Mirza Fatali Akhundzade (1812-1878), a prominent Azerbaijani playwright, philosopher-enlightener and socio-public figure, exclusively contributed to the development of our literature with the rich literary and scientific-publicist heritage he left behind as a realist writer and founder of dramaturgy.
Akhundzadeh's forty-year social and political activity was aimed at guiding the peoples of the East towards civilization. He was the founder of realistic drama in the entire Caucasus, as well as the first liberal-democratic philosopher of the Islamic world.
Akhundzade devoted more than thirty years of his life to the reform of the Arabic alphabet and the enlightenment of the Muslim peoples of the East, and fought against ignorance for a large part of his life. He considered science to be the most important achievement in the progress of mankind, and thought that science would destroy the roots of ignorance.
The realist-democratic ideas promoted by Akhundzadeh in his works also influenced the Iranian intellectuals of the period and played a major role in the formation of their views on enlightenment. Akhundzade corresponded with his contemporary Kajar princes, introducing them to his new alphabet project and calling for support for the implementation of this project in the way of educating their people. The letters he wrote Kajar princes – Jalaladdin Mirza, Haji Farhad Mirza and Alikulu Mirza Etizadussaltana, are important as a manifestation of the enlightener-philosopher's indefatigable work on the way to the entry of the Muslim peoples of the East into the circle of world civilization.
The article talks about the formation of the traditions of enlightenment in Iran, especially in South Azerbaijan, through the letters of M. F. Akhundzadeh's socio-philosophical ideas, summarized in his works, addressed to the Kajar princes and other contemporary state officials.