Mahsati Ganjavi, the first prominent female poet, chess player, musician, and composer of Azerbaijan, was born on May 12, 1089, in Ganja. As one of the founders of the 12th-century poetry school, she played a significant role in developing Azerbaijani literature. Her real name was Manija, and she adopted Mahsati as a literary pseudonym. There is a legend about the origin of her pseudonym. One day, the Seljuk Sultan Sanjar invited her to the palace. The poetess tells the Sultan she is the smallest and most invisible person in the palace. The Sultan disagrees and tells her in Persian: "To meh-hasti" ("you are the greatest of all"). Thus, "meh-hasti" becomes the pseudonym "Mahsati. " While living in the palace of Sultan Sanjar, Mahsati Ganjavi participated in the literary gatherings held there and engaged in creative writing. She later returned to Ganja and lived there until the end of her life. Mahsati Ganjavi resided in a neighborhood called Kharabat in Ganja, where Sufis lived, received an excellent education, and mastered Eastern literature and music. She was fluent in Arabic and Persian. A member of the Sufi Akhi order, she composed songs along with her rubaiyats at Sufi gatherings and performed her songs on the chang and various musical instruments.

Her over 200 rubais, collected from various sources, have secured an eternal place among the classic examples of the medieval Azerbaijani renaissance. Mahsati Ganjavi, a multifaceted talent- a beautiful musician, a master of the chang, and a singer-poet with a charming voice- was known not only in Azerbaijan but also beyond its borders in her own time, and her rubais were memorized by many.

Mahsati Ganjavi, who eloquently expressed the intricacies of Eastern poetics, dedicated a series of poems to young artists, tailors, spinners, gold seekers, and others, alongside her profound lyricism. The majority of Mahsati's rubais are devoted to love. These verses vividly portray the emotions of a loving heart and manifest pure and genuine affection.

Since her time, Mahsati Ganjavi has captured attention with both her creativity and personal life, inspiring numerous works about her. Information regarding the great poetess's life primarily comes from manuscript copies of the 13th-century epic "Mahsati and Amir Ahmad," preserved at the Azerbaijan Institute of Manuscripts and in Istanbul and London. This epic narrates the noble love between two real historical figures and the struggles they endured due to that love.

The life and work of Mahsati Ganjavi were mentioned in the works of writers and poets of the Renaissance period during which she lived. Poems about her can be found in Nizami Ganjavi's "Khosrov and Shirin" and Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad Khvandamir's "Habib al-siyar."  Tazkira writers and historians provided information about her in their works and gave examples of her rubais.

For the first time, Sahab Tahiri compiled a collection of various rubaiyat, ghazals, and qit'as by Mahsati, culminating in a divan of approximately 200 verses, published in 1957.

German scholar Fritz Meier wrote the “Die schöne Mahsati” (“The Beautiful Mahsati”) monograph in 1963, which compiled 257 rubais and about 30 pieces of poetry.

Rafael Huseynov authored three books on Mahsati Ganjavi: "Məhsəti necə varsa" ("As Mahsati Is"), "Məhsəti Gəncəvi-özü, sözü, izi" ("Mahsati Ganjavi-Herself, Her Words, Her Legacy"), and "Məhsəti Gəncəvi. Portret-oçerk" ("Mahsati Ganjavi. Portrait-Essay"). These works have been translated into several languages.

Mahsati Ganjavi's rubais were translated into Azerbaijani by Nigar Rafibeyli.

The Rubaiyat of Mahsati Ganjavi has captured the attention of Azerbaijani composers, leading to the creation of three operas dedicated to her.

Several vocal works have been composed based on Mahsati's words. Pika Akhundova created "Ey gül" and "Mənim tək yanan harda var?!", while Ogtay Kazimi composed "Bu dünya", and Rizvan Sadirkhanov contributed five songs.

On January 16, 2013, President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree to celebrate the 900th anniversary of Mahsati Ganjavi’s creative work. In 2013, UNESCO decided to celebrate the 900th anniversary of Mahsati Ganjavi worldwide, and on October 7, 2016, a monument to the poetess was erected in Cognac, France.

By Resolution No. 211 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated May 7, 2019, Mahsati Ganjavi was included in the list of authors whose works were declared state heritage in the Republic of Azerbaijan. A museum of Mahsati Ganjavi was established in Ganja, and her statue was erected in 1980.

In 2014, the "Mahsati Ganjavi Center" was inaugurated in Ganja. The building reflects a blend of Eastern and Western architectural styles. It showcases books about the life and works of Mahsati Ganjavi and electronic formats of her rubaiyat in Azerbaijani, Russian, and English. Additionally, the Museum features photographs from exhibitions and concerts held in Reims and Mulhouse, France, organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation to commemorate the 900th anniversary of Mahsati Ganjavi. The center's art gallery displays various paintings, pieces, and monumental works dedicated to Mahsati Ganjavi and her rubaiyat.

Mahsati Ganjavi, who played a significant role in the history of Eastern poetry and is one of the most prominent representatives of the Middle Eastern Renaissance, passed away in Ganja in 1181. 
 

Recommended literature:

1. Hüseynov, Rafael Baba oğlu. Məhsəti Gəncəvi - özü, sözü, izi / R. B. Hüseynov ; red.: Ə. Cəfər [et al.] ; AMEA Nizami Gəncəvi adına Milli Azərbaycan Ədəbiyyatı Muzeyi. - Bakı : Nurlan, 2005. - 560 s.
2. Məhsəti Gəncəvi. Rübailər / Məhsəti Gəncəvi ; tərc.: N. X. Rəfibəyli, X. H. Yusifli ; tərt. X. H. Yusifli. - Bakı : Lider nəşriyyat, 2004. - 144 s.
3. Гусейнов, Рафаэль Баба оглы. Мехсети Гянджеви : очерк-портрет / Р. Б. Гусейнов ; пер. С. Мамедзаде ; Министерство Культуры и Туризма Азербайджанской Республики. - Баку : Шарг-Гарб, 2013. - 100 с.
4. The Life and the Poetry of Mahsati Ganjavi / Heydar Aliyev Foundation ; trans., text by P. Smith, comp. J. Hasanzadeh, comp. P. Ismayilova, comp. A. Mammadova, ed. I. Zubanova. - Baku : Chashioglu, 2013. - 120 p.