Afzaladdin Khagani Shirvani (1126-1190), one of the most powerful
representatives of the pre-Nizami period of the twelfth-century Azerbaijani poetry,
is known as one of the first ode (kaside) authors in the history of public opinion, as
well as the creator of the first original examples of philosophical poetry. In
Khagani's “Tohfatul-Iraqeyn”, written after his first visit to Iraq and Mecca in 1157,
the poet did not limit himself to his impressions. Widely illuminating many aspects
of his life are related to family members: grandfather, father, mother, uncle, cousin
and various people he met and his knowledge and socio-philosophical thoughts and
moral views, Khagani enriched his works in terms of subject matter and thought.
From this point of view, the poet's appeals to the Sun in “Tohfatul-Iraqeyn” are
especially noteworthy.
Unlike its previous oriental poems, the “Tohfatul-Iraqayn” begins with an
appeal to the Sun, after a brief introduction. The chapters about the Prophet'spraise
and Mi’raj (ascension into heaven) also come after the poet's appeals to the Sun. In
the first article of the poem, the author, who for the first time created a full image of
the Sun in four appeals to the Sun, emphasizes the majesty of the Sun, its great
importance for life and the universe by creating the first substantial image of the
Sun, its significant impact on the human mood. In this second speech, he criticized
the Sun for its inadmissibility, especially the habit of giving gifts to his relatives and
then taking back. In his subsequent speeches, Khagani apologized to the Sun and
asked for forgiveness. After that, he shares his difficulties with the Sun and
expresses his suffering.
The poet's appeals to the Sun are reflected in almost all his articles. Khagani
tries to present many subtle details of his life through the Sun, Khidr, Hatif and other
imaginary characters, expresses his protest against the injustices of his time and
contemporaries, and his complaints about the gravity of his situation in his dialogues
with the Sun. Sometimes he shares his difficulties with the Sun.
Such appeals of Khagani, as well as from the ideological point of view, with
their artistic capacity, the richness of colourful poetic means, increase the poetic
value of the work and help to achieve the author's goal more clearly and
convincingly.
The image of the sun in Khagani's poetry
Keywords: Khagani, “Tohfatul-Iraqeyn”, the Sun, Shirvanshah Akhsitan
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