Ahmad Javad

Ahmad Javad (; May 5, 1892 – October 13, 1937) was an Azerbaijani poet who is best known for writing the words of the National Anthem of Azerbaijan used under the 1918–1920 Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, and again since 1991, and another poem named Chirpynirdi gara deniz. He was later arrested by the Soviet regime and executed on October 13, 1937, accused of trying to spread Musavat-inspired nationalism to young Azerbaijani poets. Biography Ahmad Javad Akhundzade was born on May 5, 1892, in the village Aşağı Seyfəli of Elizavetpol uezd, Russian Empire. His father passed away when he was a youth, in either 1897 or 1898. He received his primary education at home, learning Turkish, Persian, Arabic and Eastern literature. In 1912, after graduating from a religious seminary in Ganja, he worked as a teacher. During the First Balkan War, he fought on the Ottoman side in a detachment of volunteers from the Caucasus. He published the poetry books "Goshma" (1916) and "Dalga" (1919). In 1918, at the suggestion of Mammed Amin Rasulzade, he joined the Musavat Party and from 1920 to 1923 was a member of its Central Committee, for which he was arrested in 1923 and later freed. Javad wrote about the declaration of the ADR in "Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan!" and about the Azerbaijani flag in "To Azerbaijan's flag". Under the ADR he continued teaching and helped establish Azerbaijan University. In the poem "O, soldier!" he glorified the Turkish Army, which fought on the Azerbaijani side in 1918. After the establishment of Soviet authority Javad continued teaching. In 1920, he worked as the headmaster and a teacher of Russian and Azerbaijani in the village of Khulug in Gusar rayon, but from 1920 to 1922 he was a public education branch manager in Quba rayon.