Agha Musa Naghiyev () (1849–1919) was an Azerbaijani industrial oil magnate in late 19th – early 20th century. He was also an adherent of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

and served on the

Spiritual Assembly Spiritual Assembly is a term given by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to refer to elected councils that govern the Baháʼí Faith. Because the Baháʼí Faith has no clergy, they carry out the affairs of the community. In addition to existing at the local level ...

of the Baháʼís of

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

Life and career

He was born into a very poor family near

and started working as a cargo carrier (''hambal''), but thanks to his natural wit and business abilities, he progressed to accumulate a vast amount of wealth. Musa Naghiyev was one of the richest oil industrialists in Baku, next to Nobel brothers. His assets were worth 300 million rubles. Later, he began investing in real estate so as to guarantee himself a source of regular income and became the largest rental property owner in Baku owning more than 200 buildings. He was considered in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

as one of the most stingy, tight-fisted millionaires. However, despite such claims, it was Agha Musa Naghiyev who built one of the most wonderful palaces in the entire city and offered it as a gift to the Muslim Charity Society. This palace, modeled on

Doge's Palace The Doge's Palace (''Doge'' pronounced ; ; ) is a palace built in Venetian Gothic architecture, Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace included government offices, a jail, and th ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

now houses Presidium of Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan. Another gift from Naghiyev to the city was the city's largest hospital which was built in 1912 and is still used today by the Ministry of Health. The building is designed in the shape of an "H" (Cyrillic "N") for Naghiyev's name. The owner of dozens of magnificent buildings in Baku, Agha Musa Naghiyev himself lived in the area outside of Icheri Sheher called Bayir Sheher, in the two-floor building behind Gasim-bey Mosque, on the crossing of Spasski (present Zargarpalan) and Gymnasist (Leo Tolstoy) streets. Actively involved in the work of the Baku Muslim Charitable Society, Musa Naghiyev was a philanthropist during his lifetime. The architectural elements of stone clocks designed on the top and a stone lantern on the edge of that beautiful building erected in 1887, made it a distinctive appearance. The stone lantern called "Seng fanar" was decorated with red, green, blue, turquoise pieces of glass to create colourful illumination effect during the evenings. Every evening kids were gathering around the building to feast eyes on that startlingly impressive view of street lighting. Such a colourful lit of the stone lantern in Baku at the

fin de siècle "''Fin de siècle''" () is a French term meaning , a phrase which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom '' turn of the century'' and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another. Without co ...

used to create an amazing and spectacular attraction. Naghiyev was the main sponsor and trustee of one of the largest technical colleges, "Real College", the building now houses the

Azerbaijan State Economic University Azerbaijan State University of Economics () is a public university located in Baku, Azerbaijan. UNEC was founded in 1930, and it is one of the biggest educational institutions of the South Caucasus. UNEC has 14 faculties, where 18.5 thousand st ...

. He died of a heart attack on 4 March 1919.

References

External links

Naghiyev - Ismayiliyya Philanthropic Society
AZER.com, ''Azerbaijian International'', Vol. 13:2 (Summer 2005), pp. 44-51.
Musa Nagiyev.az
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagiev 1849 births 1919 deaths Azerbaijani businesspeople in the oil industry Azerbaijani businesspeople Azerbaijani philanthropists Azerbaijani Bahá'ís 19th-century philanthropists