After the print edition of Hasan-bek Zardabi's "Ekinci", the newspaper "Ziya" ("Light") occupies an important place in the history of the Azerbaijani national press of the late 19th century.  On December 4, 1878, Seyid Unsizade appealed to the Caucasian Censorship Committee for permission to publish a newspaper. In his address, he noted that Eastern people, just like Western people, crave enlightenment and truth. Efendi explained the goals and objectives of the “Ziya” and stated that by bringing to readers news happening within the country as well as abroad, the newspaper would make its contribution to the education of society. According to the press law, the censorship committee, having considered the statement of Haji Said Unsizade and the protocol of the newspaper "Ziya", approved the publication of the newspaper since January 1, 1879. The first issue of the newspaper was published on January 14, 1879. The periodical was printed once a week by the method of "Lithography".

“Ziya” became the first private printing house in the history of the Azerbaijani press. The first article by Ismail-bek Gasprinsky was published in the 42nd issue of the newspaper "Ziya" on November 7, 1879. The author, who publishes under an alias "Ismail Mirza" (Ismail bey Gasprinsky) in an article "Letter sent from Bakhchisarai" complains about the lack of literature and newspapers among the Russian Tatars, consisting about two - three million people. Najaf Bey Vezirov, Alisafa, Alizade (Aliyev) from Moscow, Shirnichioglu, Munif Efendi from Istanbul, Ismail Mirza (Gasprinsky) from Bakhchisarai City Council, Agamirzade (N.M. Navvab) from Shusha, M.Said Azim Shirvani, Bihud, Mushfiq Khakisar Ibn Mashhadi Muhammad from Shamakhi, Hassan Bey Melikzadeh from Baku and Zardab, Ismail Bey Nazirzadeh from Goychay, Molla Abdullah from Nakhchivan, Yakub Alizadeh from Salyan, Abdulhamid Efendi Mustafa Efendizade from Tbilisi, Ahmed Huseynzade, Muhammadaga Shakhtakhtinsky, Adolf Petipovich Berger, Yanovsky, A. Gori. O. Chernyaevsky, S.Volovikov, A. Akhundzade, imprisoned in Derbent Derbendi (Kamri) made a significant contribution to the education of the people with their articles published in the newspaper "Ziya". The newspaper published treatises, articles, short stories, summaries, telegraphic news, feuilletons, obituaries, travel notes, advertisements, a series of scientific treatises, translations of official documents, gazelles, kasyds, letters, anecdotes, proverbs and sayings, instructions, fables, wise words, etc. The genre diversity in the newspaper "Ziya" made it possible to develop a literary language, which is the most perfect form of speech. The newspaper effectively used the rich phraseological units of the Azerbaijani language, the linguistic units included in the semantic groups of words-synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms.

From the first issues, the newspaper emphasized the benefits of education and invited readers to discuss the topic “building a reading culture with children”. The main purpose of the newspaper was to educate society, and this is clearly seen from the articles published on its pages: "About reading and writing", "About the education and upbringing of our children"; "Proposed culture". The absence of Azerbaijani-speaking specialists and employees of the printing house made it difficult to publish the newspaper. The name change was solely technical and had no other purpose. After a 6-month break, the newspaper continued to be published under the name “Ziya-i Gafgasi-e”. On December 9, 1880, the first issue of “Ziya-i Gafgasi-e” was published.

On January 22, 1883, Seyid Unsizade, in connection with Gazi’s appointment to the Baku province, left Tbilisi and returned to Shamakhi. After the publisher moved to Shamakhi, “Zia-i Gafgasy-e” was published in Tbilisi for a while. This work was carried out by his son Agha Efendi. In this matter, he was supported by close relatives Unsizade- Ismail Bey and Abdurrahim Agha. In 1883, the printing house and editorial office of the newspaper "Ziya-i Gafgasy-e" were moved to Shamakhi. The last 11 issues were published in Shamakhi in June 1884, and thus "Zia-i Gafgasy-e" was closed. The publication of the newspaper is discontinued due to the lack of material resources of the editor-publisher. Seyid Unsizade himself in the newspaper "Ziya-i Gafgasy-e" has repeatedly stated about the severity of his financial situation. In 1900, Said Unsizade, who was trying to restore “Ziya-i Gafgasy-e”, appealed to the governor of Baku, but his request was officially rejected.

Yusuf Akchurali, a great figure of the Turkic world, a close associate of Ataturk, in his work "The History of Turkism" wrote about the threat to Said Efendi Unsizade from the tsarist regime. He published his research on the various stages of the Turkic movement under the heading "Unsizadelar Press". In his publication, Yu. Akchurali writes: "From the copies of the newspaper “Ziya” available to me, it is clear that the publication informs Turks living in the Caucasus about events taking place in the world, giving priority to news related to Muslim and Ottoman countries, but in these copies, there is not even a hint of the idea of Turkism”. The publication of the newspaper "Ziya" ("Ziya-i Gafgasi-e") constantly attracted public attention, the materials published in it caused discussions and disputes.

The messenger of progressive ideas, the newspaper "Ziya" ("Ziya-i Gafgasi-e") played an important role in the development of science, education and culture, literature, and art.

Recommended literature:

1. Azərbaycan mətbuat tarixi antologiyası / red. heyəti: Ə. Həsənov, V. Səfərli, Ə. Ə. Amaşov, tərt., elmi red.: Ş. Q. Vəliyev, N. Q. Yaqublu. I cild. - Bakı : Elm və təhsil, 2010. - 440 s.
2. Aşırlı, Akif. Azərbaycan mətbuatı tarixi / A. Aşırlı ; red. A. Bayramoğlu. I hissə : 1875-1920. - Bakı : Elm və təhsil, 2009. - 296 s.
3. Quliyeva, Qərənfil Dünyamin qızı. Mətbuat - nicat yolu : elmi-publisistik və bədii məqalələr toplusu / Q. D. Quliyeva ; elmi red. Ş. Q. Vəliyev. - Bakı : ADPU nəşriyyatı, 2013. - 291 s.
4. Mətbuat tarixi və publisistika məsələləri / İ. Ə. Həbibbəyli [et al.] ; tərt. A. H. Rüstəmli ; elmi red. İ. Ə. Həbibbəyli. - Bakı : Ozan, 2016. - 184 s.