Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

Hamid Mammadtaghi oglu Arasli, an active  member of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, was born on February 23, 1909 in Ganja. He graduated of the Azerbaijan State Pedagogical Institute  from the Faculty of Language and Literature (1931) and was a postgraduate of this institute (1932-1935).

He defended his candidacy for PhD (1943), doctorate (1954) and was promoted to a professor in 1955. H.Arasli was a Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan USSR (1962) and an Active Member of the Academy of Sciences (1968). 

He worked as the deputy director of Ganja City Education Department in 1932, assistant and associate professor of the Azerbaijan State Pedagogical Institute (1932-1935), the head of the East department of the Main Library of the USSR AS Azerbaijan branch (1936-1937).İn those years he collected manuscripts of the Oriental people and created the Manuscripts Foundation and became the director of the fund. H. Arasli was a chief scientific worker, head of department of the Institute of Literature and Language named after Nizami Ganjavi of AAS, academic secretary, deputy director of the Azerbaijani Literature Museum named after Nizami Ganjavi. He was also head of the Department of Middle East Literature of Azerbaijan State University (1944-1962), director of the Department of Textual criticism at the Institute of Literature and Language named after Nizami Ganjavi (1954-1955), head of the Department of Literature at the Institute of Near and Middle East People (nowadays Institute of Oriental Studies) (1970-1970). Since 1970 he has been the Director of the Institute.

He has great services in the study of ancient and medieval Azerbaijani literature, edition of classical heritage, study of  oral folklore and medieval literary relations.

H.Arasli was one of the authors whose first research works was about poets such as Gatran Tabrizi,Mahsati, Khagani, Falaki, Nizami, Ahvadi, Nasimi, Kishvari, Asar, Shah Ismayil Khatai and others.He has done important works especially in the study of the heritage of Nizami and Fuzuli. He is one of the main authors of the two-volume "History of Azerbaijani Literature"(1943-1944), the three-volume "History of Azerbaijani Literature" (1957-1960).

The literary scholar is one of the most prominent specialists in the field of folklore and has written numerous scientific works on Azerbaijani folklore, especially "Kitabi Dada Gorgud", "Koroglu" epos and ashug creativity. He became the first publisher of "Kitabi Dada Gorgud" in Azerbaijan. He has prepared scientifically-critical text in five volumes of Mohammed Fuzuli's works, published works of Khagani, Mahsati, Nizami's lyrical poems, Nasimi, Khatai, Saib Tabrizi, Gavsi Tabrizi, Vidadi, Vagif and other poets based on original sources and manuscripts.

H.Arasli was honored Scientist of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, Honorary Member of the Turkish Language Institution (Turkey, 1957), Honorary Member of the Academy of Sciences of Iraq (1972), and Jordanian Society of learning Islamic Civilization (1981). He was awarded the Red Banner of Labor (1979), the Order of Honor (1951) and medals.