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Abstract

The legacy of the great Turkic thinker and classical poet Alisher Navoi occupies a central place in the history of Turkic literature. His works contributed not only to the development of Chagatai literary tradition but also to the formation of the broader literary and cultural consciousness of the Turkic world. By demonstrating the artistic potential of the Turkic language, Navoi elevated it to the level of a major language of classical poetry. As a result, his heritage exerted a significant influence on many Turkic literary traditions, including the Azerbaijani literary environment.

Interest in Navoi’s works in Azerbaijan became particularly visible from the nineteenth century onward. Azerbaijani poets influenced by classical Eastern poetic traditions, alongside the heritage of Nizami Ganjavi and Fuzuli, also drew inspiration from Navoi’s poetics and continued his aesthetic and philosophical principles. The literary milieu of Karabakh played an important role in preserving these traditions. The works of poets such as Asi Karabagi and Mirza Hasan Karabagi demonstrate clear elements of classical ghazal poetics and reflect the influence of Navoi’s style and themes.

In the twentieth century, the study of Navoi’s heritage in Azerbaijan developed into a more systematic scholarly field. Prominent literary scholars, including Hamid Arasli, Mammad Arif Dadashzade, and Bakir Nabiyev, examined the role of Navoi in the development of Turkic literary thought and analyzed his connections with Azerbaijani classical literature.

A particularly important stage in Azerbaijani Navoi studies is associated with the research of the scholar Jannat Nagiyeva (1927–2010). Her studies marked a new phase in the systematic investigation of Navoi’s heritage in Azerbaijan. Applying philological, textual, and comparative literary approaches, Nagiyeva analyzed Navoi’s works and their influence on Azerbaijani literature. Her major studies—The Baku Manuscripts of Alisher Navoi (1986), Navoi and Azerbaijani Literature (15th–19th Centuries) (1990), and Navoi in Azerbaijan (2001)—made significant contributions to the study of manuscripts, literary influence, and the historiography of Navoi research in Azerbaijan. She also participated in the preparation of the Navoi Encyclopedic Dictionary and examined the presence of Azerbaijani classical works in Navoi’s library, demonstrating historical literary connections between Azerbaijan and Central Asia.

This paper analyzes the development of Navoi studies in Azerbaijan and argues that the scholarly activity of Jannat Nagiyeva represents a distinct stage in this process. Her research significantly advanced the systematic study of Navoi’s heritage and contributed to a deeper understanding of Navoi as a shared literary and cultural legacy of the Turkic world.