TAGIYEV HAJI

ZEYNALABDIN

1838 - 1924

Story of an Azerbaijani philanthropi

 Azerbaijan Technical University

Name: Amir Obeidat

Group: 650r

Specialty: Computer Engineering

Subject: Foreign Language (English)

Presentation topic: Story of Haji

Zeynalabdin Taghiyev
Zeynalabdin Tagiyev was one of the most famous and respected
oil magnates in Russia and the entire Muslim world. The Muslim,
Russian, Armenian and Jewish charitable societies operating in
Baku elected Tagiyev as honorary chairman.

Zeynalabdin Taghiyev was born into the poor family of a shoemaker Taghi and his wife
Umukhanum in the old part of Baku. After his mother's death and his father's second
marriage, he started learning masonry at the age of 10 to provide help for his family of
seven (sisters). His dedication to work ensured quick professional advancement and at
18, he was already a contractor.
In 1873, Zeynalabdin with two partners rented land in Bibi-Heybat. They hired laborers, foremen,
purchased equipment and, having built a rig, began to drill a well. Costs were growing day by day, and
no oil was shown. In the end, having lost hope, the partners decided to sell their share. Haji returns their
share and becomes the sole owner of the land. Failure does not discourage him. With enviable
persistence, he continues to drill the well. Finally, a fountain gushed in one of the four wells. The son of a
poor shoemaker becomes a millionaire Tagiyev.

In 1877, Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev, together with his companions,

formed a trading house, the authorized capital of which included oil
fields, as well as cash capital of 50 thousand rubles. This trading house
existed until 1886, and later Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev became the full
and only owner of the entire asset and liability of the former trading
house.

(Tagiyev in his office)

Tagiyev was an oil industrialist, a mill owner, a manufacturer, a large fish trader (almost all the fishing industries in
the vicinity of the Kura and the Caspian Sea belonged to him), a merchant and owner of cargo ships. He had large
forests in Kuba, Yevlakh, Athlykhan. In the picturesque surroundings of Anzeli and Rasht, there are dense forests,
which also belonged to Haji Zeynalabdin, who built a beautiful estate here and had his own business office. Haji had
similar representations in many cities. In Iran he owned several caravanserais, in Moscow Tagiyev built a four-story
palace ...

The refrigerator built by Tagiyev in Port-Petrovsk also contributed to the development of the
fishing industry. He built a railway access road to it. It became possible to export fish to Russia in
refrigerated wagons. To sell the products of the fishing industry, Tagiyev made the most of the
possibilities of the railway, which connected Azerbaijan and Dagestan with Russia.
The fishing industry on the banks of the Kura Tagiyev leased from the state.
Tagiyev also played an important role in the development of the textile industry in Azerbaijan and
Dagestan. The Muslims of these republics received coarse calico from Russia for the shroud. But many
religious leaders reacted negatively to goods from a Christian country. Tagiyev took up this problem
too, decided to build a Textile Factory in Baku, but he encountered serious obstacles. He was not
allowed to build a textile factory.

A fierce struggle ensued with 28 of the largest manufacturers, led by the king of Russian
textiles, Savva Morozov. They saw Tagiyev as a serious competitor. They were worried
about the proximity of cotton plantations to Baku. They were afraid to let go of the sales
markets in Iran, Turkey, Turkestan, Transcaucasia. The threat also looms over the sales
markets in the Middle East and Central Asia. With expensive gifts Tagiyev obtained
permission to build a factory to produce only coarse calico. As a result, Muslims began to
buy Tagiyev's coarse calico of the best quality and at a cheap price.
Many consider Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev to be the father of the Azerbaijani economy.
Baku shipyards, oil factories, the first horse-drawn railway, fire station, Baku water pipeline, the
first banks - syndicates, the first cotton mill, schools, madrasahs, mosques (including in Russia),
hospitals, theaters were opened and developed at the suggestion of and on the money of Tagiyev,
one of the most weighty and generous Baku millionaire industrialists.
He was very active in all matters concerning the development of industry in his country.

Taghiyev, though illiterate himself, was committed to educating the

Azerbaijani public through the written word. Here is one of the printing
houses that he established. Photos, around 1910.
Tagiyev not only sponsored the studies in the most prestigious foreign educational
institutions of future specialists - Azerbaijanis: oilmen, lawyers, doctors, political
scientists, but also ensured that their own polytechnic institute was opened in Baku, where
the best professors of that time were taught.

"Since my parents were poor, they were not able to

give me anything except love and care. I'm grateful for
that, as it has made me who I am. All my work has
been directed to one goal - that my nation will attain
happiness. I'm working day and night so this wish can
come true. In order to succeed, it will be necessary to
open many schools, publish many books, magazines
and newspapers and distribute them throughout our
land, including distant villages."
 Educated girl, educated mother, educated family

Taghiyev was concerned about Muslim women’s closed lives and their ignorance of their rights. He
dearly wished them to be educated, cultured and broad-minded. He believed that an uneducated and
oppressed woman was also an uneducated mother. He often asked: What can such a woman give to
her child? He was certain that enlightenment should begin with girls, thus the enlightenment of a
child results in an educated individual, however, an educated girl means an educated mother and an
educated family in the future. That is why he sent his daughters Leyla and Sara khanim to study for
a higher education in Petersburg.

The school was the dawning of secular education for Muslim girls.
In 1901 a girls’ school was opened in Irevan, in 1902 in Ganja, in
1907 schools were opened in Nukha (now Sheki) and Eresh in the
Yevlakh region, in 1909 a Russian-Azerbaijan girls’ school was
opened in Baku.

Teacher Shafiga Efendizadeh teaching at the

Aleksandrinski Russian-Muslim school for
girls

The first teachers; 58 students and

members of the supervisory board
Tagiyev had considerable services to the Russian Empire: with his
charitable deeds he contributed to the development of education and
culture, contributed to the implementation of many useful
undertakings. Therefore, by the highest decree, he was awarded the rank
of a real state councilor. This rank was equal to the major general and rear
admiral and gave the right to hereditary nobility.

The photograph can be dated between 1903 - January 1, 1903 Tagiyev was
awarded the 1st degree Persian Order of the Lion and the Sun with a star
and a ribbon over his shoulder, which is present in the photograph, and in
1907 - January 25, 1907, by the highest decree, Tagiyev was promoted to
rank of the actual state councilor (DSS), and in the photo he does not yet
have a DSS uniform.
Moreover, Taghiyev's charity work went beyond the borders of the Russian Empire. Pakistan is
an example of this Today it's the sixth most populous country in the world. It has the second
largest Muslim population after Indonesia.

In the 19th century, the territory of modern Pakistan was occupied by British troops. It became a
part of British India. At the beginning of the 20th century, when independence movement was on
the rise, a pandemic of plague broke out. Experts say that there are two clinical varieties of plague -
bubonic and pneumonic.

A flea bite may cause the first one, while the second one is a severe version of bubonic plague. The worst
thing is that pneumonic plague spreads like a flu and has 100% mortality rate. Over 100 thousand people
died from the rapidly spreading deadly disease. It was possible to defeat this disease only by vaccinating
those who had not yet fallen ill. And that' when Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev bought and sent over 300
thousand ampoules of vaccine to Pakistan, which played a major role in the victory over this deadly
disease.
In 1947, after Pakistan gained independence, this story became a part of textbooks and since
then Pakistani people consider Azerbaijan a brotherly state and fully support Baku's position on
the Karabakh settlement. It's interesting that Pakistan is the only state in the world that doesn't
recognize the Republic of Armenia because of its position in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

Pakistan also expressed its full support to Azerbaijan during the second
Karabakh war.
"I extend warmest felicitations to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev
and fraternal people of Azerbaijan on their Independence Day. We pay
tribute to Azerbaijani forces valiantly defending their territorial
integrity. Pakistan stands with Azerbaijan in its quest to resolve
Nagorno-Karabakh issue as per United Nations Security resolutions.”
-Imran Khan, Prime minister of Pakistan.
Oct 18th, 2020
 Family
Taghiyev was married twice. His first wife Zeynab, who was also his cousin,
bore him three children. After her death, Taghiyev married Sona, the
youngest daughter of General Balakishi Arablinski. The wedding took
place in 1896. Arablinski's elder daughter Nurjahan had already been
married to Taghiyev's older son Ismayil.

H.Z Tagiyev with his wife Sona khanum

and daughter Leyla. 1910.
 After Azerbaijan's Sovietization in 1920 the country's wealthy suffered severe repressions from
the Bolshevik government, resulting in the emigration of many of them.
At the request of the local population, Taghiyev is given the
opportunity to choose a property at the direction of one of the
new government’s leaders, Nariman Narimanov.

(Nariman Narimanov an Azerbaijani Bolshevik

revolutionary, writer, publicist, politician and
statesman)

Taghiyev's house and his other possessions were therefore

confiscated. Due to his past contributions and generosity, he
was given the option of choosing a place of residence for
himself. Taghiyev chose to stay in his summer cottage in the
village of Mardakan, not far from Baku. He died there four
years later, on 1 September 1924 of pneumonia.

Taghiyev one year prior to his death,

accompanied by his daughter Leyla and his
grandchildren
 On September 4, he was buried, in accordance with his own will, at
the feet of the famous Baku Akhund - Molla Abuturab

Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev respected Akhund Abuturab very much, listened to his
advice and guidance. There are legends about Tagiyev's will, one of which tells the
following: “Tagiyev himself said that one day he was riding in his luxurious carriage to
his country house in Mardakan. Suddenly he saw Akhund Abuturab aga on his way,
riding in his old phaeton.
H.Z stopped the carriage and ordered the driver to invite Akhund to join his carriage.
Molla and H.Z started talking about many things , and then H.Z asked: Agha, do you
think wealth can slip out of my hands?" Abuturab agha replies: Haji, you went to
Mecca itself, made a pilgrimage; you know the vicissitudes of fate. If Allah wills, He will
deprive you of your entire fortune in the blink of an eye. So think more about the
eternal ... ".

“When in the twenties, after the nationalization of my factories, trades and palaces, I
moved to my Mardakan country house for permanent residence, I remembered the
words of the unforgettable Abuturab Agha and realized: what his little finger knew
my head doesn’t. That is why I bequeath to bury me at his feet. “
Great trials fell to the lot of Haji Zeynalabdin's relatives, whose misfortunes began immediately after Tagiyev's
death - the family was left without a livelihood and was practically thrown into the street.
In 1924, his eldest daughter Leila Hanım with children managed to emigrate first to Iran, then to Istanbul, as
her husband was threatened with imprisonment upon returning from a business trip.
By the way, it was this news of his daughter's escape that finally undermined her father's health - after that he
did not get up.

Sarah Khanym in 1935 spent two years in the Petrograd prison "Kresty" on charges of complicity in the
murder of Kirov.
Her daughter Safiya khanim with three children was exiled to Sterlitamak (Bashkiria) in 1941. Safiya's
husband khanim Zeynal Abdullayev, abandoning property and prestigious work, secretly made his way to
the boat and joined his wife and children.

With H.Z Tagiyev’s youngest daughter, Surayya khanim, fate was more
favorable - having married a humble dentist, she lived for many years in her
native Baku.
The sons of H.Z. Tagiyev were not destined to have a long life: Ilyas was also
arrested and died in prison, Mamed - died under mysterious circumstances.
There are legends about the tragic fate of Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev’s wife , Sona khanim. Sona khanum
Tagiyeva-Arablinskaya - wife, associate and great friend of Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev - was born in 1881 in
Derbent in the family of a hereditary nobleman General Balakishi bey Arablinsky. Sovietization turned into
a terrible personal tragedy both for Sona Hanım and for her household members.
Sona Hanım died in 1932 in terrible poverty, rejected by her closest people.

 Sona khanim herself never accused anyone, she understood that

otherwise they would have to sacrifice a lot. However, the majority of
ordinary people have always treated her with great warmth, especially
those in whom the memory of the merits of her and her husband before
the entire Azerbaijani people was still alive.
Sona khanum was once a trustee of educational institutions and organizer of numerous charity
meetings, where significant sums were collected to help needy workers.

Tagiyev's daughter Sarah khanim, upon her return to Baku in the mid-1950s (after Stalin's death),
tried to achieve justice, tried to restore the honest name of her father, but all the doors of officials at
that time were closed to her. 

Sarah khanum spent the money sent by her daughter Safiya from Bashkiria on
typists - she wrote letters to various authorities about her father, in most cases -
unanswered.

Finally returning to her homeland in 1991 after the death of Sarah khanim, her daughter Safiya
khanim decided to continue her mother's work.
Thanks to the support of the public and the energetic efforts of Safiya khanum herself, it was possible
to establish a charitable foundation named after Sara khanym Tagiyeva. All contributions to the fund
went, according to the tradition already established in the Tagiyev family, for charitable purposes. The
money was sent to boarding schools, children's hospitals and retirees in need.
In 2005, Safiya passed away. Still not fully recovered from her grief, her daughter Kamilla
khanim (great-granddaughter of H.Z. In the memory of Kamilla khanim, memories are still
fresh of what efforts it took for Safiya khanim to find those willing to participate in charity
events.

Kamilla khanim giving an interview to BBC,

2016.
In our time, unfortunately, charity among the many representatives of
the elite class is not a very popular activity. Although many of the
influential officials, wealthy people, just like Haji Zeynalabdin
Tagiyev once, have already performed their Hajj to the holy places of
Mecca and Khorasan, and diligently perform namaz. But the main
commandment of the Qur'an is not to pass by the suffering one -
unfortunately, for many of them they have not yet fully learned.
The end