ALISHER NAVOI IS A GREAT POET AND PHILOSOPHER

Today, February 9, marks the 584th anniversary of the birth of the great poet and thinker Alisher Navoi. Although centuries have passed since the poet’s work, it still brings hearts to tremble, calling humanity to goodness.

Nizamuddin Mir Alisher Navoi (1441-1501) is an outstanding Uzbek poet, a convinced humanist, thinker and statesman.

Alisher Navoi was born on February 9, 1441 in the family of a well-known state official, Giyasaddin Kichkine in Herat. Alisher’s father – a native of the famous Mongolian tribe Barlas, was friendly with other Timurid families, constituting the elite of power in the city.

Since childhood, the boy was surrounded by people of art, so one uncle of the future poet – Abu Said, was a writer, the second – Muhammad Ali – a famous musician and calligrapher. From a young age, Alisher was raised with the children of power-holding families, his son-in-law and best childhood friend Sultan-Hussein Baikara subsequently became ruler of Khorasan.

Navoi received a good all-round education, his “universities” youth took place in Herat, Samarkand, and Mashhad. One of the favorite teachers of the young Alisher was Jami – the famous poet and philosopher of the time who saw his artistic gift, and later remained a loyal friend and like-minded person. As a poet, Navoi showed himself at the age of 15, and he wrote equally well both in Farsi and in Turkic.

The top of the Navoi creativity is considered to be the famous HAMSA, a collection of five poems based on the folk epic – popular in those days form of presentation of the philosophical and artistic worldview. His interpretation is considered one of the best in this genre, from ancient times to our days.

Another undoubted contribution of Alisher Navoi to the literary activity of his time was the introduction of the Old Uzbek language, along with Farsi, into the work of writers.

Thus, the poet’s work had an undeniable impact on the development of not only Uzbek but also other Turkic-speaking literatures.