sumgait).
 * Tashkent State Pedagogical Institute named after Nizami.
 * Town in Armenia.
 * Institute of Literature. Nizami of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences
 * Museum of Azerbaijan Literature named after Nizami.
 * Park named after Nizami (Baku).
 * Nizami — a crater on Mercury.
 * Villages Nizami in Goranboy and in Sabirabad regions of Azerbaijan.
 * Settlement and raion in Baku. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.76.67.12 (talk) 18:45, 9 September 2010 (UTC)

Response to ip commentator
Dear Friend,

Well I agree with your definition of Azerbaijanis, however in the country of Azerbaijan itself, it has mentioned it as one of the six Turkic states. Under Turkic peoples the Azeris are mentioned with Kryghyz, Yakuts, Anatolian Turks, Kazakhs and etc. Now is Azeri closer to Persian or to the Yakut? In Azerbaijani wikipedia, the Medes are mentioned as Turks. So unless these are changed (and I mean academically not in wikipedia), then there is no point to pursue that angle. I wish it was different, but the pattern I see is that to first claim something as Azerbaijani then Turkify it.

I am not interested in talking about politics. Aliev, Rafsanjani, Khamenei, Elchibey and etc are not my type of people. I do not like them. But there has been some hostility towards the average Iranian-speaker/Persian for a long time due to pan-Turkism mentality. After Armenians, and Russians.. probably your average Iranians/Persians are considered an enemy (which is unfortunate). Khiyabani by the way was not a separatist, and actually wanted to spread Persian language. He also protested the name of Azerbaijan for Caucasus.. that is a separate story. Pishevari was a separatist supported by the Soviets. Also the 2006 cartoon was misintepreted and had nothing to do with Azerbaijanis. I think all of us did not choose where we are born. So there is no point to make enemies. I could have very well enetered a Turk, Armenian or Mexican body. As I said, I hope there is complete peace established between Armenia and Azerbaijan. What the Iranian, Azerbaijani, Armenian governments do is something that I have no control over and can do nothing about. Ultimately, I do believe as long as there is humans, there will always be good and bad. Humans are pretty much like animals unless they work on themselves. Nationalism in the extreme form that we see, is nothing but animalistic tribalism (where a certain Gorilla or Primate group kills another Gorilla/Primate group). It will limit the growth of the mind (due to clouding the mind). Humans can elevate themselves beyond animals, but getting involved in politics, will put enough shackles on your feet, so you won't be able to achieve this. So that is why, please do not talk to me about Aliev, Rafsanjani, Khamenei, etc.

Now what I am going to write to you about Nezami (which you wrote), you should keep in mind that I am using the popular (one that is in wikipedia as well academician) definition of "Azerbaijani" which means people that speak an Oghuz Turkic language and identify themselves mainly as Turk and the majority of them call their language as "Turki" (in Iran no one uses Azerbaijani). So if what I say might feel somewhat straight forward and assertive, it is because that is the primary definition.

On Nezami article the main thing is to make sure it follows guidelines of Wikipedia (to the extent possible without disturbing the crazy eco-system here).

Also an article on Nezami is about 12th century, overview of him and his work. Not about the things you mentioned. Azerbaijan is listed as one of the countries that appreciates his heritage. Else much more important than what you stated, is the hundreds of manuscripts of his works. I personally do not think you can appreciate a poet's heritage without living through the language of the poet. But anyhow, it is there.

Also the author of that wikipedia page is simply wrong to claim Seljuqs started Persian poetry in Arran. Best response is Muhammad ibn Ba'ith, Nozhat al-Majales (see Istakhri), and Qatran Tabrizi. Also Shirvanshahs were pretty independent of Saljuqs as were Eldiguzids at that time. If Persian came during Seljuqs, then how come Istarkhri mentions it in Arran? Or Muqaddesi?

Here is a good source contradicting that: История Востока. В 6 т. Т. 2. Восток в средние века. М., «Восточная литература», 2002. ISBN 5-02-017711-3 (History of the East. In 6 volumes. Volume 2. Moscow, publishing house of the Russian Academy of sciences «East literature»): The polyethnic population of Albania left-bank at this time is increasingly moving to the Persian language. Mainly this applies to cities of Aran and Shirvan, as begin from 9-10 centuries named two main areas in the territory of Azerbaijan. With regard to the rural population, it would seem, mostly retained for a long time, their old languages, related to modern Daghestanian family, especially Lezgin. (russian text: Пестрое в этническом плане население левобережнoй Албании в это время все больше переходит на персидский язык. Главным образом это относится к городам Арана и Ширвана, как стали в IX-Х вв. именоваться два главные области на территории Азербайджана. Что касается сельского населения, то оно, по-видимому, в основном сохраняло еще долгое время свои старые языки, родственные современным дагестанским, прежде всего лезгинскому.

Anyhow, we use modern scholarly Western and Western published sources that are related to the field of Nezami studies WP:RS. Specially within the last 30 years or so. If we are to follow wikipedia guidelines, then there are 6-10x more sources (and not the type of Shaffer, Altsdat but actual scholarly sources) that consider him a Persian poet. Based on this alone, WP:weight, he needs to be introduced as a Persian poet.

As per Kocharlinski, it does not meet WP:RS and again from 1903. It is not a Western scholar. I took a look here: "Maliheh S. Tyrrell Aesopian literary dimensions of Azerbaijani literature of the Soviet period, 1920-1990. — USA: Lexington Books, 2001.. It states: "He(Kocharli) maintains, however, that genuine Azerbaijani literature in the contemporary Azeri language began with the poems of Mullah Panah Vagif (1717-1797)".  Either way, 1903 is outdated.  We are writing a work on Nezami Ganjavi and must use modern Western up to date source from Nezami scholars.  I am not sure what relevance it has that an Azerbaijani scientist considers Nezami to be a Tatar.  There are literarlly dozens if not hundreds of google book sources from Western writes 1900 or so that state his background as Iranian/persian.  So such a thing is not even useful for Nezami article.

I think I have compromised enough on this issue: 1) He is overwhelmingly considered a Persian poet, and by 100% of the Nezami experts. However this is not the introduction.

2) The Azerbaijani alphabet/language or concept of ethnicity separate from Persians did not exist at that time (they were Persians). But his name is quoted in a non-existent latin alphabet for 12th century, in the introduction.  By all means that is breaking wikipedia policy.  But since it does not harm, fine. Its major anachronism.

3) The country of Azerbaijan where his work was only translated in 20th century is mentioned in the introduction, despite the fact that virtually no one there can read Nezami in its original.

4) I removed about 10 sources talking about USSR politicizing Nezami and nation building. Why?  Because that issue belongs outside of Wikipedia since we do not want the same problems as Russian wikipedia.  All of these sources meet WP:RS and some are specialist on politicization (making them relavent), however they were left out.  Random criticsm and WP:OR by random wiki-users for example is not enough to delete them.  However, I did  because I am not interested.

'''And the compromise is not because I think it is right, but because this is wikipedia where everyone must co-exist and wiki-ecology must not be disturbed too much as it wastes time. '''

Anyhow, in that page you mentioned, I'll make some comments.

I have looked at that site you mentioned. Except for Chelkowski, Meisami, Francois de Blois, Van Ruymbeke, Talatoff (who are actual Nezami experts/writers) and who always consistently call Nezami a Persian poet (never Azerbaijani poet), the rest of it is simply no relation to a biography on Nezami or Nezami studies. I will demonstrate that a good portion of the non-Nezami authors you mentioned are not even adept at history. None of the others authors have any relationship to Nezami. Also Nezami lived in the 12th century, so you are talking about 1813 (600+ year) that a work on Eskadarnama was written. I wonder what was the first wok by the way. Or the first 10 works. I do not right now have time to check that source, but would not be suprised if other Persian works are listed among the first ten.. The website you brought, is just a collection of random quotes, half of them also selectively quoted. For example. Lets look at what is quoted from Chelkowski (who is a real scholar) from that same book. I have stored this in the box above. The book is more easily accessible and can be found in major libraries.

Chelkowski
Lets take one of the authoritative authors (among the 5 or 6 that was mentioned which none of them call Nezami anything but a Persian poet). Here is the part that is quoted in the site you mentioned.  "The great Persian authority on Nizami, Vahid Dastgerdi, calls "Khosrow and Shirin" "the best historical fable of love and chastity, the treasture of eloquence, counsel, and wisdom." The foremost Russian specialist E. E. Bertels, believes that "Khosrow and Shirin" is "one of the greatest masterpieces, not only in Azarbaijani but in world literature. For the first time in poetry of the Near East, the personality of a human being has been shown with all its richness, with all its contradictions and ups and down". Now here is the whole quote: ""The great Persian authority on Nizami, Vahid Dastgerdi, calls "Khosrow and Shirin" "the best historical fable of love and chastity, the treasture of eloquence, counsel, and wisdom." The foremost Russian specialist E. E. Bertels, believes that "Khosrow and Shirin" is "one of the greatest masterpieces, not only in Azarbaijani but in world literature. For the first time in poetry of the Near East, the personality of a human being has been shown with all its richness, with all its contradictions and ups and down". J. Rypka in his comprehensive study of Iranian literature writes of "Khosrow and Shirin": "It is the story of the love and sorrow of a princess and a women and a wife, in its sincerity unequaled by any other work in Persian literature"(page 48)

Why is that last sentence cut off? So now the issue becomes, what is Chelkowski's own opinion(the one that is important for Wikipedia)? "The five epic poems represent a total of close to 30,000 couplets and they constitute a breakthrough in Persian literature." (Chelkowski, P. "Nizami Gandjawi, jamal al-Din Abu Muhammad Ilyas b. Yusuf b. Zaki Muayyad . Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2008. Brill Online)

Not once in such a specialized article do you see any other term as "Azerbaijan poetry", "Azerbaijani literature" Here are also some other quotes (from Chelkowski himsef) not quoted by that author of that page. "Probably no Persian writer has inspired succeeding generation of poets more than Nizami"(Mirror of the Invisible World)

So if you want to write influence, then this is much more important than 1813 book... ""Khosrow and Shirin" proved to be a literary turning point not only for Nizami but for all of Persian poetry. Furthermore it was the first poem in Persian literature to achieve complete structural and artistic unity"(pp6, Mirror of the Invisible World(1975)) pp 2;"During the last quarter of the twelfth century, when Nizami began his Khamseh, Seljuq supremacy was on the decline and political unrest and social ferments were increasing. However, Persian culture characteristically flourished when political power was diffused rather than centralized, and so Persian remained the primary language, Persian civil servants were in great demand, Persian merchants were successful, and princedoms continued to vie for the service of Persian poets. This was especially true in Ganjeh, the Caucasian outpost town where Nizami lived."(same book) pp1: "The culture of Nizami's Persia is renowned for its deep-rooted tradition and splendor. In pre-Islamic times, it had developed extraordinarily rich and exact means of expression in music, architecture, and daily life as well as in writing, although Iran, its center--or, as the poets believed, its heart--was continually overrun by invading armies and immigrants, this tradition was able to absorb, transform, and ultimately ocercome foreign intrusion.  Alexander the Great was only one of many conquerors, to be seduced by the Persian way of life." pp 9:"The memorization and recitation of their literary heritage has alway beens vital to Iranians, whose attitude towards the power of the written and spoken word is revential. Even today the national passion for poetry is constantly expressed over radio and television, in teahouses, in literary socities, in daily conversation, and in the Musha'areh, the poetry recitation contest.  Nizami's work serves as a vehicle and a symbol of this tradition, for it unites universality with deep-rooted artistic endeavor, a sense of justice and passion for the arts and sciences with spirituallity and genuine piety.  for richness and fineness of metaphor, accuracy, and profundity of psychological observation, and sheer virtuosity of storytelling, Nizami is unequalled" Peter J. Chelkowski, "Mirror of the Invisible World", New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. pp 6: "Nizami's strong character, his social sensibility, and his poetic genius fused with his rich Persian cultural heritage to create a new standard of literary achievement. Using themes from the oral tradition and written historical records, his poems unite pre-Islamic and Islamic Iran", Chelkowski, P. "Nizami Gandjawi, jamal al-Din Abu Muhammad Ilyas b. Yusuf b. Zaki Muayyad . Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2008. Brill Online. Excerpt one:"Nizami Gandjawi, Djamal al-Din Abu Muhammad Ilyas b. Yusuf b. Zaki Muʾayyad, one of the greatest Persian poets and thinkers."

More Chelkowski: Chelkowski, P. "Nezami's Iskandarnameh:"in Colloquio sul poeta persiano Nizami e la leggenda iranica di Alessandro magno, Roma,1977). pp 10: "The Persian legend of Alexander the Great seems to overshadow all of the other fantastic Alexander stories not only in the tale of the successful accomplishment of many a "mission-impossible" but especially concerning the nature of his career. In Iran he rose from the stature of a damned evil conquerer of the country, to that of a national Iranian hero king, and even more, to that of the great prophet of God, preparing all the nations for the true religion. Yet the Persian legend of Alexander is very little known in the Western world."" pp 13: "Nizami was a typical product of the Iranian culture. He created a bridge between Islamic Iran and pre-Islamic Iran and also between Iran and the whole ancient world. His great humanism, strong character, sensibility, drama, colorful description of nature, rich language, and the poetic genius created a new standard of literary achievements and captured the imagination of countless imitators". pg 17: "In the case of previous romances of Khosraw and Bahram, Nizami dealt with national Iranian heroes, though from pre-Islamic times. In the tale of Layla and Majnun, the Arab nationality of the lover is of no importance since the story is based on a simple Arab folktale which was later absorbed and embellished by the Persians". pp 19: "Alexander was glorified by the Muslims as a divine agent, a prophet-king and the blessed conquerer of the lands that were to become the stronghold of Islam. To some Muslims, Islam was a realization of Alexander's "koine" --- a commonwealth where people could live in harmony and in peace of heart and mind. In this atmosphere attempts were made to make out of Alexander not only a Muslim but a Persian as well". pg 21: "However, it was not Tabari directly, but Ferdowsi who was Nizami's source of inspiration and material in composing Iskandarnameh. Nizami constantly alludes to the Shahnameh in his writing, especially in the prologue to the Iskandarnameh. It seems that he was always fascinated by the work of Firdawsi and made it a goal of his life to write an heroic epic of the same stature. pg22: "It seems that Nezami's favorite pastime was reading Firdawsi's monumental epic Shahnameh (The book of Kings)". pg 22: "In fact, although Alexander conquered Iran, he was soon conquered by Persian customs and ways of life. In many aspects he was so overwhelmed by Persian civilization that he became more Persian than the Persians. He tried to make a blend of the Greek and Persian civilization --- even genetically, when he sponsered mass marriages between his troops and Persian women. He himself married Roxane (Rowshanak) the daughter of the Sogdian prince -- not the daughter of Darius the Third, as both Firdawsi and Nizami believed. Like Alexander, Arabs, Turks, Mongols and other people who overran the Iranian plateau also came under the spell of Persian culture. Foreign invaders remained to become contributors and patrons of Persian art and culture. To give one example, some of Nizami's benefactors were of Turkic stock."

So Chelkowski is clear. Nezami Ganjavi is a Persian poet, thinker, a product of the Iranian culture of his time and also part of Persian literature.

Interesting enough, in the Encyclopedia of Islam, Chelkowski even cuts that portion of Bertels (because it is anachronistic and non-historical): "The great Persian authority on Niẓāmī, Waḥīd Dastgirdī, calls Ḵh̲usraw wa S̲h̲īrīn “the best historical fable of love and chastity, the treasure of eloquence, counsel and wisdom,” whilst Bertels believed that Ḵhusraw wa Shīrīn is “one of the great masterpieces of world literature. For the first time in the poetry of the Near East, the personality of a human being has been shown with all its richness, with all its contradictions and ups and downs.” "(Chelkowski, P. "Nizami Gandjawi, jamal al-Din Abu Muhammad Ilyas b. Yusuf b. Zaki Muayyad . Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2008. Brill Online) So here is the more recent work, even disregarding the other part of Bertels.

Lambton
Again the whole quote was not brought..

Ann Katharine Swynford Lambton The Azarbaijan problem / The World Today, NS, n, 2. - Oxford University Press, 1946. - S. 48-57

Here is the whole quote: "When Persia emerged as a national State in the modern sense of the word in the 16th century under the Safavids, it was in Azarbaijan that the Safavid movement began. In modern times, when Persia decided to march with the west and set up a constitutional democratic Government, Azarbaijan was again one of the centres of the movement. Turning to the cultural field, some of the great figures of Persian literature - Nizami, Khaqani, Qatrani Tabrizi, and others - arc Azarbaijanis. Again Azarbaijan was probably the birthplace of the great Persian religious reformer, Zoroaster. The province, indeed, like Khurasan, Fars, and other provinces of Persia, has played its part in the national life and in forming the traditions of the country, of which it is, like them, an integral part. The Azarbaijani is a Persian first and an Azarbaijani secondly. The fact that he speaks Turki does not alter this fact: language is a notoriously unreliable guide to nationality. Some of the tribes of Fars also speak Turki, but no one has yet suggested that they are not Persians."

Azarbaijani here means from Azarbaijan which at the time had an Iranian population. Specifically Qatran Tabrizi for example was not a Turk. The name "Azerbaijani" as a usage for Turkic-speakers of the area is 19th/20th century phenomenon and does not hold for someone like Zarathustra/Qatran Tabrizi(and the rest of the names) who were Iranic-speaking Azerbaijanis.

We also do not consider sources from 1946, 1948 and etc (Lambton) whose work is not about Nezami. She also states:"The Azarbaijani is a Persian first and an Azarbaijani secondly". So can that be quoted in an Encyclopedia article on Azerbaijani people? Of course not. Either ways source is 65 years ago and not a specialized source about Nezami. Also "Azerbaijani" is a geographical term

I named all the modern Nezami experts Talatoff, Van Ruymbeke, Francois de Blois, Chelkowski. Rypka is Soviet source, but he is also quoted that Azerbaijan considers Nezami as its native son (in the footnotes). For example Rypka also mentions this: “The centripetal tendency is evident in the unity of Persian literature from the points of view of language and content and also in the sense of civic unity. Even the Caucasian Nizami, although living on the far-flung periphery, does not manifest a different spirit and apostrophizes Iran as the Heart of the World." (quoted in my box above). Note being a Soviet source, Rypka simply uses the worrd "apostrophizes".  However Nezami's statement is more than that.  The actual translation from Julie Meysami is this (when Nezami is addressing the Ahmadili ruler): The world's a body, Iran its heart, No shame to him who says such a word Iran, the world's most precious heart, excels the body, there is no doubt. Among the realms that kings posses, the best domain goes to the best. (Taken from Haft Paykar - translated by Julie Scott Meysami)

Now I am not going to insert this in the article, just because I like it. We simply need the article to focus on Nezami's work and genre. The rest of the issues of nationalistic sentiments has no value. As per his influence, that has been mentioned.

But from the page you quoted, the Nezami scholars I mentioned Chelkowski, Van Ruymbeke, Francois de Blois, Talatoff, Meisami...are quoted. These have been referenced in the English article. However, simple random quotes from non-experts are not sufficient to be included in an article. The article needs modern sources, and those written by Nezami experts. Virtually 90% of the quotes in that page are not from nezami experts. For example someone like Brenda Shaffer is a psuedo-scholar at best and has no knowledge of Persian. So obviously it does not meet WP:RS for Nezami.

Note someone like Qatran Tabrizi, he was Azarbaijani (geographic) but Azarbaijani Iranic/Persian (not confined to Khorasani Persian see the section on the meaning of Persian). Rather Qatran Tabrizi actually bemoans the destruction brought by Oghuz tribes. Shireen T. Hunter, "Iran and Transcaucasia in Post-Soviet Era" in Central Asia meets the Middle East (David Menashri) Psychology Press, 1998 (pp 98-129)): "Despite these myths, the historical and cultural elements of which the ex-Soviet Azerbaijanis are most proud, such as being the land of Zoroaster and the poet Nizami, have distinctly Iranian origins and characters" "A striking example is the Persian poets of Azerbaijan Nizami Gandzhevi and Khagani Shirvani . But the number of lesser-known poets over at least two dozen . I wonder about that some of them, which, according to extremist Azeri nationalists written in Persian under duress , they write - mourn ( lament ) about the devastation that was brought to their country invading Turkic tribes . Chief among them - Katran -e- Tabrizi."

Note Shirin Hunter is not a literature/ancient history expert, but she is right here about Qatran Tabrizi.. The actual verses on Qatran Tabrizi and Turks are here:  Qatran Tabrizi was from the noble Dehqan Persian class speaking the Fahlavi languages of the region.

Claude Cahen
Here is another source:  It says: "Nizami, the great Persian poet of Azerbaijan" However,it states also: "Claude Cahen, “Pre-Ottoman Turkey: a general survey of the material and spiritual culture and history c. 1071-1330”, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1968. Pg 252: “…of the great Persian poet Nizami of Ganja (a town in the extreme north-west of Iran), and it is possible that he was acquainted with another poet,..”"

Rypka
Note I do not have currently this Rypka quote but from the web snippets I saw through google books, I can say that it actually does a big damage to Rypka himself as he has put a lot of Communistic notations and intrepretations on Nezami (which shows close affinity with the Statlinistic view of Nezami).

Here is the quote you probably mentioned: RypkaNizami / / Czechoslovak Society for Eastern Studies New Orient: Journal for the Modern and Ancient Cultures of Asia and Africa .. - Prague: 1961. - V. 2. - № 4 . - S. 111-133. "But as we have no indication of his having spent any length of time outside the gates of his native Gandja, we conclude that a high standard of education must have existed among the urban Mussilman communities in the Caucasus and in Gandja in particular. The mosaic of nationalities in the Caucasus in Nizami's time was probably not very different from what it is today. And even if we concede a larger number of inhabitants Persian as their mother-tonque, they were still no doubt a minority. What wonder then that Azerbaijan is not content to name the poet a native of Azerbaijan, but claim him as a member of the Turkish race. It cannot be denied that his mother, whom the poet himself, in his epic, Laili and Majnun, designates Kurdish Raysa, was of different (Iranian) origin. The undisputed supremacy of Persian culture, in which the Turkish tribes could only participate through the Persian tongue, makes understandable that Nizami should write in Persian. His mastery of the language is as unexampled as his command of thought. Only a detailed history of the Caucasian town can clear up the question of Nizami's nationality. Not even the Persians seem to have been quite sure of their ground. Only thus can we explain their interpolation of a verse in "The Treasury of Mysteries" in which the poet's birthplace is given at Qumm, that is in Persia proper. Not was he the only native of Azerbaijan to write in Persian. Qatran of Shadiabad, not much younger than Firdawsi, the century-later panegyrist, Abu-I-Ala of Gandja, and then Falaki and Khagani, all poets of the first water, the last-named, indeed, one of the greatest masters of court poetry, are among them."

Comments: Rypka (1961) 50 year old USSR source. Contradicts Nozhat al-Majales, de Blois (2004) and also Kirakaros Ganjkesti, Kirakos of Gandzak and all modern sources. Since Rypka states: "The mosaic of nationalities in the Caucasus in Nizami's time was probably not very different from what it is today." whereas modern sources state that the population at that time was different. For one thing, the number of Christians was probably more than Muslims at the time. Another thing is even the data on the number of Tats, Kurds, and Talysh in the 19th century show a much higher percentage than they do today.

Here is a source (2004) (which is better than 1961 and has probably used the new discoveries such as Nozhat al-Majales (published in 1987 which the USSR did not mention or accessed)):

C. A. (Charles Ambrose) Storey and François de Blois (2004), "Persian Literature - A Biobibliographical Survey: Volume V Poetry of the Pre-Mongol Period.", RoutledgeCurzon; 2nd revised edition (June 21, 2004). ISBN 0947593470. Pg 363: "Nizami Ganja’i, whose personal name was Ilyas, is the most celebrated native poet of the Persians after Firdausi. His nisbah designates him as a native of Ganja (Elizavetpol, Kirovabad) in Azerbaijan, then still a country with an Iranian population, and he spent the whole of his life in Transcaucasia; the verse in some of his poetic works which makes him a native of the hinterland of Qom is a spurious interpolation."

Note the portion: then still a country with an Iranian population(confirmed by Kirakos of Ganja) directly contradicts Rypka who states:"The mosaic of nationalities in the Caucasus in Nizami's time was probably not very different".

Also was does not use "probably" in Encyclopaedia.. given that Rypka does not source his statement and has overlooked Kirakos of Ganja, Nozhat al-majales(published in 1987) and etc, and given the source is from 50 years ago, and given that it was written under USSR.. it has no value for Wikipedia.

Here are some errors: " Not even the Persians seem to have been quite sure of their ground. Only thus can we explain their interpolation of a verse in "The Treasury of Mysteries" in which the poet's birthplace is given at Qumm, that is in Persia proper" In actuality such a verse does not exist in the "The Treasury of Mysteries".. The verse in question is in the Eskandarnama.. Also the Qum thing happened from at least the 16th century, long before the modern era of nationalism. I don't have the full article yet, but would not suprised that it has been quoted selectively. For example, he concedes: "undisputed supremacy of Persian culture"

For example this is also found in the same Rypka (1961) article: "In this epos, and, if we except Layli and Majnun, in all his his other epic poems, the poet draws on Iranian materials, especially those having some connection with Azerbaijan."  Here Azerbaijan is geographic, but the fact is the poet draws on "Iranian materials" from that region. Not Turkic materials.

I have not read the whole aticle (it is afterall from 50 years ago and a USSR source), but I have seen other snippets where he tries to downplay Nezami being a Muslim from the same article. The article strikes me as more of a communist type literature and I think it actually provides good proof of the shadow of the USSR on researchers who wanted to write about Nezami. I can confirm this once I read the whole article, but the snippets I have seen already partially confirm this\

Now the other books of Rypka were published in 1968 but they were also written at most by 1960 or 1964.. (since he died in 1968). Anyhow we can say they are at least 45 to 50 years old. Rpyka 1968.. not quoted fully and selectively again. I have put more quotes in the box (above) but here are some of them He also states: a) “The centripetal tendency is evident in the unity of Persian literature from the points of view of language and content and also in the sense of civic unity. Even the Caucasian Nizami, although living on the far-flung periphery, does not manifest a different spirit and apostrophizes Iran as the Heart of the World." b) Jan Rypka (Rypka, Jan. ‘Poets and Prose Writers of the Late Saljuq and Mongol Periods’, in The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5, The Saljuq and Mongol Periods, ed., Published January 1968. pg 578:As the scene of the greatest flowering of the panegyrical qasida, southern Caucasia occupies a prominent place in New Persian literary history. But this region also gave to the world Persia’s finest creator of romantic epics. Hakim Jamal al-din Abu Muhammad Ilyas b. Yusuf b. Zaki b. Mu’ayyad Nizami a native of Ganja in Azarbaijan, is an unrivaled master of thoughts and words, a poet whose freshness and vigor all the succeeding centuries have been unable to dull. Little is known of his life, the only source being his own works, which in many cases provided no reliable information. We can only deduce that he was born between 535 and 540 (1140-46) and that his background was urban. Modern Azarbaijan is exceedingly proud of its world famous son and insists that he was not just a native of the region, but that he came from its own Turkic stock. At all events his mother was of Iranian origin, the poet himself calling her Ra’isa and describing her as Kurdish. ("The Poetry of Nizami Ganjavi: Knowledge, Love, and Rhetortics", New York, 2001. pg 2: "His father, Yusuf and mother, Rai'sa, died while he was still relatively young, but maternal uncle, Umar, assumed responsibility for him)" c) Rypka contradiction again with modern sources with regards to Shirvanshah:

Rypka: “The school which began with Qatran (d. 1072), formed a well defined group of teachers and pupils of whom two, Khaqani and Nizami, were to exert a lasting influence on the entire development of their respective genere: Khaqani being the greatest exponent of the qasida and Nizami the most brilliant writer of romantic epics. Apart from the latter poet, all the others were attached to courts, even though Persian was not the language of the princes whose praised they sang. But these patrons should not be over-idealized; their mood, often ensuing imprisonment were common perils of the poet ”( Rypka, Jan. ‘Poets and Prose Writers of the Late Saljuq and Mongol Periods’, in The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5, The Saljuq and Mongol Periods, ed., Published January 1968. pg 569)

Barthold, W., C.E. Bosworth Shirwan Shah, Sharwan Shah. - Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edition / P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. - Brill. We can also discern the progressive Persianisation of this originally Arab family (A process parallel to and contemporary with that of the Kurdicisation of the Rawwadids [qv] in Adharbaydjan). After the Shah Yazid b. Ahmad (381-418/991-1028), Arab names give way to Persian ones like Manuchihr, Kubadh, Faridun, etc., Very likely as a reflection of marriage links with local families, and possibly with that of the ancient rulers in Shabaran, the former capital, and the Yazidids now began to claim a nasab going back to Bahrain Gur or to Khusraw Anushirwan.

With regards to local language/idiom..Nozhat al-Majales makes it clear it was Persian and that Persian was an everyday language, not just the language of the courts: Nozhat al-Majales NOZHAT AL-MAJĀLES. Encyclopædia Iranica. 2010

"“In contrast to poets from other parts of Persia, who mostly belonged to higher echelons of society such as scholars, bureaucrats, and secretaries, a good number of poets in the northwestern areas rose from among the common people with working class backgrounds, and they frequently used colloquial expressions in their poetry. They are referred to as water carrier (saqqāʾ), sparrow dealer (ʿoṣfori), saddler (sarrāj), bodyguard (jāndār), oculist (kaḥḥāl), blanket maker (leḥāfi), etc., which illustrates the overall use of Persian in that region”(Nozhat al-Majales)"

Mcdonald
Lets look at another source  Points: a) Work is from 1963. b) Now Nozhat al-Majales contradicts it. c) Estkhari contradicts it.

See my comments on Persian/Iranian.

Estakhari, Abu Eshaq Ebrahim. Masalek va Mamalek. Bonyad Moqufat Dr. Afshar, Tehran, 1371 (1992-1993)) Russian: http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Kavkaz/Karaulov/frametext1.htm Information Arab writers of the Caucasus, Armenia and Aderbeydzhane : I. Al - Istahri / / collection of materials for the description of places and tribes of the Caucasus, Vol . 29 . Tiflis. 1901 Текст воспроизведен по изданию: Сведения арабских писателей о Кавказе, Армении и Адербейджане: I. Ал-Истахрий // Сборник материалов для описания местностей и племен Кавказа, Вып. 29. Тифлис. 1901 Excerpt: “Язык в Адербейджане, Армении и Арране персидский и арабский, исключая области города Дабиля: вокруг него говорят по-армянски: в стране Берда'а язык арранский.” There other sources that contradict it: History of the East. In 6 volumes. Volume 2. Moscow, publishing house of the Russian Academy of sciences «East literature»): The polyethnic population of Albania left-bank at this time is increasingly moving to the Persian language. Mainly this applies to cities of Aran and Shirvan, as begin from 9-10 centuries named two main areas in the territory of Azerbaijan. With regard to the rural population, it would seem, mostly retained for a long time, their old languages, related to modern Daghestanian family, especially Lezgin. (russian text: Пестрое в этническом плане население левобережнoй Албании в это время все больше переходит на персидский язык. Главным образом это относится к городам Арана и Ширвана, как стали в IX-Х вв. именоваться два главные области на территории Азербайджана. Что касается сельского населения, то оно, по-видимому, в основном сохраняло еще долгое время свои старые языки, родственные современным дагестанским, прежде всего лезгинскому.

author quotes Muqaddesi but not in full. Al-Muqaddasi also writes on the general region of Armenia, Arran and Azerbaijan and states: “They have big beards, their speech is not attractive. In Arminya they speak Armenian, in al-Ran, Ranian (Aranian); Their Persian is understandable, and is close to Khurasanian (Dari Persian) in sound” (Al-Muqaddasi, ‘The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions’, a translation of his Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Ma’rifat al-Aqalim by B.A. Collins, Centre for Muslim Contribution to Civilization, Garnet Publishing Limited,1994. pg 334).

Author says: "Ibn Hawqal (tenth century) mentions Arrani as still being spoken in Arran" However, Ibn Hawal mentions Persian in Azerbaijan and Armenia. Also this language of "Arrani" has sometimes been claimed to be an Iranian language.

“North of the Aras, the distinct, presumably Iranian, speech of Arran long survived, called by Ebn Hawqal al-Raniya” (C.E. Bsowrth, Azerbaijan: Islamic History to 1941, Encyclopedia Iranica).

Qatran spoke Persian but the Persian prevalent in Azerbaijan. So author means to differentiate bewteen Khorasanin Persian and other forms of Persian. They are all considered Persian in the larger sense at the time. See Persian people. Persian poetry existed before Seljuqs Qatran, Muhammad ibn Ba'ith. (see above) Some other parts of the author is not quoted (it is good that he is mentioned as a Persian poet), but for example: "Nizamli then did take over the form of a mystical mathnavi in order to express his own ideas and even if he was not the only Persian poet to adopt this artifice, he might well be the first. A closer inspection of the Stifl passages in the Makhzan-ul-Asrdr tends to bear out this view.” (same source) "Not everything had changed, of course. Nizami still refused to have anything to do with court life, and still reserved the right to be as rude as he liked about it. But from now on his great interest, like that of Ferdowsi, was in the past of Iran.” “Nizdami was, at this period of his life, a genuine social reformer, but his ideals were those of the twelfth century. Thus he does not reject the idea of kingship, which was an integral part of the Persian way of life, or object to the immense privileges enjoyed by the ruling classes.” "In spite of the little we know of him, Nizaml's character is more real to us than that of most other Persian poets" Anyhow this is 1963 source and some information with its regards have been updated. No where do I see him saying Nezami was an Azerbaijani Turk.

Brenjian
"Azeri and Persian literary works in twentieth century Iranian Azerbaijan. Sakina Berengian" Again selectively quoted.. but Berenjian is simply mistaken and giving wrong information. Safa, Foruzanfar, Shafaq never mention such a term as "Azerbaijan School". Also the term "Azerbaijan school", "Arranian school", "Shirvan School", "Tabriz School", "Trans-Caucasian School" are not firm terms. They are invented in the 20th century and have no ethnic connotation. They simply want to highlight the great amount of imagery, Persian archaism and Arabic vocabulary used by Khaqani, Nezami...

I have quoted other parts of Berenjian above...

Sakina Berengian Azeri and Persian literary works in twentieth century Iranian Azerbaijan. — Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag, 1988. pp ix:"The oldest use of the term "Azeri" signifying a language occurs in the writings of Islamic historians, geographers, and travelers in the tenth to thirteenth centuries. During the nineteenth century, when Eastern linguistic studies began to interest Western scholars, this term was erroneously interpreted as indicating Southwestern Oghuz-Turkic or Azeri-Turkic. This more or less commonly accepted usage, although false, continues to our day, even though historical and linguistic studies of the present century have definitely determined that, by "Azeri", the early writers meant the post-islamic, pre-Mongol Iranian language of Azerbaijan. Azeri Turkic did not take its definite form as a literary idiom until after the Mongol invasion in the early thirteenth century, when various other Turkic tribes joined the already settled and assimilated Oghuz Turks; the fresh influx of Turkic elements in the area enabled Azeri-Turkic to replace the original “Azeri” or Medic, the older Iranian language of the area" pp 2:” "The prevalent classification of classical literary schools into Central Asia, Transcaucasian, Persian, and Indian originated with Y.E. Bertel's whose primary emphasis seems to have been on ethnic and regional contributions. The corresponding nomenclature of Persian literary historians, i.e., "Khorasani, Azerbayjani, Eraqi", and "Hendi", on the other hand, denotes more than anything else, a chronological differentiation." Pp 7-8: “"The term "Transcaucasian" in bertel's classification, and "Azerbaijani" in the Persian classification, refers to the poetry by cluster of poets associated mainly with the Caucasian Shirvanshahs who, in the course of the eleventh and twelfth centuries enjoyed a relative independence from the Saljuqid empire. A few literary historians trace the origins of this style to Qatran of Tabriz (ca. 1009-1072), whose diction is taken to represent certain characteristics of the pre-Mongol Iranian-Azeri" Pg 4“Christian imagery and symbolism, quotations from the Bible and other expressions inspired by Christian sources occur so frequently in the works of Khagani and Nizami in particular, that a comprehension of their works is almost impossible without a thorough knowledge of Christianity.”

Inna Naroditskaya
Author does not know Persian or Arabic, and has no expertise in Persian literature. Inna Naroditskaya (Song from the land of fire:)  Lets see what the author has to say on the Persian Babak Khorramdin. pg 23:"Zoroastrian beliefs also enflamed continuing resentments against Islam. For example, a mass revolt (817-837) led by Babek, an Azerbaijanian Turk, who based..."

Babak Khorramdin was not Azerbaijani Turk.. Zoroastrianism nothing to do with Turks. So author is clearly not qualified when she lacks such a basic information. But here demonstrates exactly the problem.. Babak first becomes "Azerbaijani" then later on becomes a "Turk". Thankfully these sort of authors have no WP:weight in wikipedia. On music, I should note something about Nezami. Peter J. Chelkowski, "Mirror of the Invisible World", New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. pg 4: "Nizami was a true renaissance man, even a social reformer. He refused the position of court poet so that he could retain independence both of belief and artistic expression.  He was democratic, delineating simple people with as much insight and compassion, as his heroes.  Artisans were particually dear to him.  Painters, sculptors, architects, and musicians are carefully portrayed and often play crucial roles.  In the romance "Khosrow and Shirin," the artistic accomplishments and the loyalty of the painter Shapur and the devotion and engineering feats of Farhad create a far more lasting impression than do the errant adventures of the titular hero, King Khosrow.  The details with which Nizami describes musicians are one of the delights of the Khamseh and make it a principal source of our present knowledge of the twelfth-century Persian musical composition and instruments.  However, in spite of his interest in commoners, Nizami did not reject the institution of kingship; he always believed it was an integral and sacred part of the Persian way of life"

Note all the modes described by Nezami in Khusraw o Shirin from barbad have Persian names as well as all instruments have Persian names.

Brenda Shaffer
Author does not know Persian or Arabic, and has no expertise in Persian literature.

See Brenda Shaffer  Here is probably enough:

"If you will allow me to be a little sentimental at the end, I would like to quote Nizami. Why the poet Nizami? Well, first because both Azerbaijanis and Iranians claim him as their own, and thus he is a great symbol of the fluidity of culture in this region. Nizami was of Turkic-Azerbaijani origin from Ganja, but wrote mostly in Persian. And this is what this region is about, is actually about fluidity of cultures. Right? Well Nizami, in his famous Khamsa, which in the East is considered comparable to the works of Shakespeare, and many of the stories are very similar, wrote about great love. One of the most important parts of the Khamsa is about the love of Xosrow and Shiren. Some have interpreted Xosrow to be an ancestor of today’s Turks in the Caucasus, and Shiren as a woman who is an ancestor of Armenians. Nizami ended his epic Khamsa relating to the great love between Xosrow and Shiren. (Brenda Shaffer, “Stability and Peace in the Caucasus: The Case of Nagorno-Karabagh: Keynote Address”, Event Report, Caspian Studies Program, The Case of Nagorno-Karabakh, May 2-4, 2001, http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/12777/stability_and_peace_in_the_caucasus.html Accessed 2006)."

So Khusraw the Sassanid Persian king is "intrepreted as the ancestor of today's Turks in the Caucasus".. Also Nezami did not write "mostly in Persian". All of his works are in Persian. If he wrote in any other language, then there must exist a verse from that language.

Anyhow again author does not even known Persian, let alone can claim any expertise in the area.. I wonder who is the "some" that have stated Xosrow the Sassanid King is an ancestor of Turks in the Caucasus.

Maliheh S. Tyrrell
Again author does not known Persian or Arabic, not an expert in Persian literature. The title of the article also shows it covers "Azerbaijani literature" in the 20th century. The key term "Aesopian"

Maliheh S. Tyrrell Aesopian literary dimensions of Azerbaijani literature of the Soviet period, 1920-1990. — USA: Lexington Books, 2001.. pp IX: "All forms of literature were used by the Soviet government for political purpose" pg 41 where Nezami is mentioned also mentions: "In the twelefth to thirteen centuries, until the Mongol takeover (1231), Eldakaz (Eldiguz) offsprings ruled in Caucasian Azerbaijan along with other local Azerbaijani dynasty rulers, the Shirvanshahs"

Note several errors just in one sentence: a) Shirvanshahs ruled their own turf even after the Mongol invasion. b) The Ildiguzids lost power before the Mongol invasion to the Khwarizmid Sultan Jalal Al-Din 3) The Shirvanshahs are called "Azerbaijani" which means Azerbaijani in this book denotes geography.

More errors: "The first generation of the great Azerbaijani poets of the twelfth century Afzaladdin Khagani Shirvani, Nizami Ganjevi, Mesheti Ganjevi (no relation to the great Nizami) - were destined to serve at the courts of these incompetent Atabey rulers. Many refused to do so ..."

a) Mahasti passed away before any rise of Atabek rulers. b) Khaqani served the Shirvanshahs and not the Atabek rulers. The Shirvanshahs existed even before the Seljuqs. c) As shown above, the term "Azerbaijani" in this book is geographical..

At that time, the term "Azerbaijan" however did not even extent to Sherwan and Arran.. it denotes properly Iranian spakers from Azerbaijan who are Iranic people.

Mohammad Adnan Bakhit
Authors is from a Jordanian university but his knowledge of Persian is unknown. Also book is not an expert Nezami source. pg 648 of the same book: "Nezami. Persian poet of Gandja".

Mohammad Adnan Bakhit History of humanity. - UNESCO, 2000. - S. 255, 722. - 682 pp. On these quotes: "Ever since the tenth century, Persian had been the chief literary language of those region of the Islamic world stretching to the east of the Arab lands, from Transcaucasia as far as India. In the eleventh-and-twelfth-century Caucasian region, Persian was now chosen vehicle of expression for such Muslim poets of Azerbaijan as Qatrah, Khagani, Falaki and especially Nizami of Ganjeh." Opening illuminated page to the Khamseh or Quintet of Persian-language tales by the twelfth century poet Nizami of Azerbaijan, copied in Herat in AD ... "

So Azerbaijan is a geographic region here. However the same author metnions: "The tale of 'The Son of the Blind one', long popular among Armenians and Ossetes, passed into the language of Turkic Azerbaijan in multiple folk adaptation..."

As far as I know, this is originally an Ottoman story which spread throughout the region. I have never heard a scholar mention it cames to Azerbaijani Turkic from Armenian/Ossetic languages. On Nezami he states p 648: ""References to Armenian and Georgian themes are scattered throughout his work, ..." The Georgian part is doubtful.

Heyat/Hamid Notqi
Javad Heyat has no scholarly position. He is well known to be a pan-Turkist and also in his magazine "Varliq" is a a supporter of people like Pourpirar whose articles his magazine has published. It would be too numerous to enumerate his errors but perhaps a major one is sufficient.


 * "سلطان محمود غزنوي به علت علاقه اي که به زبان فارسي داشت دربارش مرکز شعراي فارسي زبان مانند منوچهري ، فرخي ، اسدي طوسي ، فردوسي و غيره بود و براي اشاعه زبان فارسي در ايران و هندوستان از هيچ اقدامي فرو گذار نکرد. زبان فارسي را در قلمرو حکومت خود رسمي کرد و به گفته مورخين چهل و پنچ هزار معلم براي ياد دادن فارسي به مناطق مختلف ايران گسيل داشت...." (جواد هيئت، سيري در زبان لهجه هاي تركي، تهران، نشر نو)

Translation: "Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi due to his interest for the Persian alnguage had many Persian poets in his court including Manuchehri, Farrokhi, Asadi Tusi, Ferdowsi and did everything to expand the Persian languae in Iran and India. He made Persian the official language and according to historians, he sent 45000 teachers in different areas of Iran to teach the Persian language" (Javad Heyat, Seyri dar Tarikh Zabaan o Lahjehaayeh Torki, Nashr No, 1366)

Note the sentence is false because Ferdowsi was not a court poet, nor has any historian mentioned that Sultan Mahmud sent 45000 teachers all over Iran to teach Persian..

Hamid Notqi himself was one of the editors of Varliq. Anyhow he had no academic position in Iran. As per Gholam Reza Sabri.. he is involved in political activities with regards to Iran's Azerbaijan.

Hamid Notghi, Gholam-Reza Sabri-Tabrizi Hail to Heydarbaba: A Comparative View of Popular Turkish & Classical Persian Poetical Languages / British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 21, No. 2. - Taylor & Francis, Ltd., 1994. - S. 240-251. "The Turkish sultans used written Persian as an instrument to spread their dominance all over the Middle East, and to establish their authority, encouraging even Turkish poets to compose their works in Persian. We read in the preamble to the Leyla ve Mecnun of Nizami (1141-1209), a specific mention of the categorical order of the Shirvanshah forbidding the poet to make use of the Turkish language in his masterpiece.23 (Nizami Ganjavi, Kulliyydt [Collected Works], Tehran: Amir-Kabir Publications, 1335 (1956 ), pp.441- 42. ) ."

Major mistake here.. the Shirvanshahs were not Turks to begin with. This whole episode has been analyzed by Abbas Zaryab, and Vahid Dastgerdi..

(Tourkhan Gandjei, “Turkish in Pre-Mongol Persian Poetry” BSOAS 49, 1986, pp. 67-76), also states: "The Oghuz tribes which formed the basis of the Saljuq power, and to one which the Seljuqs belonged were culturally backward, and contrary to the opinion advanced by some scholars(he mentions a Turkish scholar), did not posses a written language. Thus the Seljuqs did not, or rather could not take steps towards the propagating of the Turkish language, in a written form, much less the patronage of Turkish letters. " Part of the problems that the Turkish nationalist authors will have (from Kalpalki to Gholmaz-Reza Sabri Tabrizi..) is the fact that Shirvanshahs were not Turks in the first place to even request Turkish poetry. The fact is Oghuz Western Turkish had no literary tradition and the Seljuqs were culturally backward. So they could "take steps towards the propagating Tue Turkish language" So the whole argument is wrong becsides the fact that Shirvanshahs were not "Turkish Sultans". Anyhow, no one has ever called Nezami a "Turkish poet" except such a fringe source whose authors do not have a single respectable article on Nezami studies. The second author also contradicts himsef: Gholam-Reza Sabri-Tabrizi, “Iran: A Child's Story, a Man's Experience “, International Publishers Co, 1990. Excerpt from 197: “Nizami School was called after a great Persian poet —Nizami Ganjavi. Nizami Ganjavi (his real name was Ilyas ibn-Yusuf), …”

About him:  "He appeals to the themes of longing for motherland, the suffering on the foreign land, the suffering on the problems of the Azerbaijan divided into two parts, to the problem of Karabakh occupied by Armenia and to the socio-psychological problems of the society." So it is a Turkic-type nationalist and hardly he can be objective.

Altsdat
This is another author who does not know Arabic and Persian. She states nothing about Nezami's ethnicity, however her book has also been criticized by several reviews. I'll show that she does not know ancient history of the area well. I'll point out just some mistakes in the introduction: 1) p12: "The 12th and 13th centuries boasted a number of prominent and prolific philosophers and historians. Bakhmanyar al-Azerbaijani (d. 1169-1170) and Tusi have received special attention" Errors: a) Bakhmanyar is correctly pronounced as Bahmanyar and he is a Persian Zoroastrian. Being a Zoroastrian means obviously that he was not a Turk. b) He lived in the 11th century and not 12th/13th century c) He passed away around 1070 A.D. and not 1170 A.D. d) Nasir al-Din Tusi was from Khorasan originally and did his scholarly work in Persian and in the city of Maragha (which was Fahlavi speaking as mentioned).

2) pg 12: "A major library, reported to contain perhaps 400,000 volumes was attached to the Maragha observatory (build 1258-1261) in Southern Azerbaijan under the direction of a major scholar of that time, Nasreddin Tusi (1201-1274). Unfortunately, neither the library nor observatory survived the Mongol invasion."

To count the errors in just these sort of sentences would take time.

a) It is not Nasreddin Tusi but Nasir al-Din al-Tusi! Just like she has misprounounced Bahmanyar بهمنیار as Bakhmanyar.  Showing her lack of complete understanding of these Persian scholars. b) Tusi's library and observatory was actually build under the Mongols rule, not destroyed by them! c) The usage of "Southern Azerbaijan" which was not used in its own time shows the political aspect of the book..

Unfortunately someone that does not know Persian/Arabic is trying to write about ancient history and has made many gross errors just in three setences..

3) pg 11 claims Dede Qorqud and Zoroastrian Avesta are part of "Azerbaijani literature" (which is an anachronism that no one used in that time) and predate the 10th century"

In actuality Dede Qorqud is a 15th century work İlker Evrım Bınbaş, "Oghuz Khan Narratives"

Britannica
"In the course of its long history, Azerbaijan has given the world a number of outstanding thinkers, poets, and scientists. Among the medieval scientists and philosophers, Abul Hasan Bakhmanyar (11th century), the author of numerous works on mathematics and philosophy, and Abul Hasan Shirvani (11th–12th centuries), the author of Astronomy, may be noted. The poet and philosopher Nẹzāmī, called Ganjavī after his place of birth, Ganja, was the author of Khamseh (“The Quintuplet”), composed of five romantic poems, including “The Treasure of Mysteries,” “Khosrow and Shīrīn,” and “Leyli and Mejnūn.”"

Some mistakes: 1) It is Bahmanyar not Bakhmanyar.. He was an Iranian Zoroastrian (no relationship with Turkic culture). 2) "the treasure of mysteries" is not a romanic poem.

Britannica is teriatary source WP:RS. If it has no author, then it doesn't have the value to discuss it. The author of that particular sections are: Evgeny Dmitrievich Silaev, Edward Allworth, G. Melvyn Howe None of them are well known authors, let alone any of them know Persian or acquainted specialists within the area.

However, Britannica clearly states Nezami is a Persian poet in its main article on Nezami. Encyclopedia Britannica: Nezami Ganjavi (Persian Poet) greatest romantic epic poet in Persian Literature, who brought a colloquial and realistic style to the Persian epic. Little is known of Neẓāmī’s life. Orphaned at a young age, he spent his entire life in Ganja, leaving only once to meet the ruling prince.

Although he enjoyed the patronage of a number of rulers and princes, he was distinguished by his simple life and straightforward character.

Only a handful of his qaṣīdahs (“odes”) and ghazals (“lyrics”) have survived; his reputation rests on his great Khamseh(“The Quintuplet”), a pentalogy of poems written in mas̄navī verse form (rhymed couplets) and totaling 30,000 couplets. Drawing inspiration from the Persian epic poets Ferdowsī and Sanāʾī, he proved himself the first great dramatic poet of Persian literature. The first poem in the pentology is the didactic poem Makhzan al-asrār (The Treasury of Mysteries), the second the romantic epic Khosrow o-Shīrīn (“Khosrow and Shīrīn”). The third is his rendition of a well-known story in Islāmic folklore, Leyli o-Mejnūn (The Story of Leyla and Majnun). The fourth poem, Haft paykar (The Seven Beauties), is considered his masterwork. The final poem in the pentalogy is the Sikandar or Eskandar-nāmeh (“Book of Alexander the Great”; Eng. trans. of part I, The Sikander Nama), a philosophical portrait of Alexander.

Neẓāmī is admired in Persian-speaking lands for his originality and clarity of style, though his love of language for its own sake and of philosophical and scientific learning makes his work difficult for the average reader.

This means if we go by this source, then that should be in the introduction. Also Bahmanyar is a Zoroastrian Iranian, and he even lived before there was any Turkish in the area. He wrote exclusively in Arabic also. So this kind of shows that USSR by "Azerbaijani" did not mean a Turk, but simply anyone that lived in Azerbaijan. However, the definition of Azerbaijani (specially post-USSR) is now increasingly becoming a "Turkic people" (by their own choice) and Turkic state (by their own choice). Obviously the Iranian Zoroastrian Bahmanyar does not fit this framework as he was not a Turk.

Other sources
Some of the sources are not worth mentioning: "The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre", "Central Asia: pre-historic to pre-modern times. Bobodzhan Gafurovich Gafurov, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Institute of Asian Studies (Calcutta, India)" (Author is a Soviet author passed away in 1977) (Boris A. Litvinsky, "GAFUROV, BOBODZHAN GAFUROVICH" in Encyclopaedia Iranica "The Main Thing Isn't Shakespeare, It's the Footnotes". Keneshbek Asanaliev and Anne Barthel", "Marxist-Leninist "scientific atheism" and the study of religion and atheism in the USSR". James Thrower", "Selective remembrances: archaeology in the construction, commemoration, and consecration of national pasts". Philip L. Kohl, Mara Kozelsky, Nachman Ben-Yehuda"..etc.. Nothing to do with Nezami Some of the sources have : " great Azerbaijan poet Nizami "  .. none of them specialized on Nezami and not mention ethnicity/language, just geography (which for Nezami himself it was called Arran). Brenda Schaffer ((Brenda Shaffer, “Stability and Peace in the Caucasus: The Case of Nagorno-Karabagh: Keynote Address”, Event Report, Caspian Studies Program, The Case of Nagorno-Karabakh, May 2-4, 2001, ) "Some have interpreted Xosrow to be an ancestor of today’s Turks in the Caucasus, and Shiren as a woman who is an ancestor of Armenians." Again non-expert author.

Overall Assessment
I really do not see one single good source from that whole list in the last 30 years by a living Western Nezami expert that makes Nezami from a Persian literature/poet/heritage into Azerbaijani (which would be an unscientific term to use in terms of identity, language, ethnicity and even geography (Nezami was from Arran)). Or if we want to say ethnicity, turn Nezami from Persian literature/poet/heritage toa Turkish literature/poet/heritage. Azerbaijan proper at the time was Iranian-Speaking region, this is best proved by the [], which the old language of Azerbaijan was clearly spoken even after the Ilkhanid invasions. That is despite Tabriz being the major city of Eldiguzids,it kept its Iranian speech even after the Mongol invasion (where the bulk of the troops were actually Turkic not Mongolic). In reality, I do not see one good single WP:RS expert Nezami source here which states "Nezami was an ethnic Azerbaijani" (which did not exist as a scientific term then) or he was "Azerbaijani literature" (did not exist as a scientific term). "Azarbaijani" is used mainly for geography, and the only possibly modern source among all of that random quotes that gives your position some weight is Richard Davis. He is not really a Nezami expert but expert on other Persian poets. However, in the same book on the main article on "Nezami" he states: "Nezami's elegant and highly effective allegorical integration of sensuous and mundane elements on the one hand and mystical and ethical elements on the other is unequaled by any other Persian narrative poet". So here he uses Persian poet. It looks like the issue has been discussed in the talkpage of the page you sent(I looked at thanks to google translator). Davis clearly states:"It means he was born and lived in the geographical area named Azerbaijan. With all best wishes, Dick Davis" Furthermore, the term "Azerbaijani" is equivalent to Persian/Iranian in the 12th century as the term was only applied to Turkic speakers since the 19th century. Anyhow, Davis is clear it is a geographic designation here (albeit a wrong one as Arran was separate from Azerbaijan at the time). But the rest of them with the exception of the names Talatoff, Chelkowski, Meisami, Van Rumbeke, Francois de Blois, Rypka(somewhat outdated and can be considered a USSR source) are not even useful. And these sources as I just mentioned have all been used in the Nezami English article or referenced. But we do not reference 50/60 year old Soviet sources when they contradict modern sources. More authors are slowly becoming aware of the Soviets attempt to de-Iranianize Nezami. If the Soviet authors had some honesty, they would have mentioned the Kirakos of Ganja source which they had access too. The issue of Soviet scientists has been taken up by enough WP:RS sources on various topics, and usually when there is modern Western sources from these last 30 years, their work on ethnicity and cultural affiliation is outdated (we note none of these 6 or so Western Nezami experts have used anything but "Persian poet", "Persian culture".. for Nezami). So in all that long talkpage, there is not a single good modern source from 1980 to 2010 that says Nezami was an "Azerbaijani" or wrote "Azerbaijani literature" or he was a "Turkic poet" or had "Turkich culture" or Khusraw o Shirin, Sassanids, Bahram Gur were Turks. Even if there was, such a term (Azerbaijani) did not exist then for an ethnicity or culture or language. It is simply just an anachronism. Authors that lack knowledge of history for that time would use such terms and admittingly, some authors (even Western ones and even possibly Nezami expert ones) might lack such a knowledge (but in the long term if someothing doesn't exist, it will be removed from science). On the other hand, Chelkowski (Encyclopedia of Islam), Van Ruyumbeke, Francois de Blois and etc. all state he was Iranian, Persian, Persian language, Persian culture and etc. So none of Talatoff, Chelkowski, Meisami, Ruyumbeke, Deblois mention Nezami as a Turk, or as Azerbaijani literature or Azerbaijani poetry. Such a term is anachronistic and cannot be used in scientific writing. It might satisfy some sort of nationalism, but Nezami himself calls his poetry as Persian literature. Even in terms of geography it is Iran that he uses and Arran is separated from Azerbaijan in his works. Or else he would not mention Arran and Armenia together. As history tells us, that there was no Azerbaijani ethnicity at 1150. There was Turk, and Iranian. So lets go with what the majority of the people identify themselves (that is Turkic people). So in order to give weight to anything to do with "Azerbaijani" one must find equivalent of the 150 sources I have which calls him a Persian poet. If you find even 20% of the 150, that is say 30 sources that calls Nezami a "Turkish poet" or who had "Turkish culture" rather than Persian culture, then Azerbaijani can be inserted. Since that is the primary meaning of Azerbaijani today, even if I don't like it. Azerbaijani itself is a Persian term and has been used as an ethnonym only since the 19th century for Turkic speakers (who primarily were Iranian speakers at one time). At the time of Nezami, it would simply people NW Iran with its capital of Tabriz. Like the role played by Nozhat al-Majales, another manuscript has come about Tabriz [] Safina-yi Tabriz which shows that its language "Zaban-e-Tabrizi" (Tabrizi language) was still an Iranian language. Calling anything Azerbaijani in 1150 A.D. with the exception of possible geographical meaning which one can substitute "from Azerbaijan") is simply unscientific. It would not fly with anti-Nationalist admins in English wikipedia.  So are outdated 1940s non-expert source, or 1950 Bertels source or etc.. have no place in English wikipedia.  Now is the year 2010. There are living Nezami experts (Blois, Ruyumbeke, Talatoff, Meisami..) and they all have used Persian poet, Persian culture, Persian literature.  However even with these, the terms like Persian culture and Persian poet are not put in the introduction of the article (as they should be and they could very well be, if there is nationalistic issues).  Now Azerbaijani nationalists (the majority of the users from that country in Wikipedia) would not have been one tenth as  as generous if they had such a strong way.  So they should be happy with what is the state of article. So in essense, if these issues keep coming up, one needs simple mediation. Once the moderators become familiar with who are the Nezami experts (the ones who wrote books and articles on Nezami) and the few RS sources describing the USSR, then the introduction can be changed. However, there is no reason to push for this and it is better to keep the article as is (unless there is constant provocation to downplay Nezami's Persian culture/heritage by assigning it to non-existent terms at the time).

If I wanted to include random sources, I have 150 sources that mention "Nezami Persian poet" and then I can dump it in the introduction. Here: (73) (522). So possibly 580 sources (although due to repeats in google books, one can say it is less, but still easily more than 125+ (which I have already listed)). However, everything needs a balance and the balance is simply to write a scientific article with expert Nezami sources. And mainly concentrate on the theme and work of Nezami. The nationalists I have come across are not interested in Nezami or else they would learn Persian to understand him. They are simply interested in making themselves feel good by claiming Nezami was a Turk from Azerbaijan who somehow happened to write in Persian about ancient Sassanid Persian kings. So for the English article, we concentrate on modern sources (preferably 1980s till 2010) and Nezami experts. I have taken Encyclopeadia of Islam and Iranica, as well as the Nezami experts as the primaries on this issues. The rest of the authors simply do not apply. Even Diakonov was removed (although it did not hurt to have both quotes specially alongside Kirakos Ganjkesti) as he is not a Nezami expert. Do we have Nezami experts that call Nezami a "Turkic culture", "Turkish poet" or etc from the last 30 years who are living in the West and teaching at Western universities? As far as I can tell, no. And at that time, we cannot use "Azerbaijani" it is either Persian/Iranian or Turkic/Oghuz/Kypchak.. These are terms that are defined for that age. Be that it may, the current English article is okay and will have to do. We can't put information like the name of railway station is for Nezami. Or just put explicitly the quote where he says "Iran is best, and heart of the world". We have included that his heritage is widely appreciated in Azerbaijan... If you build a section on Azerbaijan, then there will be other users putting tons of quote on modern Stalinstic nation building. We simply do not want such problems in English wikipedia. This is not interesting for people who want to learn about Nezami and his work. I agree that Nezami should have united Iranians and Azeris... However the Azeris in Wikipedia started some problems in 2006 or so by putting an article "appropriation of heritage of Azerbaijan". Their websites even have issue with calling Nezami as "Persian literature". Some of them have falsely put Turkish verses and attributed to Nezami in University sites. Some websites have even falsely put a Turkish work of a poet by the name of nezami Qunavi and claimed it is from Nezami. (I got this via email). So the bottom line is this: 1) Azerbaijan in the era of Nezami was at most a geographical area (confirmed by the Davis email in that same page talk). 2) There was Persian culture, Persian language, Persian heritage. 3) There was also Turkish language but the culture was nomadic for the most part.  So the only sources opposing him as a Persian culture/poet etc. needs to be sources that state he was a Turkish poet (which none of the recognized Nezami experts believe in).  4) The website you showed does not have a single Nezami expert from the last 30 years that claims anything other than Nezami being a Persian poet, culture, heritage and even Iranian population of Ganjda (Francois de Blois) or Chelkowski.. Also the historiography that is prevalent in the republic of Azerbaijan does not conform with mainstream historiography. For example there was a quote that 2006 article "Ibn Azrak has called Ganja the capital of Turks in 1070".. I never found it. However, I see in Iranica that Ganja fell to Seljuqs only in 1075, but Ganja was never the capital of Seljuqs. Or there is even a lack of understanding of Persian poetry and the word Bidartarak is read as Birdar Tork (Awakened Tork) (messing up the rhyme of the poem itself because the authors do not understand the metre of Persian poetry). This lead me to partially write this: (which needs an update due to Kirakaros Ganjkesti mentioning the population of the area as Persian which is exactly the kind of source I was after) and some other points.. but I might just do it in a single short article if necessary. Not all articles are perfect and complete, however I hope to have demonstrated the Persian heritage of Nezami. I do think a fresh approach would have been better from the start. Overall, the relationship of users of both countries has not been good and there has been bad users from both sides, but now things have been generally stable between the users, which is what is needed. However as far as Wikipedia is concerned, we are concerned with specialist modern Western sources on Nezami from Nezami experts (no compromise here). Some scholars have also been validated like Abbas Zaryab, Vahid Dastgerdi and if there is a minor issue, I can quote him. But by in and large, the number of sources that mention him as a Persian poet is 10x more, and among the specialists (Ruymbeke, Meisami, Chelkowski, ..) (what counts for Wikipedia) there is no doubt. So had I not taken a compromise, we would have had Persian poet on the first line based on these sources. However, that is the limit, and if things are pushed, I think mediation is necessary due to simply upholding Wikipedia policy. I never seen these specialists like Chelkowski, Ruymeke, Meisami, Talatoff, Clinton, or etc. call Nezami an "Azerbaijani poet" or call his work anything but Persian literature. Nezami does not just belong to Iran, or Azerbaijan.. he belongs to all of humanity. However at that time, Azerbaijani cannot be defined in cultural/ethnic/linguistic sense. It is complete anachronism and ahistorical. This is 1150 A.D.,. Iranic can be defined. Turkic can be defined. The expert Nezami sources (even in that page you quoted) are Chelkowski, Talatoff, Van Ruyumbeke, Meisami, are clear he was a Persian poet and had Persian culture. Ancestor wise we know he was at least half Kurdic (Iranic) and was raised by Kurdish uncle. His father like the urban people of Ganja at that time, was Iranic/Persian cultured. So he could not be of Turkic culture or a Turkic poet. And the bottom line is culture. So the only solution for Azerbaijanis is to simply acknowledge their Persian heritage/culture and if they see "Persian poet""Persian culture" and etc., they should not be offended. Outside of Wikipedia, eventually no scholar will buy such claims as "Azerbaijani" for 1150 A.D. It might take another 100 or even 300 years, but there is no way with the age of information, that some lies will be pertuated. Even if successful in Wikipedia, people will write journal articles/books on the issue, and its invalidity will become apparent.. Also we do not use 1950s Soviet sources when there are living Nezami scholars in the West. So find me six good Western Nezami expert source for the last 30 years (and there are no more than a Dozen or couple dozen such experts right now), and then lets talk. Till then, there is no point in changing the basics of the article. Note, what I said might not be pleasent (and I do not mean to insult), but one has to lay out what is the historical truth here. At 1150 A.D., we had Iranic population and thens some Turkic nomads. Redifining these terms in anyway else to correspond to modern nationalism is unhistorical and an anachronism. So in order to understand him, one needs the Persian language and culture (that is cross reference with Persian literature of the time and understand Shahnameh symbols, as well as Persian imagery/symbolism of the time). And that is exactly why he cannot be deatched from Persian culture, and even the USSR was not successful in redifining his identity (despite their much more vast resources than poor countries like Iran, Tajikistan..). Now Turkey, Azerbaijan and etc. will continue that path, but again what is good about history is that its occurences and main sources does not change. If there is a Kirakos of Ganja that states clearly the population of Ganja was Persian, then nothing can change that source. Or if Nezami wrote mainly about Persian stories, nothing can change that. Sure some crafy writers might be able to selectively quote some sources and weave a story. But ultimately that story willl vanish. Just like the USSR stories have vanished (we don't see a single trace of them say in the Encyclopedic Encyclopedia of Islam). There is no point to bring silly nationalistic debate in Wikipedia. The last thing I/we need in English wikipedia is articles that have quotes about politicization of Nezami and those that try to counter these using their own research (like the website that you mentioned), which would violate WP:synthesis anyhow. There are sufficient sources with this regards that the USSR tried to make Nezami into an "Azerbaijani national poet" and sufficient sources that Azerbaijani as an ethnic, linguistic term did not exist in 1150. Sufficient sources that the USSR defined Azerbaijani as mainly Caucasian Albania/Medes and tried to say it was not Turkic. All that stuff needs to be outside of Wikipedia. We simply will concentrate on English Nezami expert sources from 1980s and specially from 2000 to 2010. Lets not turn this into the Russian wiki. With all due respect, if the people of Azerbaijan have Iranian heritage (which they do), then they should not feel/upset (and call appropriation) if they see modern Western scholars (Nezami expert sources not random non-experts) clearly state Nezami's Persian culture, language and heritage. The fact is, no matter what sort of proaganda is pushed, eventually enough people will recognize what terms did not exist in 1150, what is the content of the work, what were the native population speaking, what is the name of Ganja mean and enough people will recognize Nozhat al-Majales or Kirakos of Ganja, or Istakhri and etc. So, lets keep the problems of Russian wikipedia for Russian wikipedians. Thank you.

Enquirer on what are the modern Western expert Nezami sources
Here are some of the main ones, but not limited to (all these are associated with Western universities): Books and Articles.. 
 * Peter Chelkowski

Chelkowski, P. "Nizami Gandjawi, jamal al-Din Abu Muhammad Ilyas b. Yusuf b. Zaki Muayyad . Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2008. Brill Online. Excerpt one:"Nizami Gandjawi, Djamal al-Din Abu Muhammad Ilyas b. Yusuf b. Zaki Muʾayyad, one of the greatest Persian poets and thinkers."

 "the botanical references within the giant work of the twelfth-century Persian poet, Nizami of Ganja"
 * Christine van Ruyumbeke

Books and articles on Nezami.  "Kamran Talattof (Associate Professor, Near Eastern Studies at the University of Arizona, Tucson), Jerome W. Clinton (professor emeritus of Near Eastern studies and a scholar of Iranian culture and society), K. Allin Luthe. The Poetry of Nizami Ganjavi: Knowledge, Love, and Rhetoric. Palgrave, 2001 ISBN 0-312-22810-4. pg.2: "…and blameless character in a degree unequaled by any other Persian poet… "
 * Kamran Talatoff (University of Arizona)

Books, thesis and articles on Nezami. Nezami expert
 * Ali Asghar Seyed Gohrab
 * Paola Orsatti

Articles in Iranica
 * Francois de Blois


 * Julie Scott Meisami


 * Rudolph Gekple


 * Heshmat Moayyad


 * Johan Christoph Burgel

Encycloapedia of Islam and Iranica in general are excellent scholarly tools and usually scholars expert in that field write the articles. The list will be updated with more..if necessary

Image of Turk and Ethiop verse
Nezami has used the terms Hindu, Rum/ Turk, Habash (Ethiop), Zang... for different characters like Prophet Muhammad, Alexander, Layli, Shirin and etc. It should be noted virtually everytime the term Turk/Rum is used in an imagery, it is opposite of Zang/Hind.. This issue has been discussed here in detail: 

And the standard professional translations are:

'''The Ethiop scorns my Turkish wares, rejects the fine foods I prepare.'''(Haft Paykar: A Medieval Persian Romance. N Ganjavi, JS Meisami (translator) New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. page 28) Commentary by Dr. Julia Meysami: “The Ethiop scorns my Turkish wares: literally, ‘The Ethiops (of this region) reject my Turkish delicacies,’ that is, in this dark and savage region my fine words go unappreciated.” (Haft Paykar: A Medieval Persian Romance. N Ganjavi, JS Meisami (translator) New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. pg 281)

'''Wilson: This Ethiopia likes not Turkish wares hence it will have not palatable curds''' (1925 translation of Haft Paykar, C.E. Wilson)

Some overview:

J.T.P. de Brujin, Hindi in Encyclopedia Iranica " More prominent in poetry is the part played by the image of the Hindu in a confrontation of ethnic types, in particular when it is put in opposition to the Turk. The latter is associated with a fair complexion, beauty, and military virtues, which are qualities befitting the lyrical persona of the Beloved [q.v.] with its combination of attractiveness and cruelty. In contrast to this, the Hindu is “ugly, mean and blackish” (Schimmel, 1974, p. 244), and even cunning (cf., e.g., Hāfeẓ, Divān, no. 395, 1. 5: ḥilat-e Hendu). In one of Neẓāmi’s conceits an origin from Hend is ascribed to the crow in the description of a garden in winter, because he has stolen the song of the nightingale (Ritter, p. 12). But the Indian is above all the slave; saying that one is someone’s "Hindu” is a strong expression of devotion, especially in love. Notwithstanding the association with ugliness, items in the conventional description of a beautiful face which are remarkable for their black color, are said to be Indian, such as the mole (ḵal: ḵāl-e hendu ‘black beauty spot’), the locks (ṭorra, zolf)and the pupils of the eyes. In such imagery the link to ethnic characteristics is hardly relevant, so that it may be used together with features of another ethnic type in the characterization of a single person, e.g., when Neẓāmi describes the princess of Hend as āhu-ye Tork-čašm-e Hendu-zād (“a gazelle with Turkish eyes, of Indian blood”; Haft Peykar, p. 121).”

And another one: Cemal Kafadar, "A rome of one's own: reflection on cultural geography and identity in the lands of Rum" in Sibel Bozdogan (Editor), Gulru Necipoglu (Editor), Julia Bailey (Editor), "History and Ideology: Architectural Heritage of the "Lands of Rum" (Muqarnas), Brill Academic Publishers (November 1, 2007. p23: "Golpiranli rightly insists that ethnonym were deployed allegorically and metaphortically in classical Islamic literatures, which operated on the basis of a staple set of images and their well recognized contextual associations by readers; there, "turk" had both a negativeand positive connocation. In fact, the two dimensions could be blended: the "Turk" was "cruel" and hence, at the same time, the "beautiful beloved".

Now the Turkic-speaking (from Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Turkey) authors claim that the following verse means that Nezami wanted to write in Turkish but it was not appreciated! The Ethiop scorns my Turkish wares, rejects the fine foods I prepare. (Haft Paykar: A Medieval Persian Romance. N Ganjavi, JS Meisami (translator) New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. page 28) Commentary by Dr. Julia Meysami: “The Ethiop scorns my Turkish wares: literally, ‘The Ethiops (of this region) reject my Turkish delicacies,’ that is, in this dark and savage region my fine words go unappreciated.” (Haft Paykar: A Medieval Persian Romance. N Ganjavi, JS Meisami (translator) New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. pg 281)

Wilson: This Ethiopia likes not Turkish wares hence it will have not palatable curds (1925 translation of Haft Paykar, C.E. Wilson)

Note this sort of imagery is used by lots of Persian poets. 

Anne Marrie Schimmel:” “Soon the Turkish type of beauty became prominent both in pictures and in poetical descriptions: a round face with narrow eyes and a minute mouth.”” So Turks described in Persian poetry are Kyrghiz, Kazakh types not the Azeri/Anatolian Turks. My Comment:

Let us look at English translation by these two knowledgeable translators. The key words they have used are Nakharand (Doesn’t buy), Lajaram (consequently), Dooghbaay (This is a Persian word which is a soup made of yogurt milk, whose color is white and probably made best by Turkish nomads). So they have taken a meaningful translation of the all the words. Furthermore, if one goes with a literal translation, Torkiyam as the authors have translated more naturally takes the meaning of wares literally, since Nizami uses the other word Nakharand (buy), and lajaram (consequently) they do not taste fresh Dooghbaa (a soup made of milk best prepared by Nomads). Nizami here is stating that his beautiful milk/food (the advices and discourses) he gives are not paid attention to. The context of the section which is on discourse and ethics makes it clear. Furthermore the contrast of Habash and Turk is something that we have discussed already. As already shown, Persian poets often make contrasts. Since the opposition of */sepid /*(Tork) (light, North) and */zangi/Habashi/* (Abyssinian/Ethiopian) (south) has a figurative meaning, it simply signifies the range of tastes and climes, cultures and complexions, specifically with the Turks representing fair skin (as opposed to the dark-skinned Habashis). If we look at that section, it is about spiritual advices Nizami gives and there is nothing about the Turkish language! So if Nizami wanted to write Turkish, the statement “Torkiyam raa dar in Habash Nakharand” as some writers claim is not in the context of the section. If literal (and assuming Nizami meant Turkish language by Torkiyyam! and not Turkish wares), we would also need to take the /Habash/ part literally and the Dooghbaa part literally, and unless Nezami made a trip to Ethiopia (which he never did) or was in Ethiopia, or composed poems in honor of a dark-skinned African prince (which he never did), then /Habash/ does not have a literal meaning here. Neither did Nezami ever sell food in the steets of Ethiopia. As well known already, Nizami not only wrote all of the five jewels in Persian but also he has written ghazals in Persian. Yet in all his work, he only refers to his Persian writing. There was no Turkish literature at the time of Nizami in Ganja and not a single verse of Turkish exists from the area during Nizami’s time from any poet or writer. Unfortunately, misinterpretation of basic Persian poetic imagery was the major tool used by Stalin and USSR to claim that “Nizami was a victim of Persian Chauvinism and he wanted to write in Turkish, but he was forced to write in Persian”. Lack of knowledge or misuse of basic Persian imagery and symbols were used to politicize Nizami Ganjavi for ethno-nationalistic nation building and propagate the false idea that Nizami (who is great because of his actual words which are all in Persian) wanted to write in Turkish (which had no tradition in the Caucasus and Azerbaijan and the language of Turkish nomads was not the urban language) but was forced to write in Persian! As if one can create such masterpieces (five them!) under duress which is illogical! This misinterpretation alongside the misinterpretation of the verses in the beginning of the Layli o Majnoon was the major basis for this false political claim made during the USSR era and unfortunately continuing in some circles.

Nezami and general comments with this regard
The page claims:"Azerbaijani style of poetry means Turkish words".. however nowhere is such a sentence found in Meisami or anywhere else. The above Persian school of poetry uses Fahlavi words, Persian archaism, Arabic vocabulary and specially symbolism/Christian imagery (discussed above). (Note if we are to claim because Nezami used 30 words (less than 1% of the vocabulary and all these words actually do exist in other writing if one checks Gerhard Doerfer's voluminious work on Turkish and Mongolian in Persian classical writings), then one can make similars claim that the Seyyed Nasimi (in actually of Arabic fatherline) and Fizuli used at least 25% Persian vocabulary in the writing and so they can be claimed to be Iranic..(so the argument is not valid from the on start).

This source is mentioned:

John Perry. Iran & the Caucasus, Vol. 5, (2001 ), pp. 193-200. THE HISTORICAL ROLE OF TURKISH IN RELATION TO PERSIAN OF IRAN. "We should distinguish two complementary ways in which the advent of the Turks affected the language map of Iran. First, since the Turkish-speaking rulers of most Iranian polities from the Ghaznavids and Seljuks onward were already Iranized and patronized Persian literature in their domains, the expansion of Turk-ruled empires served to expand the territorial domain of written Persian into the conquered areas, notably Anatolia and Central and South Asia. Secondly, the influx of massive Turkish-speaking populations (culminating with the rank and file of the Mongol armies) and their settlement in large areas of Iran (particularly in Azerbaijan and the northwest), progressively turkicized local speakers of Persian, Kurdish and other Iranian languages. Although it is mainly the results of this latter process which will be illustrated here, it should be remembered that these developments were contemporaneous and complementary. 2 . General Effects of the Safavid Accession Both these processes peaked with the accession of the Safavid Shah Esma'il in 1501 CE. He and his successors were Turkish-speakers, probably descended from turkicized Iranian inhabitants of the northwest marches. While they accepted and promoted written Persian as the established language of bureaucracy and literature, the fact that they and their tribal supporters habitually spoke Turkish in court and camp lent this vernacular an unprecedented prestige. And on this: “

"There are hundreds of loanwords from Turkish of all periods listed in Gerhard Doerfer's works (he designates about 1.200 of these "Azeri", - see Doerfer 1988, p. 246 ), and a variety of Turkish words and phrases are attested in Persian verse from pre-Mongol times onward, as identified in several articles by Tourkhan Gandjei. Both phenomena attest to the continuing symbiosis of Turks and Persians, especially in the realms of power politics and popular culture. Neither of these corpora, however, can be used to document the lasting effects of Turkish on Persian. Much, probably most, of the Turco-Mongol vocabulary in Classical Persian histories and the like is ephemeral, ie, it comprises obsolete military and administrative-terms such as daruye and soyuryal. '''Similarly, most Turkish words showcased in the Persian poetry of such as Nezami, Khaqani, Suzani and Rumi are less than ephemeral - they have never been incor-porated, even temporarily, into Persian; the verb forms and phrases, in particular (Eg, oltur 'sit down', qonaq gerek 'do you want a guest?'), Were not even candidates for lexical borrowing. Like Abu Nuwas in his macaronic fahlawiyyt, the poets are being cute and showing off. ''' “

Actually Nezami does not fit the above category. He uses around 30 Turkish words (counted by Rasulzadeh and Javad Heyat) which are present in the Persian works of other poets. Most of these terms are also military and political titles.

I have collected all these Turkish words and have found them to be used by other Persian poets and works of literaturea at the time: 10 of these words are analyzed here: 

See the work by the linguist (not historian or literature expert) Gerhard Dorefer: Lexicon. Gerhard Doerfer. Türkische und mongolische Elemente im Neupersischen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung älterer neupersischer Geschichtsquellen, vor allem der Mongolen- und Timuridenzeit, 4 vols., Wiesbaden, 1963-75 As well as Dehkhoda dictionary.

And the other 20 are also found in: Lexicon. Gerhard Doerfer. Türkische und mongolische Elemente im Neupersischen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung älterer neupersischer Geschichtsquellen, vor allem der Mongolen- und Timuridenzeit, 4 vols., Wiesbaden, 1963-75 used by other sources.

However not Perry also states: "Like Abu Nuwas in his macaronic fahlawiyyt, the poets are being cute and showing off.”

However the macaronic poems apply to Rumi or Suzani. Khaqani also has some poems where Georgian and Turkish words are used but not any macronic (mixed language) poems. Nezami has none actually. There is no verse say were half of it is Turkish and half is Persian. The author is also contrasting speech vs written language. That is correct, these military and administrative terms never have been part of the everyday permanent Persian vocabulary. This is like many Arabic words in Persian literary language that is not used in everyday speech. Their main domain was only for military usage, administration and history. So military administrative terms were used by historians, poets, writers and educated class. But these did not have an effect everyday Persian speech. However, virtually every single Turkish term used by Nezami (around 30 or so, which is not much) has been used by poets from Khorasan and other poets before him.

Professor Xavier Planhol has stated: “The Turks, on the other hand, posed a formidable threat: their penetration into Iranian lands was considerable, to such an extent that vast regions adapted their language. This process was all the more remarkable since, in spite of their almost uninterrupted political domination for nearly 1,000 years, the cultural influence of these rough nomads on Iran’s refined civilization remained extremely tenuous. This is demonstrated by the mediocre linguistic contribution, for which exhaustive statistical studies have been made (Doerfer). The number of Turkish or Mongol words that entered Persian, though not negligible, remained limited to 2,135, i.e., 3 percent of the vocabulary at the most. These new words are confined on the one hand to the military and political sector (titles, administration, etc.) and, on the other hand, to technical pastoral terms. The contrast with Arab influence is striking. While cultural pressure of the Arabs on Iran had been intense, they in no way infringed upon the entire Iranian territory, whereas with the Turks, whose contributions to Iranian civilization were modest, vast regions of Iranian lands were assimilated, notwithstanding the fact that resistance by the latter was ultimately victorious. Several reasons may be offered.”(Xavier Planhol, "Land of Iran", Encyclopedia Iranica)

So Nezami uses 30 words of Turkish.. out of the 2135 that had entered in Persian up to the end of Safavid times. This number is actually less than 3% that is now part of the Persian vocabulary. For example just as a random test, not a single Turkish word is found in the opening and ending of the 5 books of Khamsa.

As Perry said: "Like Abu Nuwas in his macaronic fahlawiyyt, the poets are being cute and showing off." However, Perry is wrong as Nezami does not even have any macaronic verses. "being cute and showing off" is really not a scientific way of writing an article. The theory that Nezami uses extra Turkish words because of his Kypchak wife is wrong, since the words used by Nezami are already used by other Persian poets and texts of the time.

For a detail study: 

Khaqani for example has a mixed(macaronic) Georgian and Persian verse. Rumi has a mixed macaronic Turkish, Greek, Arabic and Persian verse. Suzani who claimed descent from Salman the Persian has mixed Turko-Persian verses. However, nezami has none. Nezami simply has some Turkish words (that are used by Khorasan poets as well). Assuming there are Turkish words that Nezami has used which did not exist in Persian literature before and around his time, he could have learned it from his wife who was a Kypchak. However, a detailed study shows that almost all the Turkish words used by Nezami (which is at most one third of the 103 used by Rumi) are found among Khorasanian and other Persian poets. So this has nothing to do with ethnicity or even the Azerbaijani, Tabarizi, Arranian, Trans-Caucuasian or Sharvani style.

Although Perry has not done a detailed study on Nezami(like the article I mentioned), the Iranian Azerbaijani scholar Dr. Behruz Servatiyaan has done this. On this issue of Turkish words of Nezami, virtually all of them are found in other poets. This is detailed in a study of Nezami by Behruz Servatiyan (whose notes are considered useful and explanatory by Francois de Blois) Note Behruz Servatiyan mentioned in these two Iranica articles: 

 "The recent edition of the Šaraf-nāma by Behrūz Ṯarvatīān (n.p., 1368 Š./1989) mainly reproduces the text and apparatus of the Baku edition, but it also contains explanatory notes." بهروز ثروتیان – اندیشه های نظامی گنجوی – چاپخانه آیدین- تبریز (1382) صفحه 168) آثار ترکی، جز در کنایات عرفی و یا چند واژه‌ی معمول در زمان شاعر و چندین واژه‌ی دخیله از قرن‌های چهارم و پنج در خراسان اثر زبان ترکی – همانند مانند مولوی و خاقانی --- در شش دفتر پنج گنج نظامی دیده نمیشود. Translation: Turkish words, (unlike the works of Khaqani and Rumi) are not seen in his works, except some common terms and words that were widespread in the lifetime of the poet and that had entered the Persian of Khorasan since the 10th and 11th centuries. (Behruz Servatiyan- "Andishehaayeh Nezami Ganjavi" (The ideas of Nezami of Ganja)- Aydin Publishers, 1382 (2003-2004). pp 168.)

With this regard,Tourkhan Gandjei (pg 74) writes: "Suzani's approach on the other hand hand, was more straightforward. He was primarily a satirist.  In addition to his use of isolated Turkish words, a practice he shares with with other poets of this period, he seems to have used Turkish words, phrases and sentences in some of his poem quiete deliberately, and in so doing he succeeds in coveying a sense of actuality so essential to satirical poetry."

"The practice of using Turkish elements for their poetic function, as the above examples show, found its most skilful master in Suzani" (Tourkhan Gandjei, “Turkish in Pre-Mongol Persian Poetry” BSOAS 49, 1986, pp. 67-76)

Note in this more detail study, Nezami is not mentioned as a poet who uses Turkish phrases, sentences and etc (because he does not). The isolated Turkish words are also parts of the practice of "other poets" of this period.

Simply these words had entered the Persian at the time and were "ephermal" as Perry notes (although incase of Nezami, all the words he used are in Persian texts of other poets and writers of the time).

Rumi
Lets look at poet that has at least 3x Turkish words as Nezami, that is Rumi who actually lived in Anatolia and learned Greek/Turkish.

Rumi does actually have some Greek (50 verses) and Turkish poetry (200 verses). Nezami has no Turkish phrases. As per Rumi: Annemarie Schimmel, The Triumphal Sun: A Study of the Works of Jalaloddin Rumi, SUNY Press, 1993, p. 193: "Rumi's mother tongue was Persian, but he had learned during his stay in Konya, enough Turkish and Greek to use it, now and then, in his verse" “Sherefdin altkaya, in an an earlier study, compiled a total of 103 words of Turkic origin in Mevlana’s Persian poetry. This is infinitesimal compared with his output in Persian”( Talat. S. Halman, Rapture and Revolution, Syracuse University Press, November, 2007., pg 267)

So this number is miniscule (and Rumi used at least 3x as much as Nezami).

Suzani
Jan Rypka (Rypka, Jan. ‘Poets and Prose Writers of the Late Saljuq and Mongol Periods’, in The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5, The Saljuq and Mongol Periods, ed., Published January 1968. pg 561:"Shams al-Din Muhammad b. 'Ali (or possibly Mas'ud), of Samarqand or its vicinity, who according to his own claim was a scion of the family of Salman, the Persian companion of the Prophet. He was generally known as Suzani" Paul Sprachman, "Suppressed Persian: an anthology of forbidden literature",Mazda Publishers, 1995. pg 21: "Suzani, for his part, proudly traced his ancestry back to the early Iranian supporter of the Prophet Mohammad, Salman "The Persian" "

With this regard,Tourkhan Gandjei (pg 74) writes: "Suzani's approach on the other hand hand, was more straightforward. He was primarily a satirist.  In addition to his use of isolated Turkish words, a practice he shares with with other poets of this period, he seems to have used Turkish words, phrases and sentences in some of his poem quiete deliberately, and in so doing he succeeds in coveying a sense of actuality so essential to satirical poetry."

"The practice of using Turkish elements for their poetic function, as the above examples show, found its most skilful master in Suzani" (Tourkhan Gandjei, “Turkish in Pre-Mongol Persian Poetry” BSOAS 49, 1986, pp. 67-76)

So here we have someone who uses such words (much more than the usual of that period as Nezami) but he was of clear Persian origin (claimed descent from Salman the Persian).

Zahir al-Din Faryabi
J.T.P. de Bruijn, "FĀRYĀBĪ, ẒAHĪR-AL-DĪN ABU’L-FAŻL ṬĀHER" in Encyclopaedia Iranica "the occurrence of Turkish words in his poetry gave rise to the incorrect assumption that he was of Turkish origin (Rypka, Camb. Hist. Iran, p. 577)"

Why incorrect? Because the Persian at the time of Seljuqs had some Turkish words which were eventually expunged (with many pure Persian and Arabic terms), like any language that loses some of its archaic words.

For Wikipedia usage
The issue has not been studied in detail by anone except Behruz Servatiyan and this article here: 

However, if necessary (which means Nezami will be mentioned as a Persian poet in the introduction based on overwhelming sources):

John perry claims that the Turkish words showcared into the Persian poetry of Nezami is then less than ephermal and like Abu Nuwas in his macaronic fahlawiyyat, the poets are being cute and showing off. The Iranian Nezami scholar, Behruz Servatiyan on the other hand mentions that the Persian words used by Nezami had entered the Persian of Khorasan since the 10th and 11th centuries. Tourkhan Ganjedi also mentions that isolated Turkish words was a practice that was part of the poets of the period and in particular mentions the Persian poet Suzani who not only used Turkish words, but also used phrases and sentences in some of his poems deliberately. .

More comments on Why Perry with this regard is writing fringe: A) John Perry is not a Nezami scholar. For example "Olutar", "gonaq gerek".. are not part of nezami's vocabulary but Suzani.  He has lumped someone like Suzani with Nezami (who simply uses isolated words).  B) "Showing off and being cute" is really not scientific way of writing an article. What does "being cute" mean? It maybe applies to Suzani who was a satirist. C) A detailed anaylysis of this issue has not been done by John Perry, whereas the articles by Tourkhan Gandjei and Behruz Servatiyan are more detailed. D) If we are going to enter every random non-Nezami specialist source, than the 125 sources in the introudction (many of them from Nezami experts) should be in the introduction.

On the term Persian/Iranian
In some sources today, the term Persian as language mainly references "Parsi-ye Dari" or modern Farsi, which is one of the SW Iranian languages. However, the term Persian before and during the Islamic era has had a wide range of meaning and encompassed various Iranic languages. That is speakers of these languages consider themselves Persian. Overall during the Sassanid era, a homogeneous Iranian identity was created and Medes, Old Persians, Parthians, etc. were simply integrated and mixed with in each other to the extent that they were just called Iranians/Persians irregardless of regional dialect divergences.

1) For example, Abu Rayhan Biruni, a native speaker of the Eastern Iranian language Chorasmian mentions in his Āthār al-bāqiyah ʻan al-qurūn al-xāliyah that: "the people of Khwarizm, they are a branch of the Persian tree." . Translation: And the people of Khwarizm, they are a branch of the Persian tree.

2) The Arab historian Masudi also refers to various Persian dialects and the speakers of these various Persian dialects as Persian. While considering modern Persian (Dari) to be one of these dialects, he also mentions Pahlavi and Azari, as well as other Persian languages.  Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn Al-Masudi (896-956), the Arab historian states: The Persians are a people whose borders are the Mahat Mountains and Azarbaijan up to Armenia and Aran, and Bayleqan and Darband, and Ray and Tabaristan and Masqat and Shabaran and Jorjan and Abarshahr, and that is Nishabur, and Herat and Marv and other places in land of Khorasan, and Sejistan and Kerman and Fars and Ahvaz...All these lands were once one kingdom with one sovereign and one language...although the language differed slightly.  The language, however, is one, in that its letters are written the same way and used the same way in composition. There are, then, different languages such as Pahlavi, Dari, Azari, as well as other Persian languages.

3) The Mazbannama was originally written in the Tabari (Mazandarani) Iranic language. The language used in the ancient Marzbānnāma was, in the words of the 13th historian Sa'ad ad-Din Warawini, “ the language of Ṭabaristan and old, original Persian (fārsī-yi ḳadīm-i bāstān)”.

4) The language of Tabriz, being an Iranian language during the time of Qatran Tabrizi, was not the standard Khurasani Parsi-ye Dari. Qatran Tabrizi(11th century) has an interesting couplet mentioning this fact: بلبل به سان مطرب بیدل فراز گل

گه پارسی نوازد، گاهی زند دری

Translation: The nightingale is on top of the flower like a minstrel who has lost her heart It bemoans sometimes in Parsi (Persian) and sometimes in Dari (Khurasani Persian)

5)

Lady (Mary) Shiel in her observation of Persia during the Qajar describes the Persian tribes and Koords/Laks identified themselves and were identified commonly as Old Persians : The PERSIAN TRIBES. The tribes are divided into three races-Toorks, Leks, first are the invaders from Toorkistan, who, from time 'immemorial, have established themselves in Persia, and who still preserve their language. The Leks form the clans of genuine Persian blood, such as the Loors, BekhtiaTees, &c. To them might be added the Koords, as members of the Persian family; but their numbers in the dominions of the Shah are comparatively few, the greater part of that widely-spread people being attached to Turkey. Collectively the Koords are so numerous that they might be regarded as a nation divided into distinct tribes. Who are the Leks, and who are the Koords? This in- quiry I cannot solve. I never met any one in Persia, either eel or moolla, who could give the least elucidation of this question. All they could say was, that both these races were Foors e kadeem,-old Persians. They both speak dialects the greater part of which is Persian, bearing a strong resemblance to the colloquial language of the present day, divested of its large Arabic mixture. These dialects are not perfectly alike, though it is said that Leks and Koords are able to comprehend each other. One would be disposed to consider them as belonging to the same stock,. did they not both disavow the connection. A Lek will- admit that a Koord, like himself, is an 11 old Persian," but he denies that the families are identical, and a Koord views the question in the same light.

If there is any confusion, one can always use the encompassing term "Iranic".

On the usage Azeri/Azerbaijan
See that section of my full article on this. Overall, the formation of Azerbaijani-Turkish ethnic group is from the 13th-16th century. But the USSR usage of Azerbaijani was not clear. The ethnonym "Azerbaijani" though is very recently and dates back to the early 20th or late 19th century. In some sources, "Azerbaijani" is used to refer to any modern inhabitant of the republic while "Azeri" is the ethnic term meaning Azeri-Turk

As noted by Oliver Roy .: The concept of Azeri identity barely appears at all before 1920. Up until that point Azerbaijan had been a purely geographical area. Before 1924, the Russians called Azeri Tatars "Turk" or "Muslims".

According to Prof. Tadeusz Swietochovski :"Azerbaijani" was coined in the 1930s to refer to the inhabitants of the Soviet republic of Azerbaijan.

So a historical article should not have anachronistic terms. If some want to claim that Nezami's father was an Oghuz Turk, then that is a historical term. But Azerbaijani is not necessarily 100% Oghuz Turk.

According to the multi-volume book “History of the East” (“Transcaucasia in XI-XV centuries” in Rostislav Borisovich Rybakov (editor), History of the East. 6 volumes. v. 2. “East during the Middle Ages: Chapter V., 2002. – ISBN 5-02-017711-3.  http://gumilevica.kulichki.com/HE2/he2510.htm ) In the XIV-XV cc., as the Azerbaijani Turkic-language ethnos was beginning to form, arose its culture, as well. At first it had no stable centers of its own (recall that one of its early representatives, Nesimi, met his death in Syria) and it is rather difficult at that time to separate from the Osman (Turkish) culture. Even the ethnic boundary between the Turks and the Azerbaijanis stabilized only in the XVI c., and even then it was not quite defined yet. Nevertheless, in the XV c., two centers of the Azerbaijani culture are forming: the South Azerbaijan and (lowland) Karabakh. They took final shape later, in the XVI-XVIII cc. Speaking of the Azerbaijan culture originating at that time, in the XIV-XV cc., one must bear in mind, first of all, literature and other parts of culture organically connected with the language. As for the material culture, it remained traditional even after the Turkicization of the local population. However, the presence of a massive layer of Iranians that took part in the formation of the Azerbaijani ethnos, have imposed its imprint, primarily on the lexicon of the Azerbaijani language which contains a great number of Iranian and Arabic words. The latter entered both the Azerbaijani and the Turkish language mainly through the Iranian intermediary. Having become independent, the Azerbaijani culture retained close connections with the Iranian and Arab cultures. They were reinforced by common religion and common cultural-historical traditions.”

What did the USSR mean by Azerbaijani?

Since the ethnonym Azerbaijani for an ethnic group was new, the USSR era did not provide a clear definition. For example some considered Azerbaijanis to be Medes, others as Turks and others as Caucasian Albanians. Then there was theories combining some or all of these. This is another reason why calling Nezami Ganjavi as “Azerbaijani” in the politicized USSR sources lacks clarity. Do they mean Medes(and the descendant of Iranic Medes like Talysh, Kurds?), or Caucasian Albanians or Turks and etc.

For example  Bolukbashi mentions :During the Stalin era, Azeri historians were forced to link Azeri history to Persian Medes, whose appearance in Iran and the southern Caucasus dates back to the ninth century BC. In the post-Stalin era, this theory gave away to one which linked the Azeris’ origin to the Atropathenes and Caucasian Albania. By the early 1970s, however, the Turkic role in Azeri history had begun to be admitted, so that until the Gorbachev era the Azerbaijani historiography based Azeri identity on a combination of the Medes, the Atropathenes, the Albanians and the Turkic settlers, a formula which helped prevent the emergence of an all-Turkic historiography

Arya Wasserman notes : The growing interest in the nationalities problem and the rising influence of the ideology of Turkism revived the old controversy over the ethnogenesis of the Azerbaijani people, that is between adherents of the concept of the decisive Turkic role and supporters of the pro-Iranian theory. In the mid 1970s, the republican authorities headed by the First Secretary Heydar Aliev had resolved the debate by ruling in favour of the Iranian concept. Now, for the first time monographs dedicated of this problem were published. The purely scientific problem of ethnogenesis became a regular theme in newspapers. The authors of some articles used this discussion to express their opposition to the policy of Turkicization. Politicians also intervened in the dispute. The President’s adviser on nationalities, Idaiat Orujev, supported the concept according to which Azerbaijan was the homeland of Oguz Turks, which obviously meant that he was inclined to accept the theory of the Turkic origins of the Azerbaijani people.

Opponents of the proto-Turkic conceptions of ethnogenesis of the Azerbaijani people insist that the Kurds, Talysh, Lakhij and other Persian-speaking peoples are ethnic Azerbaijanis, who had a part from ancient times in the ethnogenesis of the Azerbaijani people, and that all of them share the same Caspian racial type, to which no other Turkic-speaking peoples, not even the Turks themselves, belong to

Either way, the name "Azeri-Turk" or Azerbaijani Turk was not used at the time of Nezami. And this author has not found a single reliable expert Western source calling Nezami Ganjavi a "Turkic poet" (which is absurd because he did not write in Turkic) Azerbaijani at most had a geographical meaning although in general the name of the area was called Arran. Also the existence of Azerbaijani-ethnic group in the 12th century or even ealier 11th century (the time of Nezami's great grandafther Mu'ayyad) is not proven and most sources put the formation of this ethnic group between the 13th-16th century.

Nezami's Culture and Cultural content of his work
This is just a short list (enough for Wikipedia).

Nezami's Culture
It should be noted that in terms of geography, Nezami has called his realm as "Iran", "Molk-e-Ajam" (Persia as opposed to Arabia).. and three different rulers of the area are also called the rulers of these lands. So in a sense this is the sense of geography he had of himself. The local rulers of the area (Eldiguzids, Shirvanshah, Ahmadilis) never had defined/set borders nor were they remotely aware of the concept of "national state" geography and citizenship. For example an Armenian under the Eldiguzids (like the Christians mentioned in Ganja by Kirakos of Ganja) would not become an "Azerbaijani" geographically neither would Nezami. Because Ganja was considered part of Arran and furthermore, the concept of identity based on geography did not exist in the sense of modern national states. See below for some examples of "Medieval Persia" (which is the correct term as Nezami used Molk-e-Ajam/Iran himself which designates Persia). Not once has Nezami in his work designated his land as "Azarbaijan"(an Iranian name in the first place whose area was later majority linguistically Turkified) as to him that did not include Ganja which was part of Arran (no matter what modern historians mention, Nezami never mentions it). Peter J. Chelkowski, "Mirror of the Invisible World", New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. pp 6: "Nizami's strong character, his social sensibility, and his poetic genius fused with his rich Persian cultural heritage to create a new standard of literary achievement. Using themes from the oral tradition and written historical records, his poems unite pre-Islamic and Islamic Iran" Peter J. Chelkowski, "Mirror of the Invisible World", New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. pp 2: "During the last quarter of the twelfth century, when Nizami began his Khamseh, Seljuq supremacy was on the decline and political unrest and social ferments were increasing. However, Persian culture characteristically flourished when political power was diffused rather than centralized, and so Persian remained the primary language, Persian civil servants were in great demand, Persian merchants were successful, and princedoms continued to vie for the service of Persian poets. This was especially true in Ganjeh, the Caucasian outpost town where Nizami lived." Peter J. Chelkowski, "Mirror of the Invisible World", New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. pp 9:"The memorization and recitation of their literary heritage has always been vital to Iranians, whose attitude towards the power of the written and spoken word is reverential. Even today the national passion for poetry is constantly expressed over radio and television, in teahouses, in literary societies, in daily conversation, and in the Musha'areh, the poetry recitation contest.  Nizami's work serves as a vehicle and a symbol of this tradition, for it unites universality with deep-rooted artistic endeavor, a sense of justice and passion for the arts and sciences with spirituality and genuine piety.  For richness and fineness of metaphor, accuracy, and profundity of psychological observation, and sheer virtuosity of storytelling, Nizami is unequalled" Chelkowski, P. "Nezami's Iskandarnameh:"in Colloquio sul poeta persiano Nizami e la leggenda iranica di Alessandro magno, Roma,1977). pp 13: "Nizami was a typical product of the Iranian culture. He created a bridge between Islamic Iran and pre-Islamic Iran and also between Iran and the whole ancient world. His great humanism, strong character, sensibility, drama, colorful description of nature, rich language, and the poetic genius created a new standard of literary achievements and captured the imagination of countless imitators" Peter J. Chelkowski, "Mirror of the Invisible World", New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. pp1: "The culture of Nizami's Persia is renowned for its deep-rooted tradition and splendor. In pre-Islamic times, it had developed extraordinarily rich and exact means of expression in music, architecture, and daily life as well as in writing, although Iran, its center--or, as the poets believed, its heart--was continually overrun by invading armies and immigrants, this tradition was able to absorb, transform, and ultimately ocercome foreign intrusion. Alexander the Great was only one of many conquerors, to be seduced by the Persian way of life.” Peter J. Chelkowski, "Mirror of the Invisible World", New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. pp 2: "His work is a synthesis of Persian literary achievements up to his time--the heroicness of Ferdowsi, the fatalism of Khayyam, the humanism of Sana'i, the lyricism of Unsuri and Farrukhi, and the eroticism of Gurgani" Peter J. Chelkowski, "Mirror of the Invisible World", New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. pp 4:The details with which Nizami describes musicians are one of the delights of the Khamseh and make it a principal source of our present knowledge of the twelfth-century Persian musical composition and instruments. However, in spite of his interest in commoners, Nizami did not reject the institution of kingship; he always believed it was an integral and sacred part of the Persian way of life" Peter J. Chelkowski, "Mirror of the Invisible World", New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. pp 9:"The memorization and recitation of their literary heritage has always been vital to Iranians, whose attitude towards the power of the written and spoken word is reverential. Even today the national passion for poetry is constantly expressed over radio and television, in teahouses, in literary societies, in daily conversation, and in the Musha'areh, the poetry recitation contest. Nizami's work serves as a vehicle and a symbol of this tradition, for it unites universality with deep-rooted artistic endeavor, a sense of justice and passion for the arts and sciences with spirituality and genuine piety. For richness and fineness of metaphor, accuracy, and profundity of psychological observation, and sheer virtuosity of storytelling, Nizami is unequalled"

Usage of Iran/Persia for Nezami's native land
On usage of Iran Jan Rypka, History of Iranian Literature. Reidel Publishing Company. 1968 P 76” “The centripetal tendency is evident in the unity of Persian literature from the points of view of language and content and also in the sense of civic unity. Even the Caucasian Nizami, although living on the far-flung periphery, does not manifest a different spirit and apostrophizes Iran as the Heart of the World.” Peter J. Chelkowski, "Mirror of the Invisible World", New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. pp1: "The culture of Nizami's Persia is renowned for its deep-rooted tradition and splendor. In pre-Islamic times, it had developed extraordinarily rich and exact means of expression in music, architecture, and daily life as well as in writing, although Iran, its center--or, as the poets believed, its heart--was continually overrun by invading armies and immigrants, this tradition was able to absorb, transform, and ultimately ocercome foreign intrusion.  Alexander the Great was only one of many conquerors, to be seduced by the Persian way of life.” Editorial Description - Nizami: A Key to the Treasure of the Hakim (Iranian Studies Series), Johann Christoph Burgel, Christine van Ruymbeke, Leiden University Press (September 15, 2010) , 9087280971 This "Key" to the Khamsa consists of thirteen essays by eminent scholars in the field of Persian Studies, each focusing on different aspects of the Khamsa, which is a collection of five long poems written by the Persian poet Nizami of Ganja. Nizami (1141-1209) lived and worked in Ganja in present-day Azerbaijan. He is widely recognized as one of the main poets of Medieval Persia, a towering figure who produced outstanding poetry, straddling mysticism, romances and epics. He has left his mark on the whole Persian-speaking world and countless younger poets in the area stretching from the Ottoman to the Mughal worlds (present-day Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, India ) Have found him an inspiration and have tried to emulate him. His work has influenced such other immense poets as Hafez, Rumi, and Saadi. His five masnavis (long poems) address a variety of topics and disciplines and have all enjoyed enormous fame, as the countless surviving manuscripts of his work indicate. His heroes, Khosrow and Shirin, Leili and Majnun, Iskandar count amongst the stars of the Persian literary firmament and have become household names all over the Islamic world. The essays in the present volume constitute a significant development in the field of Nizami-studies, and on a more general level, of classical Persian literature. Peter J. Chelkowski, "Mirror of the Invisible World", New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. pp1: "The culture of Nizami's Persia is renowned for its deep-rooted tradition and splendor. In pre-Islamic times, it had developed extraordinarily rich and exact means of expression in music, architecture, and daily life as well as in writing, although Iran, its center--or, as the poets believed, its heart--was continually overrun by invading armies and immigrants, this tradition was able to absorb, transform, and ultimately ocercome foreign intrusion.  Alexander the Great was only one of many conquerors, to be seduced by the Persian way of life.” Peter J. Chelkowski, "Mirror of the Invisible World", New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. pp1: "The culture of Nizami's Persia is renowned for its deep-rooted tradition and splendor. In pre-Islamic times, it had developed extraordinarily rich and exact means of expression in music, architecture, and daily life as well as in writing, although Iran, its center--or, as the poets believed, its heart--was continually overrun by invading armies and immigrants, this tradition was able to absorb, transform, and ultimately ocercome foreign intrusion. Alexander the Great was only one of many conquerors, to be seduced by the Persian way of life.”

Makhzan al-Asrar
J.T.P. De Bruijn ḤADIQAT AL-ḤAQIQA WA ŠARI ʿ AT AL-ṬARIQA. Encyclopaedia Iranica. (accessed 2010) "The Ḥadiqat al-ḥaqiqa is not only one of the first of a long line of Persian didactical maṯnawis, it is also one of the most popular works of its kind as the great number of copies made throughout the centuries attest. Its great impact on Persian literature is evidenced by the numerous citations from the poem occurring in mystical as well as profane works. It has been taken as a model by several other poets, including Neẓāmi, ʿ Aṭṭār, Rumi, Awḥadi, and Jāmi." JTP de Bruijn. Persian Sufi Poetry, An Introduction to the Mystical - Taylor and Francis (Routledge) 1997 pp 97: "The first poet who frankly acknowledged his indebtedness to Sanai as a writer of a didactical Masnavi was Ilyas ibn Yusuf Nizami of Ganja (1141-1209)."

Khusraw and Shirin
Khusraw o Shirin “The subject is a story of secular love; the protagonists are kings and queens, princes and princesses; and the setting is pre-Islamic Iran, often connected with Rum (the Greco-Byzantine world).” Encyclopædia Iranica, "ḴOSROWO ŠIRIN AND ITS IMITATIONS", Paola Orsatti

FARHĀD, a romantic figure in Persian legend and literature, best known from the poetry of Neẓāmī Ganjavī (q.v.) as a rival with the Sasanian king Ḵosrow II Parvēz (r. 591-628) for the love of the beautiful Armenian princess Šīrīn." (Encyclopædia Iranica, "Farhad", Heshmat Moayyad Accessed 2010-[http://www.iranica.com/articles/farhad%20(1))

Farhād (Phraates, q.v.), like Mīlād and Bēžan, is among the Parthian princes who are transformed in the Iranian national epic into warrior-heroes at the Kayanian court” (Encyclopædia Iranica, "Farhad", Heshmat Moayyad Accessed 2010-[http://www.iranica.com/articles/farhad%20(1))

Chelkowski, P. "Nezami's Iskandarnameh:"in Colloquio sul poeta persiano Nizami e la leggenda iranica di Alessandro magno, Roma,1977). pp 17: "In the case of previous romances of Khosraw and Bahram, Nizami dealt with national Iranian heroes, though from pre-Islamic times. In the tale of Layla and Majnun, the Arab nationality of the lover is of no importance since the story is based on a simple Arab folktale which was later absorbed and embellished by the Persians".

Layli o Majnun
Pellat, Ch.; Bruijn, J.T.P. de; Flemming, B.; Haywood, J.A. "Madjnūn Laylā." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2009. Brill Online. Excerpts: "The theme was chosen for the first time as the subject of a Persian narrative poem, but the precedent of the treatment of a similar subject of Arabic origin existed in ʿAyyūḳī's Warḳa u Gulshāh. Niẓāmī states in the introduction to his poem that he accepted the assignment with some hesitation. At first, he doubted whether this tale of madness and wanderings through the wilderness would be suitable for a royal court (ed. Moscow 1965, 41 ff.). He adapted the disconnected stories to fit the requirements of a Persian romance. ...In some respects, the Bedouin setting of the original has been changed under the influence of urban conditions more familiar to the poet and his audience: the young lovers become acquainted at school; the generous Nawfal is a prince in the Iranian style rather than an Arab official. Niẓāmī added a second pair of lovers, Zayn and Zaynab, in whom the love between the main characters is reflected. It is Zayn who in a dream sees Madjnūn and Laylī united in paradise at the end of the romance." Ali Asghar Seyed-Gohrab, "Layli and Majnun: Madness and Mystic Longing" Brill Studies in Middle Eastern literature, Jun 2003, pg 76-77. excerpt: Although Majnun was to some extent a popular figure before Nizami's time, his popularity increased dramatically after the appearance of Nizami's romance. By collecting information from both secular and mystical sources about Majnun, Nizami portrayed such a vivid picture of this legendary lover that all subsequent poets were inspired by him, many of them imitated him and wrote their own versions of the romance. As we shall see in the following chapters, the poet uses various characteristics deriving from ‘Udhrite love poetry and weaves them into his own Persian culture. In other words, Nizami Persianises the poem by adding several techniques borrowed from the Persian epic tradition, such as the portrayal of characters, the relationship between characters, description of time and setting, etc. The Story of Layla and Majnun, by Nizami. Translated Dr. Rudolf. Gelpke in collaboration with E. Mattin and G. Hill, Omega Publications, 1966, ISBN #0-930872-52-5. (see [1] Amazon) Excerpt from the introduction (pp xiv):""Nizami preserves the Bedouin atmosphere, the nomad's tents in the desert and the tribal customs of the inhabitants, while at the same time transposing the story into the far more civilized Iranian world...Majnun talks to the planets in the symbolic language of a twelfth century Persian sage, the encounters of small Arabic raiding parties become gigantic battles of royal Persian armies and most of the Bedouins talk like heroes, courtiers, and savants of the refined Iranian Civilization"

Encyclopædia Iranica, "Leyli o Majnun", A. A. Seyed-Gohrab.  “Neẓāmi adds a strong Persian flavor to the legend. For example, the Nowfal episode is developed into a completely different event, hardly resembling the original Arabic account. The Arabic sources portray Nowfal as an official, but Neẓāmi’s Nowfal is a chivalrous Persian chieftain (javānmard) ready to risk his life to bring the two lovers together. Neẓāmi threads the scattered anecdotes about Majnun’s love into a finely woven narrative with a dramatic climax. Persian verse romances are commonly about princes, and characters are usually related to courtly circles. Likewise, Neẓāmi portrays the lovers as aristocrats. He also urbanizes the Bedouin legend: Majnun does not meet Leyli in the desert amongst the camels, but at school with other children. Other Persian motifs added to the story are the childless king, who desires an heir; nature poetry, especially about gardens in spring and autumn, and sunset and sunrise; the story of an ascetic living in a cave; the account of the king of Marv and his dogs; the Zeyd and Zeynab episode; Majnun’s supplication to the heavenly bodies and God; his kingship over animals, and his didactic conversations with several characters.”

Encyclopædia Iranica, "Leyli o Majnun", A. A. Seyed-Gohrab.  “Despite its simple structure and plot, the romance is among the most imitated works in Persian, and in other languages under Persian cultural and literary influence, such as Pashto, Urdu, Kurdish, and the Turkic languages. There are numerous ‘imitations’ (naẓira s) of the romance. In his statistical survey of famous Persian romances, Ḥasan Ḏulfaqāri enumerates 59 ‘imitations’ (naẓira s) of Leyli o Majnun as the most popular romance in the Iranian world, followed by 51 versions of Ḵosrow o Širin, 22 variants of Yusof o Zoleyḵā and 16 versions of Vāmeq oʿAḏrāʾ”

Colin Turner who also translated the poem states in his foreward: “The Persian poet Nizami was commissioned to write Layla and Majnun by the Caucasian ruler, Shirvanshah in AD 1188. In his original preface to the poem, Nizami explains that the messenger from Shirvanshah arrived and gave him a letter written in the Kings own hand. Extolling Nizami as ‘the universal magician of eloquence’, Shirvanshah asked the poet to write a romantic epic based on a simple Arab folktale: the age old tale of Majun, the ‘love-mad’ poet, and Layla, the celebrated desert beauty. Since the dawn of Islam some five hundred years before, the legend of Layla and Majnun had been a popular theme of love songs, sonnets and orders of the Bedouins in Arabia. Majnun was associated with a real-life character, Qays ibn al-Mulawwah, who probably lived in the second half of the seventh century AD in the desert of Najd in the Arabian peninsula. By Nizami’s time there were many variations on the Majnun theme circulating throughout the region, and no doubt Shirvanshah approached Nizami with a view to the creation of something ‘special’. Initially, Nizami was loathe to accept the commission, as he felt the story offered ‘neither gardens nor royal pageants nor festivities, neither streams nor wine nor happiness’, all of which are staples of classical Persian poetry. But eventually, at his son’s insistence, he relented. Less than four months later, Nizami’s Layla and Majnun, which comprises in the original some 8000 lines of verse, was completed” Colin Turner (translator and scholar), Layla and Majnun: The Classic Love Story of Persian Literature [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover), “John Blake; illustrated edition edition (June 1, 1997)”. Even Soviet Rypka: "The subject of the third epic, written in 1188, is not taken from Persian history but is borrowed from the Arabian world: not that of the Bedouins, but one closer to the Persian conception of Arabia " (Rypka, Jan. 'Poets and Prose Writers of the Late Saljuq and Mongol Periods', in The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5, The Saljuq and Mongol Periods, ed., Published January 1968 , pg 580) Chelkowski, P. "Nezami's Iskandarnameh:"in Colloquio sul poeta persiano Nizami e la leggenda iranica di Alessandro magno, Roma,1977). pp 17: "In the case of previous romances of Khosraw and Bahram, Nizami dealt with national Iranian heroes, though from pre-Islamic times. In the tale of Layla and Majnun, the Arab nationality of the lover is of no importance since the story is based on a simple Arab folktale which was later absorbed and embellished by the Persians". The Story of Layla and Majnun, by Nizami. Translated Dr. Rudolf. Gelpke in collaboration with E. Mattin and G. Hill, Omega Publications, 1966, ISBN #0-930872-52-5. (see [1] Amazon) Excerpt from the introduction:""Nizami preserves the Bedouin atmosphere, the nomad's tents in the desert and the tribal customs of the inhabitants, while at the same time transposing the story into the far more civilized Iranian world...Majnun talks to the planets in the symbolic language of a twelfth century Persian sage, the encounters of small Arabic raiding parties become gigantic battles of royal Persian armies and most of the Bedouins talk like heroes, courtiers, and savants of the refined Iranian Civilization"

Haft Paykar
Julie Scott Meisami, "The Haft Paykar: A Medieval Persian Romance (Oxford World's Classics)", Oxford University Pr. (T), 1995, ISBN 0-19-283184-4, Excerpt from pg xxiii:“The Haft Paykar blends historical and legendary materials con­cerning the pre-Islamic Iranian past with Islamic beliefs and esoteric symbolism. …Nizami both recuperates and reworks Firdawsi’s treatment of the Iranian past to create a different sort of poem, one that reflects the concerns of his own age.”

Chelkowski, P. "Nezami's Iskandarnameh:"in Colloquio sul poeta persiano Nizami e la leggenda iranica di Alessandro magno, Roma,1977). pp 17: "In the case of previous romances of Khosraw and Bahram, Nizami dealt with national Iranian heroes, though from pre-Islamic times. In the tale of Layla and Majnun, the Arab nationality of the lover is of no importance since the story is based on a simple Arab folktale which was later absorbed and embellished by the Persians".

Chelkowski, P. "Nizami Gandjawi, jamal al-Din Abu Muhammad Ilyas b. Yusuf b. Zaki Muayyad . Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2008. Brill Online. Excerpt one:"Nizami Gandjawi, Djamal al-Din Abu Muhammad Ilyas b. Yusuf b. Zaki Muʾayyad, one of the greatest Persian poets and thinkers." Excerpt two: "In Haft Paykar, the phantasmagoric movement of its hero, Bahram Gūr, as he visits each princess, covers a symbolic path between black, or the hidden majesty of the Divine, and white, or purity and unity. The princesses and their pavilions are manifestations of specific planets, specific climes, colours, and days. The pavilions are domed, representing the structure of the heavens. Nizami illustrates the harmony of the universe, the affinity of the sacred and the profane, and the concordance of ancient and Islamic Iran." (Nizami Ganjavi in Encyclopedia of Islam, Chelkowski)."

Eskandarnama
(Abel, A.; Ed(s). "Iskandar Nama." Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2007. Brill onlien edition). Excerpt: "In the Shahnama, Firdawsi already makes Iskandar an exemplary figure, whom the companionship of Aristotle helps to rise still higher, by the path of wisdom and moderation, in the direction of abstinence and contempt for this world. And Firdwasi laid stress on the defeat of Dārā (the Darius of the Greeks) as something desired by "the rotation of the Heavens"....At the time of Niẓami, however, Islam is from then onwards well established in Iran, and it is the prophetic and ecumenical aspect of his destiny that the poet makes evident in his hero. As a learned Iranian poet, Niẓami, who demonstrates his eclecticism in the information he gives (he says, "I have taken from everything just what suited me and I have borrowed from recent histories, Christian, Pahlavi and Jewish ... and of them I have made a whole"), locates the story of his hero principally in Iran. He makes him the image of the Iranian "knight", peace-loving and moderate, courteous and always ready for any noble action. Like all Niẓami's heroes, he conquers the passions of the flesh, and devotes his attention to his undertakings and his friendships. These features appear in the account, which follows ancient tradition, of his conduct towards the women of the family of Darius, in his brotherly attitude on the death of that ruler, in his behaviour towards queen Nushaba (the Kaydaf of Firdawsi, the Kandake of the pseudo-Callisthenes) whom he defends against the Russians."

Chelkowski, P. “Nizami’s Iskandarnameh:”in Colloquio sul poeta persiano Nizami e la leggenda iranica di Alessandro magno, Roma,1977): Robert Hartle opens his article entitled “The image of Alexander the Great in Seventeenth Century France” with a statement: ‘When Alexander the Great had conquered Persia he began to adopt Persian ways; it should be no surprise that when he conquered seventeenth century France he began to act like a Frenchman’ … Alexander was glorified by the Muslims as a divine agent, a prophet-king and the blessed conqueror of the lands that were to become the stronghold of Islam. To some Muslims, Islam was a realization of Alexander’s “koine”- a commonwealth where people could live in harmony and in peace of heart and mind. In this atmosphere attempts were made to make out Alexander not only a Muslim but a Persian as well. .... The great Muslim historian Tabari (9th/10th century A.D.) gives several accounts of Alexander based on various sources. In his presentation of the Persian origin of Alexander, he describes Darius the Third as an oppressive ruler. Tabari’s description of Alexander’s refusal to pay tribute to Darius, the war of Alexander with Darius and the death of Darius, reappear in Nizami’s account. Similarities between Tabari and Nizami are also to be found in the description of Alexander’s treatment of knowledge, science, philosophy, and Alexander’s journeys to India, China, Tibet and the ‘‘Land of Darkness’’. ... However, it was not Tabari directly, but Ferdowsi who was Nizami’s source of inspiration and material in composing Iskandarnameh. Nizami constantly alludes to the Shahnameh in his writing, especially in the prologue to the Iskandarnameh. It seems that he was always fascinated by the work of Firdawsi and made it a goal of his life to write an heroic epic of the same stature. And so, for his last masnavi Nizami chose as a theme the story of Alexander, which is recounted in Firdawsi’s Shahnameh. Even without the Psuedo-Callisthenes model, Firdawsi had been able to look for the continuity of Iranian spirit from prehistoric times and was able to consider Alexander as a great hero in the history of Persian civilization. Persia was the only country which had preserved not only her language after the Arab-Muslim invasion but also many aspects of her national identity and character.

In fact, although Alexander conquered Iran, he was soon conquered by Persian customs and ways of life. In many aspects he was so overwhelmed by Persian civilization that he became more Persian than the Persians. He tried to make a blend of the Greek and Persian civilizations – even genetically, when he sponsored mass marriages between his troops and Persian women. He himself married Roxane the daughter of Sogdian prince—not the daughter of Darius the Third, as both Firdawsi and Nizami believed.

Like Alexander, Arabs, Turks, Mongols and other people who overran the Iranian plateau also came under the spell of Persian culture. Foreign invaders remained to become contributors and patrons of Persian art and culture. To give one example, some of Nizami’s benefactors were of Turkic stock.

As previously mentioned, it seems that Nizami’s favorite pastime was reading Firdawsi’s monumental epic Shahnameh (The book of Kings). Firdawsi’s treatment of Alexander in this great heroic poem was by no means negligible, but in Nizami’s opinion it was not complete and he wanted to write a poetic supplement to it. After several years of research he gave up this idea and decided that the subject called for a new and independent work. He still, however, acknowledged his indebtedness to his great master, Firdawsi, and considered himself a respectful follower of that literary pioneer. He, therefore, chose for the book of Alexander one heroic epic verse known as Mutaqarib, which Firdawsi employed in his Shahnameh..

Chelkowski, P. "Nezami's Iskandarnameh:"in Colloquio sul poeta persiano Nizami e la leggenda iranica di Alessandro magno, Roma,1977). pp 10: "The Persian legend of Alexander the Great seems to overshadow all of the other fantastic Alexander stories not only in the tale of the successful accomplishment of many a "mission-impossible" but especially concerning the nature of his career. In Iran he rose from the stature of a damned evil conquerer of the country, to that of a national Iranian hero king, and even more, to that of the great prophet of God, preparing all the nations for the true religion. Yet the Persian legend of Alexander is very little known in the Western world.""

Chelkowski, P. "Nezami's Iskandarnameh:"in Colloquio sul poeta persiano Nizami e la leggenda iranica di Alessandro magno, Roma,1977). pp 19: "Alexander was glorified by the Muslims as a divine agent, a prophet-king and the blessed conquerer of the lands that were to become the stronghold of Islam. To some Muslims, Islam was a realization of Alexander's "koine" --- a commonwealth where people could live in harmony and in peace of heart and mind. In this atmosphere attempts were made to make out of Alexander not only a Muslim but a Persian as well".

Chelkowski, P. "Nezami's Iskandarnameh:"in Colloquio sul poeta persiano Nizami e la leggenda iranica di Alessandro magno, Roma,1977). pg 21: "However, it was not Tabari directly, but Ferdowsi who was Nizami's source of inspiration and material in composing Iskandarnameh. Nizami constantly alludes to the Shahnameh in his writing, especially in the prologue to the Iskandarnameh. It seems that he was always fascinated by the work of Firdawsi and made it a goal of his life to write an heroic epic of the same stature. pg22: "It seems that Nezami's favorite pastime was reading Firdawsi's monumental epic Shahnameh (The book of Kings)".

Chelkowski, P. "Nezami's Iskandarnameh:"in Colloquio sul poeta persiano Nizami e la leggenda iranica di Alessandro magno, Roma,1977). pg 22: "In fact, although Alexander conquered Iran, he was soon conquered by Persian customs and ways of life. In many aspects he was so overwhelmed by Persian civilization that he became more Persian than the Persians. He tried to make a blend of the Greek and Persian civilization --- even genetically, when he sponsered mass marriages between his troops and Persian women. He himself married Roxane (Rowshanak) the daughter of the Sogdian prince -- not the daughter of Darius the Third, as both Firdawsi and Nizami believed. Like Alexander, Arabs, Turks, Mongols and other people who overran the Iranian plateau also came under the spell of Persian culture. Foreign invaders remained to become contributors and patrons of Persian art and culture. To give one example, some of Nizami's benefactors were of Turkic stock."

Bertels Eugene Edwardovich
He passed away in 1957..before Nozhat al-Majales in the politicized atmosphere of USSR.. there is enough quote on USSR politicization of Nizami to dissmiss many of his ideas. He did produce better editions of the Panj Ganj and Shahnameh... However the recent editions of Panj Ganj by Baraat Zanjani have rectified the many mistakes. Similarly the new edition of Shahnameh by Khaleqi Mutlaq have corrected many of the mistakes in the Shahnameh. As the author passed away in 1957, which is more than 50 years ago, one must simply concentrate on Western and living Nezami scholars for the article.

C. A. (Charles Ambrose) Storey and Franço de Blois (2004), "Persian Literature - A Biobibliographical Survey: Volume V Poetry of the Pre-Mongol Period.", RoutledgeCurzon; 2nd revised edition (June 21, 2004). Pg 363: "Nizami Ganja’i, whose personal name was Ilyas, is the most celebrated native poet of the Persians after Firdausi. His nisbah designates him as a native of Ganja (Elizavetpol, Kirovabad) in Azerbaijan, then still a country with an Iranian population, and he spent the whole of his life in Transcaucasia; the verse in some of his poetic works which makes him a native of the hinterland of Qom is a spurious interpolation."

Bertels also did not have access to Nozhat al-Majales which was published 30 years after him.

Diakonov
The Paths of history(1999) is a translation of a 1993 work.  The memoirs is his last work. The memoir is also quoted by Viktor Shnirelman, making it good enough for Wikipedia.

In the memoir he explicitly states(1995 and his last work): “There were slight problems with Nizami - first of all he was not Azeri but Persian (Iranian) poet, and though he lived in presently Azerbaijani city of Ganja, which, like many cities in the region, had Iranian population in Middle Ages” In the paths of history, he says: footenote 47 on page 110 “Nizami lived in Ganja, a Turkic (Azerbaijani) speaking city, but he wrote in Persian”

It is true that Ganja is now a Turkic speaking city, but the name itself is Persian and at one time, its population was Iranic Nozhat al-majales. Which one is the correct opinion? Viktor Shnirelman (whose book in www.scholar.google.com has received excellent reviews), has chosen the memoir which is Diakonov’s last work by default. Also Diakonov is clear that he is speaking about the Middle Ages in the memoir, but he is not clear in the paths of history. Indeed it is WP:OR to assume Diakonov is contradicting himself or to pick one quote over the other. If we assume that the sentences do not contradict, it only makes sense that Diakonov is stating “although he lived in presently Azerbaijani city of Ganja”(which is a Turkic speaking city), he wrote in Persian, and Ganja was Iranian speaking in the Middle ages, and Nezami was not an Azeri, but Persian(Iranian). However, if there is confusion, both quotes can be removed or both can be inserted to support other opinion. However, in one quote, he clearly states "Was this and not that".. Probably let the mediator/moderator to decide the issue.

Once again on the Leili o Majnoon and Axsatan quotes
Since Tourkhan Gandjei was mentioned. (Tourkhan Gandjei, “Turkish in Pre-Mongol Persian Poetry” BSOAS 49, 1986, pp. 67-76), also states: "The Oghuz tribes which formed the basis of the Saljuq power, and to one which the Seljuqs belonged were culturally backward, and contrary to the opinion advanced by some scholars(he mentions a Turkish scholar), did not posses a written language. Thus the Seljuqs did not, or rather could not take steps towards the propagating the Turkish language, in a written form, much less the patronage of Turkish letters. "

Comment: That is Turkish literary tradition did not exist for a kings during Seljuq era to ask for Turkish poetry. If it did exist, please provide an example of a Turkish epic under the Seljuq domain at the time of Nezami from any poet or author. Rypka also mentions this too:"The undisputed supremacy of Persian culture, in which the Turkish tribes could only participate through the Persian tongue, makes understandable that Nizami should write in Persian." Also Nezami according to him came from an urban background (his ancestry dates prior to the Seljuq invasion). This has been covered here too, and we write some more on it here:  1) Shirvanshahs were not Turks.. it would only make sense that if Nezami was Turkish, he would write Turkish for Turkic patrons. 2) There is not a single Turkish poem from any poet of the Caucasus at the time. Nezami has left a good deal of lyrical poetry (quatrain, qasida, ghazal), these were not associated with the court. If he was Turkish, he would have written some Turkish ghazals. 3) Kaplaki (is the first author), Heyat, Notqi are all Turks (the last two are actually nationalistic). Heyat/Notqi are not experts in Persian literature neither is Kaplaki(teaching in Turkey and a Turkush)/Andrews. However Dastgerdi (praised by Chelkowski, his explanatory notes also certified by de Blois, quoted and used by many Nezami experts, Zaryab Khoi, Therwatiyan and host of others) have given the proper intrepretation of this poem.  In case this issue becomes necessary, both intrepretations can be given. 4) See comments of Vahid Dastgerdi (whom Rypka, Chelkowski and Blois call a great commentator on Nezami) and also Abbas Zaryab on this issue here:  and here: 5) Professor. Rick Davis was asked by a user on this issue (who kindly forwarded me the correspondence) and he states that the pro-Turkish viewpoint is: “I think it’s rubbish. If anything the line implies the opposite, because it implies that you can only write in a language if you feel sympathy for the culture of the language, and Nezami could certainly write very well in Persian.” 6) On Vahid Dastgerdi Jan Rypka states : “Wahid, the famous editor and commentator of Nizami’s complete works” Storey and Blois :” His explanatory notes are, however, often quite useful”

Chelkowski, P. "Nizami Gandjawi, jamal al-Din Abu Muhammad Ilyas b. Yusuf b. Zaki Muayyad . Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2008. Brill Online. Excerpt one:"Nizami Gandjawi, Djamal al-Din Abu Muhammad Ilyas b. Yusuf b. Zaki Muʾayyad, one of the greatest Persian poets and thinkers." Excerpt“The great Persian authority on Niẓāmī, Waḥīd Dastgirdī, calls Ḵh̲usraw wa S̲h̲īrīn “the best historical fable of love and chastity, the treasure of eloquence, counsel and wisdom,” Even a Turkish source states on Dastgerdi: R. Azada, Nezami, Elm Publishers, 1981. Translated in 1991: “Remarkable are Vahid Dastgerdi’s studies on Nizami being a step forward in world orientalism. He prepares the most correct texts of Nizami’s works by comparing various manuscripts of different scribes and times, commenting on difficult couplets, lines and allusions, and compiled a dictionary of words which were not easily understood, and not least of all, did an honourable job by researching into poet’s life and creative activity”

The fact is, most of the difficult lines of Nezami’s poems are translated from Dastgerdi’s interpretation. This is true in the case of Russian and English translations as well. So while the Turkish scholar Kalpakli is no authority on Nezami, Vahid Dastgerdi’s authority on Nezami is universally acknowledged. The great commentator on Nezami (the one where most of the illusions and imagery of Nezami is understood through today) writers is Vahid Datgerdi who writes on this verse : معنی بیت اینست که وفای ما چون ترکان و عهد ما چون سلطان محمود ترک نیست که شکسته شود پس آنگونه سخن که سزای پادشاهان ترکست برای ما ناسزاوار است.

Translation:

The meaning of these verses is that our fidelity is not like the Turks and our faithfulness is not like that of Sultan Mahmud the Turk. Our fidelity and commitment will not be broken, so words that are befitting for Turkish kings is not befitting for us. Dastgerdi, Wahid. “Kolliyaat Nezami Ganjavi”(the 5 collections of Nizami Ganjav), Tehran, Tak Publishers, Third Print, 1378 /(1999-2000). Volume 1:Pg 586

7) Another great scholar is Abbas Zaryab Khoi who has responded to this misinterpretation. Abbas Zaryab Khoi,Ayandeh Magazine, Esfand Maah (February-March), 1324 (1945), pages 780-781. (Iran)

[] [] Transcription of the article in Persian: نویسنده روزنامه آذربایجان از شعر: ترکی صفت وفای ما نیست- ترکانه سخن سزای ما نیست- می خواهد استدلال کند که نظامی می خواسته است شعر ترکی بگوید و شروانشاه مانع گردیده است و پیغام داده است که «ترکی صفت وفای ما نیست…الخ» و «او را سخن بلند باید…الخ» ولی نویسنده اشتباه کرده است، چه، اگر مقصود از «ترکی» زبان ترکی بود، ربطی به صفت وفای شروانشاه نداشت تا در نامه ای که به نظامی نوشته است بگوید: «ترکی صفت وفای ما نیست»، بلکه مقصود از «ترکی» معنی مصدری است، یعنی ترک گری و ترک بودن، و این تعبیر در ادبیات فارسی سابقه زیادی دارد. چنان که می گفتند: «ترکی تمام شد» یعنی نوبت هرج و مرج گذشت، و ترک گری به معنی بی رحمی و قساوت و بی ادبی و خشونت آمده است. چنان که سنایی می فرماید: می نبیند آن سفیهانی که ترکی کرده اند همچو چشم تنگ ترکان، گور ایشان تنگ باد و در زبان فرانسه هم «تورکری» به معنی زمختی و شدت استعمال شده است. پس معنی مصرع اول چنین است که: ترکی، یعنی ترک گری و بی وفایی صفت وفای ما نیست، چنان که در بعضی نسخ هم «ترکی صفتی، وفای ما نیست» ضبط شده است و مرحوم وحید دستگردی در کتاب لیلی و مجنون نظامی نظامی که به تصحیح ایشان طبع شده است، در زیر این بیت همین معنی را می کنند و آن را اشاره و تلمیحی به قصه سلطان محمود غزنوی که نسبت به فردوسی بی وفایی کرده است می دانند. و چنان که معلوم است، ترکان در آن زمان به بی وفایی و عهد شکنی معروف بوده اند. و نظیر این معنی در اشعار شعرای بزرگ فراوان است. چنان که اسدی گوید: وفا ناید از ترک هرگز پدید از ایرانیان جز وفا کس ندید و سنایی گوید: ما خود ز تو این چشم نداریم. ازیراک- ترکی تو و هرگز نبود ترک وفادار- و کسانی که مایل به تفصیل باشند به کتاب امثال و حکم دانشمند معظم آقای دهخدا، زیر مثل «اترک التروک و لوکان اباک”مراجعه کنند. و مصرع دوم بیت: «ترکانه سخن سزای ما نیست» معنی اش این است که: سخن پست و رکیک سزای ما نیست. زیرا در آن عهد ترکان به بددهنی معروف بودند و موید این ادعا، بیت بعدی است که می گوید: «آن کز نسب بلند زاید- او را سخن بلند باید» چنان که می بینیم، ترکانه سخن را در مقابل سخن بلند قرار داده است که معنی آن سخن پست و رکیک است و تعبیر «ترکانه سخن”هرگز به معنی «ترکی سخن گفتن» نمی باشد. (عباس زریاب خوئی)

In order to translate the above, we have kept the main Persian terms and have provided explanation of these terms based on the Dehkhoda dictionary and the Persian language. So we provided both a translation with an explanation and a translation for English usage: Translation of the Persian article in blue font, the Persian terms provided in the parenthesis are in red, verses and key Persian terms are put in the quotes and additional explanatory notes in brackets in red: The writer of the newspaper named “Azerbaijan” has misinterpreted the lines: “Torki Sefat Vafaayeh Maa Nist” –“ Torkaaneh Sokhan Sezaayeh Maa nist”. The writer of that article wants to argue that that Nizami wanted to write in Turkish, but the Shirvanshah forbid him and his message said instead: “Torki Sefat Vafaayeh Maa Nist” (Our fidelity/faithfulness is not of Turkish characteristics) – “Torkaaneh Sokhan Sezaayeh Maa nist” (Turkish-mannered/ Turkish-like Discourse is not befitting for us- more precisely: Turkish-mannered/Turkish like Discourse/Torkaaneh Sokhan  is not what we deserve) -  “aan ke ze nasab Boland zaayad (He who is born of high lineage) – “oo raa sokhan boland baayad” (He deserves a high and sophisticated(“Boland” as opposite to “Past” where “Past” means vulgar discourse) discourse).

But the writer of that newspaper has made an error. Because, if we assume from the word “Torki”(Turkish), the meaning that is to be interpreted is “language”, then it has nothing to do with sefat-e Vafaaye (faithful characteristic) of Shirvanshah, so that the King would write in his letter to Nizami: “Torki Sefat-e Vafaayeh Maa nist”(Our fidelity/faithfulness is not of Turkish characteristics). The meaning from “Torki” in this line is an infinitive [verb found from noun] like Torki-Gari (To act Turkish / To do things in the manner of a Turk) and Tork Boodan (to act Turkish), and this expression is an old tradition in Persian literature. For example “Torki Tamaam Shod”(Torki has finished/acting Turkish has finished) which means that “harj o marj” (confusion, wildness and unruliness) has finished and “Torki-Gari” (To do Turkish stuff) is equivalent to cruelness, harshness and this meaning is used by Sanai:

“Mi-Nabinid aan Safihaani keh Torki Kardeh-and Hamcho Chesm Torkaan, Gur-i eeshan tang o taar”

(Do you see those unwise who Torki”[Torki used as an infinitive/verb] May their grave be tight and dark like the eyes of Turks)

In French too, the term “turqueri” has been used often to denote rude and unmannered behavior. [Note for this French term: See Karlsson, Ingmar, (“The Turk as a Threat and Europe’s “Other”),International Issues & Slovak Foreign Policy Affairs (01/2006) http://www.nurope.eu/stambul_pics/The%20Turk%20as%20a%20Threat.pdf From page 2 of the above article:”The French called rude behaviour, cruelty and greed turquerie…”]

Thus the first part of this couplet means this: “Torki”(to act Turkish) which is an infinitive, “Torki-Gari” (To act Turkish / To do things in the manner of a Turk) and unfaithfulness/infidelity (Persian: bi-vafaai) is not the characteristic of our faithfulness/fidelity. And in some of the manuscripts it has come down as “Torki Sefati, vafaayeh maa nist”(Acting with Turkish characteristics, is not the characteristic of our fidelity) and Vahid Dastgerdi, may God bless him, in his corrected edition of Lili o Majnoon, brings forth this interpretation and points to the story of Mahmud Ghazna who was unfaithful to Ferdowsi. And what is clear is that at that time, Turks were known for unfaithfulness, infidelity and covenant-breaking.

And such a phrase is found in the poetry of many great poets. For example Asadi Tusi[born in Khorasan but then served in the courts of local dynasties in Arran and Azerbaijan] states:

“vafaa naayad az tork hargez padi” (Faithfulness will never appear amongst Turks)

“az Iranian joz vafaa kas nadid” (And from Iranians, there is nothing but faithfulness)

And Sanai[a Poet who influenced Nezami] states:

“maa khod ze to in cheshm nadaarim aziraak” (We ourselves do not expect anything from you because)

Torki to o hargez nabood tork vafaadaar (You are a Turk and a Turk is never faithful)

And those that want to see more expressions like these can look at the book of “sayings and wise quotes” by the great scholar Dehkhoda under [the expression] “Atrak al-Torook wa law Kaana Abuk”(Forget Turkish even if your forefathers were Turkish).

And the second part of the couplet: “Torkaaneh Sokhan sezaayeh maa nist” Turkish-mannered/Turkish-like discourse is not befitting for us) means that unmannered speech and vulgarity is not befitting/deserving for us, because at that time, Turks were known for vulgarity. The proof of this is given the next verse:

“An kaz nasab boland zaayad”(That who is born from a high birth and lineage), “oo raa Sokhan boland baayad” (He deserves a high mannered discourse).

For Zaryab Khoi's Analysis, see here: []

8)

Incase the other side wants to argue...first is Kalpalki is not a Nezami expert like Dastgerdi and second there was no Turkish literary tradition than. (Tourkhan Gandjei, “Turkish in Pre-Mongol Persian Poetry” BSOAS 49, 1986, pp. 67-76), also states: "The Oghuz tribes which formed the basis of the Saljuq power, and to one which the Seljuqs belonged were culturally backward, and contrary to the opinion advanced by some scholars(he mentions a Turkish scholar), did not posses a written language. Thus the Seljuqs did not, or rather could not take steps towards the propagating the Turkish language, in a written form, much less the patronage of Turkish letters. "

Kalpalki(first author) and Andrews who state that nezami is a famous Persian poet claim that the introduction of Layli o Majnoon seems to indiate that Sharvanshah could have asked Nezami to write Turkish, and the poet could have done this. However, there was no literary tradition in the Seljuq empire then. The Russian scholar Ivan Mikhailovich Steblin-Kamensky, a major Iranologist states that Nezami Ganjavi knew no Azeri. The famous commentator, scholar and authority of Nezami, Vahid Dastgerderi simply interprets the verse as :"The meaning of these verses is that our fidelity is not like the Turks and our faithfulness is not like that of Sultan Mahmud the Turk. Our fidelity and commitment will not be broken, so words that are befitting for Turkish kings is not befitting for us". Similarly, the Iranian Scholar of Persian literature, Abbas Zaryab Khoi take a very different interperetation and states : "Thus as we see, he(Nezami) has compared “Torkaaneh-Sokhan”(Turkish-like/Turkish-mannered discourse/ speech/talk) to high/mannered discourse/speech and thus “Torkaaneh-Sokhan” (Turkish mannered/Turkish like/Turkish behaviored discourse) means unmannered and vulgar speech, and the interpretation of “Torkaaneh Sokhan” never means to speak/write in the Turkish language.".

Also it is good to mention the many sources above which has mentioned Nezami Persianized the story of Layli o Majnoon.

Pellat, Ch.; Bruijn, J.T.P. de; Flemming, B.; Haywood, J.A. "Madjnūn Laylā." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2009. Brill Online. Excerpts: "The theme was chosen for the first time as the subject of a Persian narrative poem, but the precedent of the treatment of a similar subject of Arabic origin existed in ʿAyyūḳī's Warḳa u Gulshāh. Niẓāmī states in the introduction to his poem that he accepted the assignment with some hesitation. At first, he doubted whether this tale of madness and wanderings through the wilderness would be suitable for a royal court (ed. Moscow 1965, 41 ff.). He adapted the disconnected stories to fit the requirements of a Persian romance. ...In some respects, the Bedouin setting of the original has been changed under the influence of urban conditions more familiar to the poet and his audience: the young lovers become acquainted at school; the generous Nawfal is a prince in the Iranian style rather than an Arab official. Niẓāmī added a second pair of lovers, Zayn and Zaynab, in whom the love between the main characters is reflected. It is Zayn who in a dream sees Madjnūn and Laylī united in paradise at the end of the romance."

Encyclopædia Iranica, "Leyli o Majnun", A. A. Seyed-Gohrab. [64] “Neẓāmi adds a strong Persian flavor to the legend. For example, the Nowfal episode is developed into a completely different event, hardly resembling the original Arabic account. The Arabic sources portray Nowfal as an official, but Neẓāmi’s Nowfal is a chivalrous Persian chieftain (javānmard) ready to risk his life to bring the two lovers together. Neẓāmi threads the scattered anecdotes about Majnun’s love into a finely woven narrative with a dramatic climax. Persian verse romances are commonly about princes, and characters are usually related to courtly circles. Likewise, Neẓāmi portrays the lovers as aristocrats. He also urbanizes the Bedouin legend: Majnun does not meet Leyli in the desert amongst the camels, but at school with other children. Other Persian motifs added to the story are the childless king, who desires an heir; nature poetry, especially about gardens in spring and autumn, and sunset and sunrise; the story of an ascetic living in a cave; the account of the king of Marv and his dogs; the Zeyd and Zeynab episode; Majnun’s supplication to the heavenly

(and others quoted above)..

Again though, due to weight WP:WEIGHT, Kalpakli is not a Nezami scholar and he is not attested to be a Nezami scholar. He contradicts major scholars like Dastgerdi and Ivan Stembensky, as well historical fact that there was no Turkish literary tradition then in the Caucasus (let alone an epic!). Dastgerdi is a widely known Nezami scholar and so his take on the issue is final. Also since the issue has nothing to do with the main focus on Nezami (see Encyclopaedia of Islam article on him or even the Laiyi o Majnoon articles in Encyclopaedia of Islam and Iranica which only mentions Persianizing the sotry), then there is no point to mention in the article.

Quotes Showing Politicization by USSR
De-Iranization does not necessarily contradict de-Turkification. USSR authorities were more interested in building an "Azerbaijani identity" separate from both Iran and Turkey. Thus their main claim was actually Nezami was "Azerbaijani" rather than "Turkish". So no need for long arguments here.

This is discussed more in my article, but here are some the quotes showing the USSR wanted to accomplish nation building and try to change Nezami's identity. Accordming to Bert Fragner It was up to the central power to solve these kinds of contradiction by arbitrary decisions. This makes clear that Soviet nationalism was embedded into the political structure of what used to be called ‘Democratic Centralism’. The territorial principle was extended to all aspects of national histories, not only in space but also in time: ‘Urartu was the oldest manifestation of a state not only on Armenian soil but throughout the whole Union (and, therefore, implicitly the earliest forerunner of the Soviet state)’, 'Nezami from Ganja is an Azerbaijani Poet', and so on.

According to Yuri Slezkine : "Indeed, the 1934 Congress of Soviet Writers, which in many ways inaugurated high Stalinism as a cultural paradigm, was a curiously solemn parade of old-fashioned romantic nationalisms. Pushkin, Tolstoy and other officially restored Russian icons were not the only national giants of international stature - all Soviet peoples possessed, or would shortly acquire, their own classics, their own founding fathers and their own folkloric riches. The Ukrainian delegate said that Taras Shevchenko was a “genius”and a “colossus” “whose role in the creation of the Ukrainian literary language was no less important than Pushkin’s role in the creation of the Russian literary language, and perhaps even greater.”The Armenian delegate pointed out that his nation’s culture was “one of the most ancient cultures of the orient,”that the Armenian national alphabet predated Christianity and that the Armenian national epic was “one of the best examples of world epic literature”because of “the lifelike realism of its imagery, its elegance, the profundity and simplicity of its popular wisdom and the democratic nature of its plot.”The Azerbaijani delegate insisted that the Persian poet Nizami was actually a classic of Azerbaijani literature because he was a “Turk from Giandzha” and ..."

According to Walter Kolarz :

"The attempt to 'annex' an important part of Persian literature and to transform it into 'Azerbaidzhani literature' can be best exemplified by the way in which the memory of the great Persian poet Nizami (1141—1203) is exploited in the Soviet Union. The Soviet regime does not pay tribute to Nizami as a great representative of world literature, but is mainly interested in him as a ‘poet of the Soviet Union’, which he is considered to be because he was born in Gandzha in the territory of the present Azerbaidzhani Soviet Republic. The Soviet regime proclaims its ownership over Nizami also by ‘interpreting’ his works in accordance with the general pattern of Soviet ideology. Thus the leading Soviet journal Bolshevik stressed that Nizami’s ‘great merit’ consisted in having undermined Islam by ‘opposing the theological teaching of the unchangeable character of the world’. Stalin himself intervened in the dispute over Nizami and gave an authoritative verdict on the matter. In a talk with the Ukrainian writer, Mikola Bazhan, Stalin referred to Nizami as ‘the great poet of our brotherly Azerbaidzhani people’who must not be surrendered to Iranian literature, despite having written most of his poems in Persian."

Yo'av Karny states : In 1991 he published a translation into Khynalug of the famous medieval poet Nezami, who is known as Persian but is claimed by Azeri nationalists as their own.

Igor M. Diakonov states : "There were slight problems with Nizami - first of all he was not Azeri but Persian (Iranian) poet, and though he lived in presently Azerbaijani city of Ganja, which, like many cities in the region, had Iranian population in Middle Ages. Russian:Перед войной отгремел юбилей армянского эпоса Давида Сасунского (дата которого вообще-то неизвестна) – хвостик этого я захватил в 1939 г. во время экспедиции на раскопки Кармир-блура. А сейчас в Азербайджане готовился юбилей великого поэта Низами. С Низами была некоторая небольшая неловкость: во-первых, он был не азербайджанский, а персидский (иранский) поэт, хотя жил он в ныне азербайджанском городе Гяндже, которая, как и большинство здешних городов, имела в Средние века иранское.".

The Russian philologist Ivan Mikhailovich Steblin-Kamensky, Professor and the Dean of the Oriental Department of Saint Petersburg University comments :"Мы готовили таких специалистов, но, как показывает наше с ними общение, там очень много националистических тенденций, научных фальсификаций. Видимо, это связано с первыми годами самостоятельности. В их трудах присутствует националистическое начало, нет объективного взгляда, научного понимания проблем, хода исторического развития. Подчас – откровенная фальсификация. Например, Низами, памятник которому воздвигнут на Каменноостровском проспекте, объявляется великим азербайджанским поэтом. Хотя он по-азербайджански даже не говорил. А обосновывают это тем, что он жил на территории нынешнего Азербайджана – но ведь Низами писал свои стихи и поэмы на персидском языке! Translation:We trained such specialists, but, as shown by our communication with them, there are a lot of nationalistic tendencies there and academic fraud. Apparently it's related to the first years of independence. Their works include nationalist beginnings. Objective perspective, scientific understanding of the problems and timeline of historical developments are lacking. Sometimes there is an outright falsification. For example, Nizami, the monument of whom was erected at Kamennoostrovsk boulevard, is proclaimed Great Azerbaijani poet. Although he did not even speak Azeri. They justify this by saying that he lived in the territory of current Azerbaijan, but Nizami wrote his poems in Persian language!".

Viktor Shnirelman writes in his important book in 2003 :К этому времени отмеченные иранский и армянский факторы способствовали быстрой азербайджанизации исторических героев и исторических политических образований на территории Азербайджана. В частности, в 1938 г. Низами в связи с его 800-летним юбилеем был объявлен гениальным азербайджанским поэтом (История, 1939. С. 88-91). На самом деле он был персидским поэтом, что и неудивительно, так как городское население в те годы было представлено персами (Дьяконов, 1995. С. 731). В свое время это признавалось всеми энциклопедическими словарями, выходившими в России, и лишь Большая Советская Энциклопедия впервые в 1939 г. объявила Низами "великим азербайджанским поэтом" (Ср. Брокгауз и Ефрон, 1897. С. 58; Гранат, 1917. С. 195; БСЭ, 1939. С. 94).

Translation from Russian:

By that time, already mentioned Iranian and Armenian factors contributed to the rapid azerbaijanization of historical heroes and historical political entities on the territory of Azerbaijan. In particular, in 1938, Nizami in connection with his 800-year anniversary was declared a genius(marvelous) Azerbaijani poet (History, 1939. Pp 88-91). In fact, he was a Persian poet, which is not surprising, because the urban population in those years was Persian (Dyakonov, 1995. page. 731). At one time it was recognized by all Encyclopedic Dictionaries of published in Russia, and only the Big Soviet Encyclopedia for the first time in 1939, announced Nizami as a "Great Azerbaijani poet (Sr. Brockhaus and Efron, 1897. page. 58; Garnet, 1917. page. 195 ; BSE, 1939. p. 94).

more on these sources, possible cricism and response in Wikipedia
Note the quote of Diakonov might be challenged by some users who will state it was a memoir (of course more than 700+ pages!). However, it is from a major historian and alsofrom a wikipedia point of view, what is also important is that if other historians/scholars refer to it. In this case, the Russian scholar Victor Shnirleman clearly references it and furthermore his book has been praised highly [] and his book highly quoted in google scholar []. Plus this is Diakonov's last piece of writing (some of his works were later translated but his is the last writing from him) and he is a major scholar of the Medes and hence when Iranian languages faded away in the region. So it is obviously referenceable. If there is a dispute about it, one can say according to I.M. Diakonov, also quoted by Victor Schnirelmann and quote it.

On the book of Walter Kolarz, the statements about politicization can be found in other sources like Tamazshvilli, Franger,Yuri Slezkine and etc.. His book has been quoted greatly in google scholar and google books. Also there has been positive reviews as well: "and the conclusions which they support must be regarded as indispensable to anyone who regards himself as a serious student of the Soviet system or of Russian history. It should contribute greatly to the growing awareness of the existence of millions of non-Russians in the Soviet Union." A) (Reviewed work(s): Russia and Her Colonies by Walter Kolarz Russian Review, Vol. 12, No. 4 (Oct., 1953), pp. 279-280 JOHN S. RESHETAR, JR.)Princeton University) B) Another book review here: Reviewed work(s): Russia and Her Colonies. by Walter Kolarz The Peoples of the Soviet Far East. by Walter Kolarz American Slavic and East European Review, Vol. 14, No. 3 (Oct., 1955), pp. 415-416 .. and there are many reviews that can be found in JSTOR/google scholar. Nothing specifically reviews that sentence, however his sentence is confirmed by other independent scholars Franger,Yuri Slezkine.  One can even say according to Walter Kolarz and cquote the issue if necessary.   From this case, what is important is not the whole book but the statement with this regard to Nezami.  That statement is supported by other sources and the book easily meets wikipedia reliability and verifiability and is quoted numerous times.

The sources above are only to show in the end that the concept of Nezami Ganjavi was politicized and his identity was called "Azerbaijani", something that cannot be denied (see also the two extensive translations in my article). These sources (with the exception of Schnirelmann and Diakonov) are not used to assert historical invalidity of such claim, as they are specific to nation-building and politicization. A long translation of Tamazshvilli is also provided in my article which discusses the politicization of Nezami Ganjavi in detail.

See here too: [].

In one Sentence
Nezami Ganjavi wrote all of his work in Persian, was raised by Kurdish uncle , his mother tongue was Kurdish , has referenced himself as the Persian Dehqan, wrote about ancient Iran(Khusraw and Shirin, Haft Paykar)(see above), has praised Ferdowsi, used Shahnameh as an important source and has stated that Iran is the best land on earth.

Thus according to Professor. Van Ruymbeke:"People who call Nezami a Persian poet are perfectly right, as the language in which he chose to express himself was Persian, whatever his family background might have been, and it was most probably Iranian. "

Non expert authors
Non-expert authors who do not even known Persian (Shaffer, Altsdat, Baum..) were quoted. Anyone can find sources they like in google books and google scholars. What matters is what the expert sources on the subject state. A good portion of the names quoted here are experts in Persian literature: 

However, if there is future disagreements, I recommend: 1) Inserting the WP:RS sources below (section 15) on the politicization of the USSR.. these were removed simply to avoid arguments in Wikipedia but they are all RS.. Also a google books search for all major scholarly works on Nezami in the early 20th century and 19th/18th clearly shows Nezami as a "Persian poet" 2) Going to neutral admins and arbcomms, and emailing some of the expert professors whose webpages are mentioned below, while CC'ing arbcomm. Only use WP:RS sources and avoid WP:FORUM and WP:SYNTHESIS 3) Always make sure to use modern scholars within the last 30 years who are alive as much as possible.. Some dead USSR articles are not only politicized, but have passed their age (40-50 yers ago). 4) Note also my comments on the Eldiguzids which is being misused for nation building" The name Iran has been used by Nezami at least 22 times.. and Persa.  "Azerbaijan" had no ethnic meaning in the 12th century and was not the name of a "state", but rather "Atabegs of Azerbaijan" was a title of a family (Eldiguzids), and Azerbaijan at that time, was not even Turcophone and only in the 20th century, did Turcophone speakers began calling themselves "Azerbaijanis" in the area... So any scientific article in the 12th century cannot reference an "Azerbaijani" ethnic group but rather Persians, Kurds, Iranic, Oghuz Turks, Kypchak Turks, Armenians and etc.