Musa Naghiyev

Agha Musa Naghiyev (Azerbaijani: Ağa Musa Nağıyev) (1849–1919) was an Azerbaijani industrial oil magnate in late 19th – early 20th century. He was also an adherent of the Baháʼí Faith and served on the Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of Baku.^[2][3]

He was born into a very poor family near Baku 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 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 in Venice 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.^[2]

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.^[4]

Los elementos arquitectónicos de los relojes de piedra diseñados en la parte superior y una linterna de piedra en el borde de ese hermoso edificio erigido en 1887, le daban una apariencia distintiva. La linterna de piedra llamada "Seng fanar" estaba decorada con piezas de vidrio rojas, verdes, azules y turquesas para crear un colorido efecto de iluminación durante las noches. Cada noche, los niños se reunían alrededor del edificio para deleitarse con esa vista sorprendentemente impresionante de la iluminación de la calle. La colorida luz de la linterna de piedra en Bakú a finales del siglo XIX solía crear una atracción asombrosa y espectacular. ^{[ 5 ]} Naghiyev fue el principal patrocinador y fideicomisario de una de las escuelas técnicas más grandes, "Real College", el edificio que ahora alberga la Universidad Estatal de Economía de Azerbaiyán . Murió de un ataque al corazón el 4 de marzo de 1919. ^{[ 1 ]}

• Naghiyev - Sociedad Filantrópica Ismayiliyya . AZER.com, Internacional de Azerbaiyán , vol. 13:2 (verano de 2005), págs. 44-51.

• Musa Nagiyev.az