Saleh Mammad-oglu Aliyev, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Chief Researcher of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where he worked for 47 years, died on November 18, 2006 at the age of 75. S. M. Aliyev is an Iranian historian, scholar of great erudition, a talented researcher in the field of medieval, modern and modern history of Iran. His works, distinguished by their breadth of thought and comprehensive analysis, deservedly occupy a significant place in Russian and world Oriental studies.

Saleh Aliyev was born on December 12, 1929 in Ganja, Azerbaijan SSR. After graduating from high school in 1947, he entered the Persian department of the Faculty of Oriental Studies of Azerbaijan State University. After graduating from the University in 1952, S. M. Aliyev began working at the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan, then at the Pedagogical Institute of Baku. In 1954, fate brought him to the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of Az. From the Soviet Union to the Department of Foreign Oriental Studies, where his research interests related to the study of Iran were determined. In 1955, Saleh Aliev entered the postgraduate program of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences. His PhD thesis is dedicated to the famous Iranian historian and public figure Ahmed Kesravi Tabrizi. S. M. Aliyev's excellent knowledge of the Persian language and a penchant for analytical thinking helped him develop such an ideologically complex topic of his dissertation.

After successfully defending his PhD thesis, in 1959 he became a researcher at the Department of Near and Middle East, which was then headed by the prominent scientist B. N. Zakhoder. S. M. Aliyev worked at the Institute of Oriental Studies in the Department of Near and Middle East until the end of his life.

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S. M. Aliyev's research interests have always been diverse and deep. He studied sources on the history of Asian, South-Eastern and Central European countries, introduced the decrees of the Safavid shahs, previously unknown in domestic Iranian studies, and the works of Iranian historians concerning the Middle Ages into scientific circulation. His research interests, especially in recent years, have included topics related to the history of the Turkic peoples, the history of Turkey and the Ottoman Empire, and the origin of Azerbaijanis. But his main research interests were focused on studying the processes taking place in modern Iran, and he undertook to study and cover in the press and at scientific conferences the most complex and poorly understood problems of the country's recent history.

After the 1979 revolution in Iran, domestic and world science developed not just acute, but rather fierce disputes about the essence of the revolution, its nature, the reasons for the fall of the Shah's regime and the coming to power of the clergy. S. M. Aliyev was one of the first to speak not only at scientific discussions, but also in the press with an analysis the nature and driving forces of the revolution. In 1979, his article" The Anti-monarchical and Anti-Imperialist Revolution in Iran "was published in the journal" Peoples of Asia and Africa " (No. 3). The very title of this article contained a fundamental description of the Iranian revolution. This article was then published in English in Moscow and Pakistan, which received a great response in the world and put S. M. Aliyev among the active participants of the world scientific dialogue on the problems of the Iranian revolution. Next year, new articles by S. M. Aliyev on the Iranian revolution appear in the magazines "Working Class and Modern World" (No. 5) and "Asia and Africa Today" (No. 11), in which he defends his point of view on the question of whether the revolution can be considered Islamic. In his opinion, despite the seizure of power after the fall of the monarchy by the clergy, despite the establishment of Islamic rule, " the Iranian revolution itself, of course, was not a religious movement "(Asia and Africa Today, 1980, N 11).

S. M. Aliyev's doctoral dissertation, defended in 1986, and the monograph published on its basis in 1985, were devoted to such an urgent problem as oil and the socio-political development of Iran in the XX century. In it, S. M. Aliyev, using a large number of sources and literature, showed the growing role of the oil factor in the political and economic history of Iran, paying special attention to such an important period in the history of Iran as the movement for the nationalization of the oil industry. An absolute achievement of this work was also the analysis of Reza Shah's relations with the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. The age-free analysis of the scientist is supplemented with brilliantly and vividly written portrait characteristics of historical figures. A significant place in the work is devoted to the history of the revolution of 1978-1979.

S. M. Aliyev was the initiator of the publication, executive editor and author of sections on the history of Iran of the reference books "Modern Iran", published in 1975 and 1993.

The last major work and a peculiar result of his scientific activity was the book " History of Iran. XX century" (2004). This is the first and most comprehensive study of the political history of Iran in the 20th century. The author analyzes the socio-political events that played the most significant role in the historical fate of Iran, both taking into account the works published earlier in our country and abroad, and on the basis of previously unpublished archival materials and documents. The author made extensive use of the works published in the West in recent years, while critically evaluating them, comparing the works of different researchers, the objectivity of factual material, and so on.Some assessments of Soviet authors who were forced to take into account certain ideological attitudes when writing their works were revised.

S. M. Aliyev educated many graduate students, especially from Azerbaijan, and selflessly advised interns and young researchers who came to Moscow from the Transcaucasian republics, who became prominent figures in the scientific and political life of their countries in the post-Soviet period. In recent years, S. M. Aliyev has paid great attention to the history of Azerbaijan and the ethnogenesis of Azerbaijanis. Many Azerbaijani Muscovites remember S. M. Aliyev's excellent lectures on the history of Azerbaijan, organized by the Society of Azerbaijani Culture "Ojag" (he was one of its organizers in 1988 and for many years was the deputy chairman of the organization).

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S. M. Aliyev maintained active contacts with foreign scientists in Europe, the USA, Asia, and especially Iran. He often went on research trips to Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Germany, participated in many international conferences, symposiums, seminars held both in our country and abroad. He was one of the most active and regular participants in the congresses of the Turkish Historical Society.

His name and works are widely known abroad. He was actively involved in the preparation of sections for encyclopedias published in the United States and Turkey. More than two dozen articles written by him in Turkish were published in the "Islamic Encyclopedia" published in Turkey.

S. M. Aliyev's business qualities and scientific achievements have been repeatedly recognized by the Directorate of the Institute of Oriental Studies and the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences.

Saleh Mammadovich Aliyev was a deeply decent, sympathetic person who earned the respect and warm attitude of his colleagues at the Institute. The bright memory of the outstanding scientist, active public figure, principled, kind and wonderful person will remain in the hearts of those who knew him and who worked with him.

MAIN SCIENTIFIC WORKS SEE ALIEVA

Works of Ahmed Kasrawi on the Middle Ages / / Near and Middle East. Moscow, 1962. P. 131-143.

On the national question in modern Iran / / Kratk. message. Institute of Peoples of Asia (USSR Academy of Sciences). N 77. Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey: History, Economy, Moscow, 1964, pp. 45-60.

On the question of the relations between the Baku and Tiflis committees of the RSDLP and the Iranian Revolutionaries in 1903-1911. Baku, 1965. pp. 189-212.

On the role of the Caliph under the Safavids (With the publication of the decree of Shah Sultan Hussein) / / Peoples of Asia and Africa. 1968, N 1. pp. 136-145 (sovm. with A. Panakhyan).

On the dating of the Rus raid mentioned by Ibn Isfandiyar and Amoli, in Vostochnye istochniki po istorii narodov Yugo-Vostochnoy i Tsentralnoi Evropy (Eastern Sources on the History of the peoples of South - Eastern and Central Europe), Moscow, 1969, pp. 316-321.

The place of Istanbul in the socio-political relations of the enlighteners of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iran in the second half of the 19th century // Association international d'Etudes du Sud-Est Europeen. N 12. Bucarest. 1974, N 2. P. 309 - 320; Idem: Istanbul a la jonction des culture Balkaniques, Mediterraneennes, Slaves et Orientales aux XVI - XIX siecles. Bucarest, 1977. P. 437 - 448.

Modern Iran. Handbook. Moscow, 1975. - Author's article: Religions. pp. 58-64; Political parties. pp. 85-95; History. pp. 109-190; Museums. pp. 415-419.

Iran. Ocherki sovremennoi istorii [Essays on Modern History], Moscow, 1976. - Auth. ch.: Anti-imperialist and Democratic movement of 1949-1953. pp. 167-261; Iran in 1953-1961. pp. 263-290; Dva napravleniya v vneshne politike. pp. 409-468.

Interconnection of Ideology and Politics in the Middle East Countries. M.: Nauka, 1979. 10 p.

Anti-monarchical and anti-imperialist revolution in Iran / / Peoples of Asia and Africa. 1979, N 3. pp. 45-57. То же: // The Near and Middle East Countries: Economy and Policy. M., 1982. P. 30 - 57; Pakistan, Iran and Turkey: Economy and Policy. Lahore, 1984. P. 30 - 55.

Iranskaya revolyutsiya 1978-1979 godov i rabochy klass [The Iranian Revolution of 1978-1979 and the Working Class].

Problemy politicheskogo razvitiya Irana [Problems of Iran's political development]. 1980. N 11.

Iran: problemy ekonomicheskogo i sotsial'nogo razvitiya v 60 - 70-e gg. [Iran: problems of economic and social development in the 60 - 70-ies], Moscow, 1980, pp. 256-303.

Internecine wars and the struggle for supreme power in Iran after the collapse of the Nadir Shah Empire / / Iran: history and Culture in the Middle Ages and in modern times. Moscow, 1980. pp. 27-66.

Economic and ideological-political situation in Iran in the 60 - 70s // Actual problems of the ideology of the national liberation movement in Asia and Africa. M., 1982. S. 426 - 446.

Neft i sotsial'no-politicheskoe razvitie v Irane v XX V. Neft and socio-political development in Iran in the XX century. Institute of Oriental Studies, Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1985, 302 p.

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Islam and modern politics of the Eastern countries. Moscow, 1986. - Auth. Section: Strengthening the political activity of the clergy in Iran in the 60s-80s. pp. 131-138; Shiite concept of the state. pp. 138-145; Muslim leftists on the eve of the revolution. pp. 146-149.

The Iranian Revolution of 1978-1979: reasons and lessons, Moscow, 1988. - Auth. ch. and sec.: State and adoption of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Its contents. pp. 201-209; Presidential elections, elections to the Mejlis, formation of the constitutional government. pp. 212-218.

Iran: Influence of the October Revolution Ideas // The October Socialist Revolution and the Middle East. New Delhi, 1988. P. 43 - 59.

Modern Iran. Spravochnik [Handbook], Moscow: Nauka. 1993. - Author's section: Historical essay. Iran in the XX century. pp. 51-113; Religions. pp. 45-50.

Criticism of three approaches to the history of Azerbaijan // Turk Duniasi. 1994 (in Azerbaijani).

History of Iran, XX century / Russian Academy of Sciences. Institute of Oriental Studies, Moscow, 2004, 645 p.

Articles in "Islam Ansiklopeedisi". Istanbul. N 9, 16, 17, 19, 22, 24, 26 (in Turkish).

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