Mirza Fatali Akhundov

Who was Mirza Fatali Akhundov?

Mirza Fatali Akhundov, formerly Akhundzade, was a celebrated Azerbaijani author, playwright, philosopher, and founder of modern literary criticism, "who acquired fame primarily as the writer of European-inspired plays in the Azeri Turkic language". Akhundov singlehandedly opened a new stage of development of Azerbaijani literature and is also considered one of the founders of modern Iranian literature. He was also the founder of materialism and atheism movement in Azerbaijan and one of forerunners of modern Iranian nationalism.