Fuzuli (poet).
Fuzuli (Füzuli) is the pen name of Muhammad bin Suleyman (1483–1556), a 16th-century poet who composed works in his native Azerbaijani, as well as Persian and Arabic. He is regarded as one of the greatest poets of Turkic literature. He was widely admired from the 16th to the 19th centuries, including in Central Asia and India. Born in modern Iraq, Fuzuli saw his homeland change hands between the Aq Qoyunlu, Safavid, and Ottoman states, and he composed poetry for officials in all three empires. He wrote his first known poem to Alvand Mirza of the Aq Qoyunlu, but most of his poetry was written under Ottoman rule. Fuzuli died from the plague and was buried in Karbala. He is best known for his Azerbaijani works, especially his ghazals (love poems) and his Leylī va Macnūn, a lyric poem interpreting a Middle Eastern story of tragic love. Fuzuli's writings have been described as distinguished by his strong display of emotions, and as elevating Azerbaijani poetry and language to new heights.
