Hamlet Isakhanli

Hamlet Abdulla oglu Isayev ( ) (born March 1, 1948, Kosali, near Gardabani, Georgia) is an Azerbaijani mathematician, historian of science and culture, writer, living founder of Khazar University who served as founding president from April 1991 to September 2010. He is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Trustees, Khazar University (beginning from September, 2010); founder of integrated primary, secondary and high schools (Dunya School); and founder of a publishing house (all in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan) as well as a translator of poetry, lecturer, and editor.
He is a founding member of Eurasian Academy.
Hamlet Isakhanli ( () is the penname that he uses as a poet and in his publications in the fields of humanities and social sciences. All his works in mathematics have been published under the surname Isayev (H.A. Isayev, G.A. Isaev, etc. depending on the Western transliteration of his name). Nowadays he is better-known among the general public as Hamlet Isakhanli.
Hamlet Isakhanli's academic and literary works cover a broad range of fields including research in mathematics and in many areas of humanities and the social sciences, poetry, and creative writing. He is often described as a polymath displaying talent in a wide range of subjects.
His critical approach to the reform of education systems in countries with transitional economies has affected the thoughts and actions of educators, policy makers and general public. He has represented Azerbaijan and the broader region on cultural, scientific, educational, and political matters in North America, Europe and Russia, Asia and Africa.
Hamlet Isakhanli is a prominent thinker, influential to his own and new generations, public intellectual and cultural figure who speaks out about what he sees as radical conservatism and injustice. He has also become a noted public figure in Azerbaijan, often giving interviews for newspapers, magazines, internet-based news agencies, and television. He hosts a lecture-based broadcast on Public TV called "Triangle of Science."
Biography.
Hamlet's father Abdulla Isakhan oglu Isayev (1926–1972) taught mathematics in a secondary school and his mother, Perikhanim, is a housewife.
Hamlet attended public school (elementary, secondary and high school) in his home village of Kosali (1954–1965) where the main language of instruction was Azeri with Russian as a second language, French as a foreign language and Georgian as an official language of Georgia. Hamlet finished this school with a gold medal for highest achievement.
His brothers live in a village in Georgia and in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Hamlet Isakhanli's wife, Naila Isayeva (née Asgarli), was born in Quba, Azerbaijan. She graduated from the Institute of Russian Language and Literature in Baku. She has also received music education. She composes songs. She was the head of Khazar Ladies` Club, then, until September 2010, the Director of Dunya School (preschool, primary, middle and high schools) affiliated with Khazar University . At present she is the Advisor to the Board of Directors and Trustees in Humanitarian Affairs, Khazar University.
The couple has four daughters. Their eldest daughter, Aygun (b. 1972), finished secondary school with a gold medal, took up undergraduate study in mathematics and graduate - in management and business administration. She is living in England with her husband and two sons.
Their second daughter Zeynab (b. 1975) finished secondary school with a silver medal and received higher education in medicine with a further specialization in dermatology. She is living in Istanbul, Turkey with her husband and a son.
Their third daughter Ayten (b. 1977), took up post-graduate study in business administration, and she is a certified public accountant. She was a member of the Azerbaijani national chess team. At present she is living and working in London.
Their last-born daughter, Ulker (b. 1985), is a psychologist with a master's degree in cognitive neuroscience. She works at Khazar University now, acting as the Human Resources Director and as coordinator of the Department of Psychology.
For more information on Hamlet Isakhanli's life through his academic, literary and public activities, see below.
Mathematics.
Hamlet Isakhanli (G.A. Isaev, or H.A. Isayev in mathematical works) finished high school with a gold medal and was admitted to the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Azerbaijan State University (present-day Baku State University, BSU) in 1965. He graduated from BSU in 1970 with honors. In the same year, he was admitted to the postgraduate research course (aspirantura) at the Institute of Mathematics and Mechanics, Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences, Baku, Azerbaijan, and sent to Lomonosov Moscow State University for his graduate education and research. In 1973, he defended his dissertation "On Problems of Spectral Theory of Operator Pencils" and received the Ph.D. (Kandidat nauk) degree in Physical-Mathematical sciences.
From 1973 to 1983, he carried out research in mathematics in Moscow and Baku at Moscow State University, the Steklov Institute of Mathematics of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Mathematics and Mechanics of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, then Azerbaijan State University. During this period, he lectured occasionally. Later he also worked as professor at Azerbaijan State Institute of Oil and Chemistry (currently Azerbaijan State Oil Academy) and chaired the department of mathematics in the Baku campus of the Leningrad Institute of Economics and Finance.
Isakhanli's articles were published in leading academic periodicals and transactions in the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany, which brought him international recognition. In 1983, Hamlet Isakhanli defended his second doctoral dissertation (leading to a D.S. - Doctor of Science degree) "On Problems of Multiparameter Spectral Theory" at the V.I. Steklov Institute of Mathematics, Moscow. He received the degree of Doctor of Physical-Mathematical Sciences, and was later awarded the title of Professor by the Soviet Higher Attestation Committee.
Hamlet Isakhanli is recognised as a scholar of great research capacity in mathematics. He has performed research in various areas of mathematics and the applied sciences such as non-self-adjoint operator theory, multiparameter spectral theory, the theory of joint spectra, differential equations, numerical ranges, and mathematical models of economy. He is considered one of the founders of the modern Multiparameter Spectral Theory. He was the first Soviet mathematician to carry out scientific research in this field of study, which has its origin in mathematical physics.
Isakhanli was not only a representative of the famous Moscow mathematics school, but his background also reflects achievements in the scientific schools of the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Canada. During the times of the Soviet "Iron Curtain," in spite of some difficulties, he viewed the West not only from a distance, but also as a visiting professor. Scientific - research centers, academies and universities in Europe, the Americas and Asia continuously invited him to their institutions to deliver lectures, undertake joint research, and speak at international conferences. He in turn invited foreign scholars to Moscow and Baku to deliver lectures for furthering good relations between the East and the West. He achieved the establishment of an international academic network even in those Soviet times.
His achievements in the field of mathematics were highly praised by prominent mathematicians, particularly by members of the Soviet Academy of Sciences as N.N.Bogolyubov, V.S.Vladimirov and S.M. Nikolskiy, Lenin Prize winners B.M. Levitan and V.B. Lidskiy, and by well-known mathematicians A. G. Kostyuchenko, A.A. Dezin, and V.A. Sadovnichiy (currently rector of Lomonosov Moscow State University), professor F.Atkinson (University of Toronto), professor P.J.Browne (University of Calgary), and other scholars. His published works are included in "The List of Best Scientific Works of the Year" by the Presidium (an Executive Committee) of the Soviet Academy of Sciences.
Research in humanities and social studies, creative writings.
Hamlet Isakhanli is a scholar who has carried out research and produced significant results in various fields of sciences and arts, particularly outside of mathematics. Overall, he has written hundreds of articles, monographs, and textbooks in the philosophy of history, history of science, education and culture; education policy; theory and history of translation; language and literature; and in many other areas.
The book "In Search of Khazar" by Hamlet Isakhanli has become very popular in Azerbaijan and throughout the international community. His storytelling style connected with description of political, cultural, personal and psychological situations of the process of establishment of a new institution of higher education, and well-documented analyses of events of the time, make this a valuable book to read. "The realities of events associated with the establishment and development of Khazar University have left indelible traces in my memory. I intend to pass these events to you in their entirety and in all sincerity," says the author in the introductory note to the book.
His research and writings on translation problems, on language policy, and on lexicography are worthy of esteem. A large article entitled "Translating Poetry and Cross-cultural Communication: In Search of Beauty and Harmony Within Limited Borders" devoted to the history and analyses of East-West communication through the translation highway, to problems of translation from and into Azerbaijani, and to problems of translating poetry, is a "must, for constant reference" according to one expert viewpoint.
Hamlet Isakhanli is one of the authors and co-editor of the Khazar English-Azerbaijani Comprehensive Dictionary in six volumes. This work has been completed for the most part; its first three volumes have already been published. This dictionary is, without a doubt, one of the monumental achievements of the Azerbaijani culture.
The textbook "The Azerbaijani Language" for foreigners, written by Hamlet Isakhanli with two co-authors, is based on the communicative approach and is a handbook to which foreigners and teachers may have recourse.
Isakhanli an influential scholar, liberal intellectual, educator, writer and public speaker in the fields of history of science, philosophy and culture; philosophy of history; theory and history of literature, languages; translation studies; education; education policy; and history/philosophy of education. He has written books, numerous articles, policy papers and reports in addition to abundant interviews in TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, and bulletins. For a sampling of them see.
Hamlet Isakhanli discusses in his writings the problems of poetry and philosophy. political science and international relations, history, journalism, etc.
A complete list of writings by Hamlet Isakhanli as well as others' writings about him is available in print as "Hamlet Isaxanli: Bibliography. Scholar, Founder, Poet." 
Poetry.
Hamlet Isakhanli is also well known and respected in Azerbaijan and other countries as a poet. Although he has written poems since childhood (Isakhanli remembers that the first poem he wrote was at age 9 while a primary school student), he did not begin to publish them until recently.
His poems are translated into Russian, English, German, Chinese, Ukrainian, Persian, Turkish, Georgian, Finnish/Suomi; Estonian, etc. His poetical volumes have been published in Azerbaijan 
("Təzadlar", 2001; "Bu da bir həyatdı", 2004; "Dördlüklər", 2007; "Ziyarət", 2009), Russia ("Контрасты", ИзографЪ, 2006), Iran ( "Şeirə dönən duyğular" ("ﺭﻻﻮ۔۔ﻐﯿﻮﺩ ڹ۔۔ﻧﺅﺪ ﮦﺭﻌﺷ"), Əxtər nəşriyyatı, Təbriz, 2004; "Təzadlar" ("ﺭﻻﺩﺎﻀﺘ"). Əxtər nəşriyyatı, Təbriz, 2005; "Bu da bir həyatdı"("ﯼﺩڌﺎﯾﺣﺭﯾﺒ ﺍﺩﻮﺒ"). Əxtər nəşriyyatı, Təbriz, 2005), China 咍姆雷特诗迭/(阿塞) 咍姆雷特.伊萨赞里著; 陈子慕译.一北京:中央编译岀版社 ("Kontrasts" and "This is a Life as well", Central Compilation and Translation Press, 2009), Georgia ("Sitotxlis poezia" (ჰამლეთ ისახანლი. სიცოცხლის პოეზია), Intellect, 2004), Turkey (Hazana Övgü, IQ Kültür Sanat Yayıncılık, 2014), Pakistan (a chapter in "Poetry of Azerbaijan. A Drop in the Ocean", Leaf Publications, 2010), in Finland (a chapter in "Olen Helmi Simpukassa", 2014), in Ukraine (a chapter in "Поезiя". "Всесвит"/Review of World Literature, 11-12, Kiev, 2014).
In addition, he translated poetry from English, Russian and French into Azerbaijani, particularly the poems of George Gordon Byron, W. Blake, Robert Herrick, and Gérard de Nerval, Vasily Zhukovsky, Evgeny Baratynsky, Fyodor Tyutchev, Afanasy Fet, Sergei Yesenin, Nikolay Gumilev, Anna Akhmatova, and Alla Akhundova.
Poetry and music.
Hamlet Isakhanli's poems are melodic; for this reason his poems have attracted Azerbaijani composers' attention. Many of his lyric poems have been used for composing songs and musical spectacles.
Prominent national composers, the late Ramiz Mustafayev and the late Vasif Adigozalov, composed music - a hymn based on his poem "My Khazar University"; Ramiz Mustafayev – on the poem "In Search of my Khazar"; Vagif Garayzadeh - on the poem "Parting"; Lutfiyar Imanov – on the poem "Life will be so easy"; Naila Isayeva - on poems "I just fell in love with you", "It is beautiful", "Poppy", "Lily", "Wind and a lassie", "I want to stay alone", "Come soon", and "My world"; Tahir Akber -on four poems, Elza Seyidcahan - on the poems "I couldn’t understand this world" and "Baku", Jahangir Zulfugarov – on the poem "Where we meet", Dilara Gulamova - on the poems "An old question", "Magical night", "Clouds lag behind childhood", and musical spectacle "The life path is just a moment" based on a series of Hamlet Isakhanli's philosophical poems. His entire epic-lyric poem "Pilgrimage" was set to music by composer Javanshir Guliyev, who also composed eleven songs on the lyric by Hamlet Isakhanli. All these songs and musical spectacles are sung and performed by master-singers Lutfiyar Imanov, Flora Karimova, Brilliant Dadashova, Azer Zeynalov, Ilgar Muradov, Rashida Behbudova, Manana Japaridze, Gulyanaq Memmedova, Elza Seyidcahan, Samir Jafarov, Beture Huseynova, Anar Shushali, Yusif Savalan, Mehseti Cabbarova, Fadaya Lachin, Azerbaijani State Symphony Orchestra and Choir, the "Savalan," "Sheron" and "Kristal" bands and others. Khanandas singing mugham such as Arif Babayev, Alim Qasimov, Nazakat Teymurova, Zabit Nabizadeh, and Zakir Aliyev also have used Hamlet Isakhanli's poems while singing.
Reforms in education.
Besides conducting his research and delivering lectures abroad during the Soviet Period, Hamlet Isakhanli was also interested in studying different aspects of educational organizations in the West. In the late 1980s, Isakhanli tried to explain to the public and to the government the meaning of and reasons for the crisis that was occurring in the Soviet and Azerbaijani Higher Education System. He showed ways to overcome the crisis and called for substantial reforms through his articles published in Azerbaijani and Russian newspapers and in speeches made on the radio and TV.
New ideas started to emerge and be implemented in a country that was living through political and economic crisis and war. Hamlet Isakhanli played an important role in that development.
On the one hand, he noted the necessity for step-by-step reforms in the entire education system; on the other hand, he emphasized the prospect of establishing new types of higher education institutions that would meet the demands of the new, rapidly changing and globalized world.
In his opinion, these new higher education institutions might benefit to some degree from US models of higher education (particularly in terms of curriculum, management, quality of teaching and research, university-industry relations, the knowledge economy and innovation, an interactive student-centered system based on credit accumulation, programs leading to Bachelors, Masters and PhD degrees, extensive international relations, etc.), and they would play an important role not only in education and research, but also in the overall awareness and democratization of society as a whole.
Khazar University (foundation and principles).
In addition to thinking and writing about means for educational reform, Hamlet Isakhanli decided to establish a university. In this way he aimed to contribute to the process of implementing his own proposed reforms through his actions. As an outcome of these activities, official preparatory efforts by the Resolution of the Cabinet (Council) of Ministers of the Republic of (then Soviet!) Azerbaijan were carried out (dated on December 20, 1990). Khazar University (then called Azerbaijan University of the English Language) was subsequently created by a Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers dated March 18, 1991. The university, which began with seven teachers and 19 students, was the first private (not for profit) university established in Azerbaijan and one of the first officially established in the present-day post-Soviet area
Due to its Western-type curricula and study programs, adoption of a flexible credit accumulation system and student-centered model of education, application of modern methods of management, establishment of broad and effective international relations, recruitment of high-quality local and foreign specialists, fighting against corruption in education, and generally speaking, provision of high-quality education under the direction of Hamlet Isakhanli, Khazar University became famous as one of the leading universities not only in Azerbaijan, but also in the wider geographical region covering the former Soviet area, particularly the Caucasus and Central Asia, and also the Middle East.
Hamlet Isakhanli decided to use English as a main language of instruction at Khazar. The reasons for this include providing ways to facilitate the use of books and other educational and research resources published in the West, for student exchange programs, for inviting visiting professors; and, in general, for breaking away from inertia and encouraging innovative thinking.
The innovative endeavors of Hamlet Isakhanli and Khazar University played an important role in the introduction and successful application of the two-cycled (Bachelor, Master) system and in methodology for evaluation in the higher education system of Azerbaijan, which was later envisaged in the Bologna Process on the creation of the European Higher Education Area. He was one of the main initiators in joining Azerbaijan to the Bologna Process in 2005.
Dunya School and Training Center(foundation).
Dunya School, established by Hamlet Isakhanli in 1998 and affiliated with Khazar University, providing education at the preschool, primary, secondary and high school levels, is a successful and highly sought-after school where schoolchildren receive bilingual education in the Azerbaijani and English.
Recently (January 16, 2009) Dunya School gained an international status through accreditation by International Baccalaureate Organization - IBO. Namely, Dunya School as an IB World School now offers the IB Diploma Program to its students in the last two years of high school.
Hamlet Isakhanli not only put his ideas into practice in the higher education system; he is also trying to create a model for pre-university education that would be able to compete internationally. Thus he is realizing and providing the idea of lifelong education by building a network of education institutions from early childhood till PhD and professorship.
As part of the goal of providing lifelong education, Isakhanli also established the Khazar University Training Center which provides courses in foreign languages, all academic fields, standardized examination preparation, and musical instruments for students of all ages.
Public work and leadership.
Hamlet Isakhanli is engaged within two worlds: mathematics and natural sciences along with the humanities and social sciences.
Isakhanli is recognized as a scholar, leader, and public figure among intellectuals, scientists and men of arts, as well as the international community.
Hamlet Isakhanli is a member of international networks, associations, academies and boards, as well as a participant in and organizer of international projects and gatherings on different continents and various countries. He delivered plenary lectures at conferences held by UNESCO, NATO, UNDP, Council of Europe, etc. He has received honors and awards for his contribution to the development of research, education and culture.
As a member of the Education Commission under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Hamlet Isakhanli is actively participating in preparation and realization of reforms carried out in the fields of research, development and education.
The Assembly of Science and Art (), founded and chaired by Hamlet Isakhanli, has turned into a creative intellectual center where scholars and men of arts from diverse fields of study and creative young people come together and carry out discussions on various topics of the arts and sciences. Speeches of presenters from different countries and minutes of the discussions are published first in the Khazar Review magazine (previously Khazar View), then in separate books by Khazar University Press.
His editorship includes research journals and magazines both in the sciences and humanities, transactions of conferences, textbooks and monographs, encyclopedias and dictionaries, translations from various languages into Azerbaijani and vice versa in history, mass media, poetry, novels, etc.
Teaching professor and supervisor.
Through his academic activity, creativity and leadership, Hamlet Isakhanli greatly contributed to human resources development, sending students and scholars to universities of developed countries as well as teaching and supervising them himself.
Hamlet Isakhanli taught mathematics and its applications, intellectual and cultural history, history of science and philosophy, and literature for many years in Azerbaijan in Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences), Baku State University, Azerbaijan State Oil Academy, Azerbaijan State Economic University, Khazar University, as well as in the Former Soviet Union, Europe and North America, Middle East and Far East for PhD, master and undergraduate students, helping and supervising them in their research works.
Hamlet Isakhanli focuses developing outlook and insight in his advanced (Master and PhD) students, taking them to the frontlines of research if they are ready to work hard. Scientists and researchers who have defended dissertations under his supervision now work in the US, Europe, Russia, Israel, Turkey, Iran and in other countries.
Kin.
Hamlet Isakhanli is a member of the well known Hajibayramli clan. His grandfather was a famous guerilla Isakhan Hajibayramli (1897–1930), who organized an armed rebellion against the Soviets during the collectivization period (in the late 1920s to 1930) in the territories of Georgia and Armenia. Isakhan is retained in the memory of the old generation for his bravery and chivalry. His 100-year anniversary was celebrated in both Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Hamlet's grandmother Zeynab and her children and close relatives were exiled from their home country to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan for two years.
Publications about Hamlet Isakhanli.
Hamlet Isakhanli's many-sided activity and image have been broadly represented in literary, publicistic, scientific articles and books, and in art works written, made and performed by various authors, scholars, writers and artists.
The life and activity of the scholar have been thoroughly investigated in the book "The Life of the Scholar and Founder" by Fuad Tanriverdiyev, published in 1997. Another book, "What I Brought to this World" by Knyaz Aslan and Vahid Omarli, published in 2005 in both Azerbaijani and Russian languages, is devoted to brief descriptions of his academic and creative works, public and organizational life, and also contains the thoughts of well-known people of academia, arts and culture from various countries about Hamlet Isakhanli. Besides all this, scholars, writers, poets and journalists in Azerbaijan, the US, Canada, Russia, Turkey, Georgia, Iran, India, China, Estonia and other countries have written and published works about his creative life and activities.
A number of monographs and scientific articles properly appraise and contain reference to Isakhanli's (Isayev's) works, part of which is based on his research. At the same time in the Eastern and Western World, in developed and developing countries, he has repeatedly appeared as an interviewee and as a visitor of broadcasts and telecasts.
The poets Nariman Hasanzadeh, Huseyn Kurdoglu, Muzaffar Shukur, Shahin Fazil, Alla Akhundova, Saadat Buta and many others have devoted special poems to the person of Hamlet Isakhanli. In Azerbaijan, Jamal Mustafayev, Manaf Suleymanov, Rafael Naghiyev, Movlud Suleymanli, Mirabbas Gasimov, Vidadi Babanli, Zalimkhan Yagub, Bahlul Abdulla, Vagif Yusifli, Alirza Khalafli, Kamran Nazirli, Khalil Majidoglu, Aydin Khan, Tamilla Aliyeva, İrena Seidova, Maarifa Hajiyeva, Sevil Gulten, Elza Samadli, Hafiz Rustam and numerous other authors have written about his literary and academic activity. Metin Turan and İmdat Afşar from Turkey, Van Dzen Bo from China, V. Odinets and Lyudmila Lavrova from Russia, Aslan Hacili/İsmayilov, Suleyman Efendi, M. Sakarashvili from Georgia, H. Siyami from Iran, and many writers have written articles about his works.
In addition, Hamlet Isakhanli's image has been portrayed in various drawing, mosaic, and carpet art works.
Publication.
For a full list of publications by and about Hamlet Isakhanli until 2009, see
Selected publications in mathematics: