BP has presented a fundamental research book in English about Imadaddin Nasimi - one of Azerbaijan’s and the world’s great literary names. The public presentation of the book was held in the Shirvanshahs’ Palace, the Old City of Baku, as part of the Nasimi International Festival organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, AZERTAC reports.

This publication is a valuable contribution to the 650th anniversary celebrations of Azerbaijan’s immortal poet Imadaddin Nasimi and as such is a substantial contribution to the efforts to introduce him to international readers and to promote his cultural legacy globally. The book is believed to be the most extensive scientific publication about Nasimi in a Western language since 1972.

Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli, BP’s Vice President, Communications, External Affairs, Strategy and Region, said in his address to the public presentation event: “As Azerbaijan’s long-term and reliable partner, BP has always supported initiatives and activities to promote the country’s rich cultural heritage and national values.

“We are proud to be part of the 650th anniversary celebrations of Nasimi whose cultural legacy ranks very high among the world’s prominent classical poets and whose name stands as high as Azerbaijan´s most important and great classical poet after Nizami and Fuzuli. The book was originally written and published in English which makes this valuable research accessible to the international scientific community and a wider readership. It represents an unprecedented methodological approach to the life of Imadaddin Nasimi and the interpretation of his literary works and philosophical concepts. For the first time, this research extends Nasimi’s philosophic roots beyond Islamic and Oriental borders and links them to the antique European and pre-Islamic cultural and intellectual concepts and perceptions. By funding this publication, we hope to make a substantial contribution to Nasimi’s promotion as a grand figure of the world’s cultural legacy.”

The author of the research and the book is the well-known literary scholar Michael Reinhard Hess. The book was published in Germany by the publishing company Gulandot. This 260-page monograph contains over 1000 footnotes, a list of references, quotations from and interpretations of sources in many languages and presents all essential aspects of Imadaddin Nasimi´s life, the historical circumstances he lived in, the historical and intellectual background of his times and his afterlife.

The book will be presented to the leading libraries and universities in Europe.