Ahmad bey Mirza Hasan oghlu Agayev, also known as Ahmad Ağaoğlu was born in 1869 in Shusha, Azerbaijan. He was one of the ideologists of the Turkism movement, a prominent public and political figure, publicist, writer, lawyer, orientalist-Islamic scholar, journalist, and educator. Ahmad bey Agayev was a descendant of Panahali Khan, the Khan of Karabakh. He received his initial education at a Russian school in Shusha and the Tiflis Gymnasium. Then he enrolled in the Institute of Engineering and Technology in St. Petersburg but left midway in 1888 to move to Paris, where he graduated from a law school and later from Sorbonne University. He thoroughly studied the history of Eastern peoples, Arabic, Persian, and Turkish languages there. In 1890, he published his first scientific article on Eastern philosophy and literature. This was followed by other writings published in various journals. In 1892, Ahmad bey Agayev delivered a paper titled "The Sources of the Shia Islam" at the International Congress of Orientalists held in London. The paper was later published in several Western languages with the decision of the Congress and funding from Cambridge University.
 
In 1894, Ahmad bey Agayev returned to his homeland and sought government permission to publish the Azerbaijani-language newspaper "Mashrig", but his request was denied. In 1896, he went to Shusha, where he taught French at school, opened a reading room library, and organized the first theater performances. In 1897, at the invitation of the famous millionaire-philanthropist Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev, he moved to Baku. There, he worked as a French teacher at school and collaborated with the "Kaspi" newspaper, serving as the head of the newspaper's literary department when Alimardan bey Topchubashov was editor-in-chief (1898-1907).  

Ahmad bey Agayev also published articles in "Sharqi-Rus", a newspaper edited by Mahammad agha Shahtakhtli in Tiflis, as well as in the press of Calcutta and Cairo. He actively participated in the establishment and activities of charitable societies such as "Nijat", "Nashri-Maarif", and "Saadat". From June 1905, together with Ali bey Huseynzade, he served as the editor of the "Hayat" newspaper, which played a significant role in shaping nationalist thought in Azerbaijan. On December 19, 1905, he started publishing the newspaper "Irshad", and in 1907, simultaneously launched the Russian-language newspaper "Progress". In June 1908, he launched the "Taraqqi" newspaper and continued as its publisher until he left for Turkey in 1909.

During the 1905 massacres committed by Armenian-Dashnak bandits against the Azerbaijani people, Ahmad Bey Agayev published articles exposing the true perpetrators of these tragedies: the tsarist authorities and the Armenian-Dashnak forces. On February 20, 1906, he participated in the "Congress of Reconciliation" convened in Tiflis by the Viceroy of the Caucasus to address the intensifying ethnic violence. Representing the social elite of Baku alongside Alimardan bey Topchubashov, Gara bey Garabeyov, and Iskandar bey Hajinski, he declared the program of the Azerbaijani side at the congress.

In 1906, Ahmad bey established the "Difai" Party to protect the rights of the Azerbaijani people. At the request of Muslim entrepreneurs in Baku, he visited Tsar Nicholas II and his ministers twice. Thanks to Ahmad bey Agayev's efforts and activities during these visits, the forced displacement of Azerbaijanis from the oil-rich lands around Baku was successfully stopped.

Forced to emigrate to Turkey in 1909 due to political persecution, Ahmad bey Agayev aligned himself with the "Young Turks" and joined the "Unity and Progress Party". He continued his academic, social, and journalistic work, serving as the editor of the newspaper "Tarjumani-Haqiqat" and contributing to the founding of the journal "Türk Yurdu". As one of the principal ideologists of the Turkic movement, he worked side by side with Ali bey Huseynzade, Ziya Goyalp, Yusif Akchura, and Hamdullah Subhi and others. Ahmad bey was elected a deputy to the Ottoman Parliament from Afyonkarahisar and, in 1915, represented Azerbaijan at a conference held in Lausanne discussing the rights of the people living in Russia.  

Ahmad bey Agayev came to Azerbaijan in 1918 as a political advisor to Nuru Pasha, the commander of the Caucasian Islamic Army, which was sent to support the people in their struggle against the Bolshevik-Dashnak forces.

Ahmad bey Agayev was elected a deputy to the Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. In 1918, he was sent to Anzali as part of a special delegation to negotiate with General Thomson. Later that year, on December 28, he joined the Azerbaijani delegation to attend the Paris Peace Conference. However, while in Istanbul, he was arrested by the British and presented as a "Turkish journalist and member of the Turkish parliament." He was exiled to the island of Malta along with the leaders of the "Unity and Progress Party". On Atatürk's initiative, the exiles were exchanged for British prisoners of war and Agayev returned to Istanbul on May 28, 1921, after 26 months of exile, and rejoined the national movement.  

In the 1920s, Ahmad bey Agayev was appointed the head of Turkey's State Press Agency. After being elected twice as a deputy to the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye from the Kars region, he became Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's political advisor on foreign affairs. He was also a professor at Ankara University and the editor of the newspaper "Hakimiyyeti Milliye".

Ahmad bey Agayev passed away on May 19, 1939, in Istanbul.
 

  Recommended literature:

1. Akalın, Gülsərən. Türk düşüncə və siyasi həyatında Əhməd Ağaoğlu / G. Akalın ; elmi red. O. Ə. Musayev ; tərc. S. Məmmədova ; Azərbaycanda Atatürk Mərkəzi. - Bakı : AzAtaM, 2004. - 164 s.
2. Mirəhmədov, Əziz. Əhməd bəy Ağaoğlu: [monoqrafiya] /Ə. Mirəhmədov ; nəşrə haz. və red. D. Ə. Mirəhmədova-Əlizadə. - Bakı: Ərgünəş, 2014. - 264 s.
3. Ağaoğlu, Səməd Əhmədbəy oğlu. Atamın dostları/S. Ağaoğlu ; turk dil. çevirmə, müqəddimə, şərhlər və bioqrafik məlumat. V. Quliyev. - Bakı: Qanun, 2016. – 311 s.
4. Balayev, Aydın Hüseynağa oğlu. Əhməd bəy Ağaoğlu /A. Balayev ; red. E. Astanbəyli ; rəssam E. Cabarov. - Bakı: Altun Kitab, 2021. - 160 s.
5. Quliyev, Vilayət Muxtar oğlu. Atatürk və Əhməd Ağaoğlu /V. Quliyev ; red. və ön söz. müəl. N. Cəfərov ; [dizayn K. İbrahimov] ; Azərb. Atatürk Mərkəzi. - Bakı: Elm və təhsil, 2019. - 202 s.
6. Mirzəliyev, Tural Elmi oğlu. Əhməd bəy Ağaoğlu: Azərbaycan ədəbi-ictimai fikri Avropaya doğru /T. Mirzəliyev ; red. B. H. Əzizəliyeva [ön söz]. - Bakı: Elm və təhsil, 2019. - 198 s.
7. Балаев, Айдын Гусейнага оглы. Патриарх тюркизма. Ахмед бек Агаоглу. 1869-1939 /А. Балаев (предисл.) ; науч. ред. Я. Акпынар. - Баку: TEAS Press, [2018]. - 508 с.