Hasan bey Zardabi is one of the prominent thinkers and public figures who have made unparalleled contributions to the history of Azerbaijani culture, who have left an indelible mark on the history of the cultural and scientific renaissance of their people with their life and work.
The name of the prominent journalist, scientist, pedagogue, enlightener-democrat Hasan bey Zardabi is closely connected with the enlightenment, spiritual revival and evolution of ideas of our people.
Hasan bey Salim bey oglu Zardabi was born on June 28, 1842 (in some sources, 1837) in Zardab village of Goychay district, which was included in the former Baku province.
Hasan Bey, who received his primary education in Mollakhana, was admitted to the second grade of the newly established boarding school under the four-grade Shamakhi school in 1854 and graduated with honors. In 1858, he entered the 5th grade of the Blagarodn Boarding School near the Tbilisi Accident Gymnasium and successfully completed it. In 1861, he entered the Physics and Mathematics Department of the Physics and Physics Department of the Moscow University. The University of Moscow has opened up great prospects for Zardabi's future development and has had a significant impact on the formation of his worldview. Hasan bey Zardabi successfully graduated from Moscow University in 1865.
On November 18, 1869, Hasan bey Zardabi was appointed a teacher of "History of Nature" at the Baku Real Gymnasium. During his tenure here, he did his best to educate the people, to direct the education of schoolchildren, who are the hope of the younger generation and the future, in the right direction, and to fight for the freedom and enlightenment of the people in the future. Dissatisfied with this, Zardabi, in view of the plight of the poor and orphans studying at the school, organized a charity to help them and to organize an orphanage for the children who roam the streets.
Zardabi thought that the theater also played an important role in educating and enlightening the young generation. Thus, in 1873, under his leadership, with the close participation of Najafbey Vezirov and Askerbey Adigozalov, in one of the rooms of the Baku Real Gymnasium, the playwright MFAkhundz, the great playwright. Thus, the foundation of the Azerbaijan National Theater was laid.
Later, Zardabi, realizing that it was impossible to truly educate the people only through charities and the theater, sought ideas that could open up new possibilities for enlightenment. As a result of this search, on July 22, 1875, after a long struggle, the newspaper "Akinchi" was published and the foundation of the Azerbaijani national press was laid. This newspaper was published in the second half of the 19th century in Azerbaijan in the struggle against ignorance, ignorance, in the achievement of enlightenment and culture of the people, and in the spread of enlightenment ideas.
However, the Akinchi newspaper was unable to continue its activities for a long time, and in September 1877 it was closed by the tsar's censorship. "Akinchi" was published twice a month with a circulation of 300-400. During these years, 56 issues of the newspaper were published. The Akinchi newspaper published letters from Najaf bey Vazirov, Asgar agha Gorani from Moscow, Mahammadtagi Alizade Shirvani from Shamakhi, Heydari from Derbent, poems by Seyid Azim Shirvani and articles by Mirza Fatali Akhundov signed by "Vakili-unknown nation".
Fearing Zardabi's activities, the police repeatedly pressured him to move him away from Baku, and in 1878 Zardabi was expelled from school with his consent.
At the end of 1879, Zardabi and his family moved to their native village of Zardaba and lived there until 1896. An example of his multifaceted activity here was his efforts to open a school in the village. "Will there be a school in Zardab?" Published by Hasan Bey in 1883 in "Kaspi" newspaper. The article was a clear expression of that dream.
After coming to Baku, Zardabi continued his activity as a prominent public figure. The opening of Russian-Tatar schools in Baku from 1898 was one of the brightest examples of Zardabi's enlightenment activity.
During the revolution of 1905-1907, Hasan Bey was very active in the development of education in Azerbaijan and called on the intelligentsia to unite for this work during such an important period of the people's awakening. In 1906, Zardabi's article "Open Letter" addressed to Azerbaijani teachers was published. The article raised very interesting issues related to public education at that time.
One of the important issues that bothered Hasan bey Zardabi was that some writers and correspondents wrote in languages other than their own. Ordinary people could not comprehend this because the Arabic and Persian components were given too much space in these writings. In connection with this problem, Zardabi's article "Language Case" urges writers to write in simple vernacular.
The prominent enlightener was not indifferent to the examples of folklore, he gave a special place to poetry and songs in his work. In order to spread poetry and songs among the people, he published these folklore samples in 1905 under the title "Collection of Turkish Songs" and distributed them to the students of Baku schools free of charge, and teachers sent these songs to other cities to teach students.
Hasan bey Zardabi did not stop his journalistic and enlightenment activities until the end of his life. In 1907 alone, he published about seven articles in the magazine "Debistan". With these articles, he instilled in young people honesty, love of work, friendship and so on. tried to overcome the faces.
Hasan bey Zardabi has always been on the side of the oppressed and exploited masses. In the newspaper "Akinchi" the difficult living conditions of the villagers, their semi-subsistence livelihoods were brought to the attention of readers. In his article "We must get rid of the village mirzas", Zardabi sharply criticized the crimes committed by the swindlers and their rifle lives.
Hasan bey Zardabi in his work gave wide space to natural sciences and study of natural secrets. Thus, in the newspapers "Hayat" and "Kaspi" published in Baku, Zardabi's first magazine "On" about school and education, as well as anatomy, physiology, zoology and "Bia" was published. ”,“ On the butcher ”,“ On the black cattle ”,“ On the water dog ”natural-scientific and mass articles were published. In addition, "East-Russian", "School", "Fuyuzat", "Irshad" and others. Various social, economic and scientific articles have been published in newspapers and magazines.
Hasan bey Zardabi described important cosmic phenomena in his works "New Stars", "Does Man Live on Mars?", "The Impact of the Moon's Space on Organic Life on Earth", "Earth, Water and Air" and many others.
Along with socio-political problems, moral issues did not escape Zardabi's attention. Moral and ethical issues occupied an important place in Zardabi's worldview. In his works, the two contradictory features of society were contrasted: on the one hand, the superior moral qualities characteristic of the working class, and on the other, the exploitative, exploitative, and exploitative classes. there were inhumane qualities, such as selling one's nation for the sake of goods. H. Zardabi, who was engaged in intense creative activity until the end of his life, was the founder of our national theater, the founder of our press, the founder of the first girls' school, the chairman of the First Teachers' Congress, the founder and chairman of the Teachers' Congress in the history of the Azerbaijani people.
His halqına sədaqətlə serve arises halqı maarifləndirmək, freedom hərəkatını canlandırmaq naminə yasadıgı the entire eybəcərliklərini, haqsızlıqlarını, halqın zəhmətkes sections of the oppressor, onları oppression under the moan feodal qəddarlıqlarını hesitation yazılarında ifsa who has Hasan Bey's rich literary heritage and activity of the Azerbaijani culture tarihinə yaddaslardan indelible mark qoyub is a great historical and literary figure of the past.
Hasan bey Zardabi Malikov died of paralysis on November 28, 1907 and was buried near the old Bibiheybat mosque. His death deeply saddened the intellectuals of Azerbaijan at that time. An issue of the Taza Hayat newspaper dedicated to Zardabi's death noted that his funeral was held with sadness and grief unprecedented in the history of Baku. In 1937, the area near Bibiheybat was destroyed, and in 1957, when the 50th anniversary of Zardabi's death was celebrated, his son-in-law was buried in the Alley of Honors.