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 Mir-Movsoum Navvab (1833-1918)occupies a prominent place in the history of Azeri culture as the last representative of old traditional school of science, arts and literature. Navvab was versatile person of his time. He is known as a poet, artist, music historian, astronomer, carpenter, chemist and mathematician.
Navvab was born in 1833 in Shusha and spent all his time in this town. His life and works reflect a period of history, when Azerbaijan was on the turning point of old and new, traditional and novel trends in culture and general way of life. And although, Navvab remained a traditionalist in the arts, he was a progressive person in the public life of Karabakh, who did a lot for the growth of literacy, culture and arts in Karabakh.
Navvab created first typography in Shusha, which was also the first typography in Azerbaijan . He published the poems of Karabakh poets and spread them among the local population. Soon after Natavan's “Majlis-i-Uns”, Navvab created second literary society in Azerbaijan called “Majlis-i-Faramushan” (‘Society of the Forgotten') and also established the first music society “Majlis-i-Khanende” (‘Society of Singers').
Navvab wrote more than 20 books dedicated to various fields of science and arts. He is the author of “Vuzuh-ul-Argam” (‘Explanation of the numbers'), a significant work which offers 82 mugams (an original improvisational classical folk music popular in Azerbaijan) and songs, performed in Karabakh at that time. He also provides information about the origins of these mugams and the rules for their performance. Navvab is also the author of the book “Tezkirey-i-Navvab”, which gives information about one hundred poets and writers of Karabakh at the time.
Navvab also gave us valuable information about the history of Armenian-Azeri conflicts. In his book “The history of Armenian-Moslem fights” (the name “Moslem” was commonly used as a substitute for the “Azeri/Turk” during the XIX c. and early XX c.) he described the first Armenian-Azeri ethnic clashes that took place in 1905-1906.
Navvab was also a talented artist. He illustrated his manuscripts with colorful pictures and portraits, and also decorated the interiors of the buildings with various ornaments. Before Shusha's occupation in 1992 some of these wall decorations splendidly remained in the house where he lived, school where he taught and the Minarets of the Upper Govharaga Mosque. Now they are lost.
Navvab died in 1918 in Shusha, where he spent all his life.
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