Evgenii Eduardovich Bertels

After a short-lived interest in Entomology, Bertels went into Legal Studies, graduating from the Saint Petersburg Imperial University, Faculty of Law (1914),{{sfn|Zand|1989}} and in 1918 he received a higher musical education at Petrograd Conservatory, graduating in 1920.{{sfnm|1a1=Keyvani|1y=2002|1p=672a|2a1=Zand|2y=1989}} But his genuine interest was Oriental Studies, so he taught himself Persian and Turkic languages, and in 1918 he became a student of the Oriental Department of the Petrograd State University—later renamed as Leningrad State University, where his teachers were Aleksandr A. Romaskevich, Alexander Freiman, Vasily Bartold, and Sergey Oldenburg.{{sfnm|1a1=Keyvani|1y=2002|1p=672a|2a1=Zand|2y=1989}} Bertels first academic appointment, in 1920, was at the Asiatic Museum, later the Institute of Oriental Studies of USSR Academy of Sciences, where he worked till his death.{{sfnm|1a1=Izadi|1y=1977|1pp=xi–xii|2a1=Keyvani|2y=2002|2p=672a|3a1=Meshkin-nedjad|3y=2003|3p=201b|4a1=Muslmani Ghobadiani|4y=1997|4p=3a–b}} Bertels was arrested in 1925 after allegations that he was a French spy, he was released due to the mediation of his colleagues. But psychologically Bertels was broken, and it seems he was forced to collaborate with the GPU by providing them with information about his colleagues.{{sfn|Rodionov|2011|p=55}}

In 1928, on Bartold's recommendation, he became a professor of Persian language and literature at the Leningrad State University—{{sfnm|1a1=Bagirov|1y=2020|1p=734|2a1=Keyvani|2y=2002|2p=672a|3a1=Meshkin-nedjad|3y=2003|3p=201b|4a1=Zand|4y=1989}} former Petrograd State University, and during the 1930s–1950s, he was the mentor of most Soviet Union,{{sfn|Zand|1989}} and Azerbaijanian researchers of Persian and Muslim Turkic literature, his renowned Azerbaijanian disciple was Azada Rustamova (1932–2005) who later became leading Azerbaijanian orientalists and Turkologists.{{sfn|Bagirov|2020|p=734}}{{efn-ua|name=Rustamova}} He was arrested again in 1941 along with his son, Dmitrii, for anti-Soviet activities. However, Bertels was then suddenly released, and he was later awarded several Soviet decorations.{{sfn|Rodionov|2011|p=55}} After the death of Stalin, Bertels became one of the first Soviet Orientalists to participate in conferences and to publish abroad.{{sfn|Zand|1989}} He died in 1957,{{sfnm|1a1=Izadi|1y=1977|1pp=xi–xii|2a1=Keyvani|2y=2002|2p=672a|3a1=Meshkin-nedjad|3y=2003|3p=201b}}{{sfnm|1a1=Muslmani Ghobadiani|1y=1997|1p=3b|2a1=Zand|2y=1989}} and is buried in Novodevichy Cemetery.

Like most Orientalists, nothing is known about his personal life, he married Vera Vasilievna (1892–1969) before 1917,{{efn-ua|name=Spouse}} and they had two sons, the Arabist and Iranist Dmitrii Evgenievich (1917–2005),{{efn-ua|name=Dmitrii}} he was arrested in 1941 along with his father, for anti-Soviet activities,{{sfn|Rodionov|2011|p=55}} and in 1949 he was behind bars but was later released,{{sfn|Zand|1989}} and Andrei Evgenievich (1928–1995), also an Orientalist,{{sfn|Meshkin-nedjad|2003|p=199a–201a|loc=provide a list of his works, and give his date of birth as 1926}}{{efn-ua|name=Andrei}} who after his father's death, published Bertels' "Selected Writings" ({{transliteration|ru|Izbrannye trudy}}).{{sfn|Meshkin-nedjad|2003|p=212a}}{{efn-ua|name=Grave}}

Bertels started his career by partial translations of Persian Classical Literature into Russian his first published work was a selected translation of Sadi's Gulistan in 1922,{{sfnm|1a1=Keyvani|1y=2002|1p=672a|2a1=Muslmani Ghobadiani|2y=1997|2p=3b|3a1=Zand|3y=1989|3loc=praises his translation}} in 1923 selected translation of the works of Attar's {{transliteration|fa|Bulbul-nama}} and Nizami Ganjavi's {{transliteration|fa|Haft Peykar}}, latter translated parts of Nasir Khusraw's Safarnama, and a complete translation of Sanai's {{transliteration|ar|Sayr al-‛Ibād Ilā’l-Ma‛ād }}, among many other translations.{{sfnm|1a1=Keyvani|1y=2002|1p=672a|2a1=Meshkin-nedjad|2y=2003|2pp=202b–216a|2loc=provides a comprehensive list|3a1=Muslmani Ghobadiani|3y=1997|3p=3b}} Bertels was one of the authors of the first edition of Encyclopaedia of Islam (1913–1938), and wrote many articles on Islamic literature and culture in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia.{{sfn|Muslmani Ghobadiani|1997|p=4a}} From 1923 through 1929 Bertels published twenty-seven articles in the field of Sufi studies (republished in the III volume of his "Selected Writings"),{{sfnm|1a1=Meshkin-nedjad|1y=2003|1pp=202b–205b|2a1=Zand|2y=1989}} his works on Sufism are regarded as classics in the studies of Sufism in Russia, although, he is not among the greats like Hellmut Ritter, Louis Massignon or Henry Corbin.{{sfnm|1a1=Keyvani|1y=2002|1p=672b|2a1=Muslmani Ghobadiani|2y=1997|2p=3b|3a1=Tabatabaie|3y=1997|3pp=143–147|3loc=criticize Bertels works on the subject, and points out the odd mistakes}}

File:Ferdowsi millenary congress.jpg

In 1934, on the occasion of the Ferdowsi Millennial Celebration, held in Persia, the Soviet Union sent the largest delegation,{{sfn|Shahbazi|2012}} Bertels delivered a lecture in Persian,{{sfn|Muslmani Ghobadiani|1997|p=3b}} on Yazdan (i.e., God, or a divine entity) and Ahriman (i.e., Satan, or a demonic entity) in Shahnameh.{{sfn|Sahab|1978|pp=64–65}}{{efn-ua|name=Sahab}} In 1935, he wrote a small popular monograph on Ferdowsi ({{transliteration|ru|Abu-l-Kasim Ferdovsi i Ego Tvorchestovo}}; "Firdowsi and His Poetry"),{{sfn|Zand|1989}} translated into Persian by S. Izadi.{{sfn|Meshkin-nedjad|2003|p=206b}}{{efn-ua|name=Izadi-Ferdowsi}} His monograph on Nizami was published originally as articles, and treatises, between 1939 and 1956, and in its entirety five years after Bertels' death,{{sfnm|1a1=Meshkin-nedjad|1y=2003|1pp=207a–211a|2a1=Zand|2y=1989}}{{efn-ua|name=Nizami}} his last visit to Persia was on the occasion of Avicenna Millenary Congress, 21–30 April 1954.{{sfn|Meshkin-nedjad|2003|p=202a}} Bertels' chief achievements was introducing Persian classics to Russian readers, the editor's preface to the first volume of Bertels' Selected Writings states: "Bertels literally lived by the creations of the luminaries of Persian poetry, and over 150 of his 295 works were related to Persian literature or language."{{sfn|Bagirov|2020|pp=636–637}}

Bertel's preparation of a new critical edition of Nizami's Panj Ganj, and his critical edition of Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, must also be mentioned. Bertels and a group of collaborators began preparing a critical edition of Nizami's works in 1941, a critical text of the Iskandarnameh was published in 1947 in two parts: Sharafnameh, for which Berthels and A.A. Alizada were awarded the State Stalin Prize,{{sfnm|1a1=Meshkin-nedjad|1y=2003|1p=214a|2a1=Muslmani Ghobadiani|2y=1997|2p=4a|3a1=Zand|3y=1989}} and Eqbalnameh; no other critical text was published during Bertels' lifetime.{{sfnm|1a1= Meshkin-nedjad|1y=2003|1p= 202a|2a1=Muslmani Ghobadiani|2y=1997|2p=4a|3a1=Zand|3y=1989}} His critical edition of Ferdowsi's Shahnameh had the same faith, he edited two volumes, both published after his death in 1960 and 1962, the whole nine-volume edition was completed in 1971 under the editorship of Abdolhossein Noushin,{{sfnm|1a1=Keyvani|1y=2002|1p=673a|2a1= Muslmani Ghobadiani|2y=1997|2p=4a|3a1=Zand|3y=1989}} and became the standard edition of Shahnameh, prior to Djalal Khaleghi-Motlagh edition (1990–2008).{{cite journal |last1=Davis |first1=Dick|author-link=Dick Davis (translator)|title=Review: The Shahnameh by Abul-Qasem Ferdowsi, Djalal Khaleghi-Motlagh |journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies |date=1995 |volume=XXVII |issue=3 |pages=393–395 |doi=10.1017/S0020743800062413 |jstor=176284|s2cid=162740442 |url-access=registration |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/176284 }}; {{cite journal |last1=Shahbazi |first1=A. Sh.|author-link=Alireza Shapour Shahbazi|title=Review: Abu'l-Qasem Ferdowsi, the Shahnameh (Book of Kings), vol. I. by Djalal Khaleghi-Motlagh|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|date=1991 |volume=CXI|issue=1|pages=154–155 |doi=10.2307/603776 |jstor=603776|s2cid= |url-access=registration |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/603776 }}{{efn-ua|name=Khaleghi-Motlagh}}

After his death, his son Andrei provided his father's papers for publication,{{sfn|Meshkin-nedjad|2003|p=212a}} and a group of Bertels' former colleagues and students edited and organized Bertels' Selected Writings ({{transliteration|ru|Izbrannye trudy}}), it was supposed to be published in VI volumes,{{sfn|Zand|1989}} but ended in V volumes, as follows: [I] {{transliteration|ru|Istoriya persidsko-tadzhikskoĭ literatury}} (History of Persian–Tajik Literature),{{efn-ua|name=Persian–Tajik Literature}} this volume was translated into Persian by S. Izadi, in two parts.{{efn-ua|name=Izadi Persian Literature}} [II] {{transliteration|ru|Nizami i Fuzuli}} (On Nizami and Fuzuli), [III] {{transliteration|ru|Sufizm i sifiĭskaya literatura}} (Sufism and Sufi Literature), was also translated into Persian by S. Izadi.{{sfn|Izadi|1977}} [IV] {{transliteration|ru|Navoi i Dzhami}} (On Navai and Jami). [V] {{transliteration|ru|Istoriya literatury i kultury Irana}} (History of Persian Literature and Culture). Volumes I-IV appeared in 1960–1965,{{sfn|Zand|1989}} volume V, published 1988. Bertels was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor in 1945,{{sfn|Meshkin-nedjad|2003|p=214a}} the Order of Lenin, and a medal.{{sfn|Osmanov|1970–1979}}

• Campaign on granting Nizami the status of the national poet of Azerbaijan

{{Notelist-ua

|30em

|refs=

{{efn-ua

|name=B-Day

|"In 1918, after the Revolution, Lenin raised the question of calendar reform and, after an investigation of the subject, published a decree directing the adoption of the Gregorian style "for the purpose of being in harmony with all the civilized countries of the world" → {{cite web |url=http://myweb.ecu.edu/mccartyr/Russia.html |title=Russia's Difficulties|last1= Achelis|first1=Elisabeth|author1-link=Elisabeth Achelis|date=1954 |website=Home Page for Calendar Reform|publisher=Rick McCarty |access-date=2 May 2023}} Therefore, some sources give Bertels's day of birth as the 13th of December, according to Julian calendar.

}}

{{efn-ua

|name=Alt-names

|The variant of his first name, that one finds on the internet, is either due to literate pronunciation, or different languages and dialects, e.g.: Eugene (Ukrainian), Evgeny (Kazakhian), Yevgani (Persian), Yevgeni (Azerbaijanian), Yevgeniy (Armenian) ... etc.; the preference of his name—given above, is based on Romanization of his name, {{harvnb|Osmanov|1970–1979}} and {{harvnb|Zand|1989}}.

}}

{{efn-ua

|name=Surname

|He signed his articles in the first edition of Encyclopaedia of Islam as "E. Berthels," perhaps due to his Germanic ancestry; e.g. → {{cite encyclopedia|last1=Berthels|first1=E.|editor1-last=Martijn Theodoor Houtsma|display-editors=etal|title=Encyclopaedia of Islam |date=1913–1936 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=90-04-08265-4|volume=III|pages=1124a–1125a|edition=1st |chapter=Ras̲h̲īd al-Dīn Ṭabīb|doi=10.1163/2214-871X_ei1_SIM_3681|chapter-url-access=subscription|chapter-url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2214-871X_ei1_SIM_3681 }}; {{harvnb|Zand|1989}} give the same surname. The preference of his surname is based on Romanization and {{harvnb|Osmanov|1970–1979}}.

}}

{{efn-ua

|name=Rustamova

|A brief biography of [https://science.gov.az/en/forms/skanchavshiesya-chlenyikorrespondentyi/3494 Azade Rustamova], is on the "Azerbaijan National Academy of Science" webpage.

}}

{{efn-ua

|name=Spouse

|There is no official record of the date of their marriage, but their first son was born in 1917.

}}

{{efn-ua

|name=Dmitrii

|A brief bio–bibliographical note on Dmitrii, in Russian, is available at [http://orientalstudies.ru/rus/index.php?option%3Dcom_personalities&Itemid%3D74&person%3D366 orientalstudies.ru].

}}

{{efn-ua

|name=Andrei

|One of his works, Nasir Khusraw and Ismailism ({{transliteration|ru|Nasir-i Khosrov i Ismailizm}}), was translated into Persian → {{cite book |last1=Bertels |first1=A.Y.|translator-last1=Yahya Aryanpour|title=Nasir Khusraw va Esmailiyan (ناصر خسرو و اسماعیلیان) |date=1968 |publisher=Bonyade Farhange Iran |location=Tehran}} Nota bene: at [https://ci.nii.ac.jp/author/DA06127263?l%3Den CiNii], this book is incorrectly listed among E.E. Bertels works.

}}

{{efn-ua

|name=Grave

|Under a photograph of Bertels' gravestone, at [http://novodevichiynecropol.narod.ru/05/bertels_ee.htm novodevichiynecropol], the name and date of the birth and death of his wife and son—Andrei, who are buried alongside him—is written.

}}

{{efn-ua

|name=Sahab

|Sahab personally attended Bertels' lecture, according to him, Bertels spoke Persian well, clearly, and fluently.

}}

{{efn-ua

|name=Izadi-Ferdowsi

|{{cite book |last1=Izadi |first1=Sirus |title=Ferdowsi va Surudehayash (فردوسی و سروده هایش)|date=1990|publisher=Entesharate Hirmand |location=Tehran}}

}}

{{efn-ua

|name=Nizami

|For Bertels' extensive studies on Nizami Ganjavi, that were to serve the ideological standards governing USSR → {{harvnb|Bagirov|2020|loc=passim}}; {{cite book |last1=Lornejad |first1=Siavash |last2=Doostzadeh |first2=Ali |editor1-last=Arakelova |editor1-first=Victoria |title=On the Modern Politicization of the Persian Poet Nezami Ganjavi |date=2012 |publisher=Caucasian Centre for Iranian Studies |location=Yerevan|url=https://persianpoetry.arizona.edu/content/siavash-lornejad-ali-doostzadeh-modern-politicization-persian-poet-nezami-ganjavi |isbn=978-99930-69-74-4|format=PDF}}

}}

{{efn-ua

|name=Khaleghi-Motlagh

|Khaleghi-Motlagh's second revised edition, in 12 volumes, was published in Tehran (2018).

}}

{{efn-ua

|name=Persian–Tajik Literature

|Read: History of Greater Persia Literature, many of them neither lived in the present day Iran nor Tajikistan, e.g., Unsuri, or Sanai.

}}

{{efn-ua

|name=Izadi Persian Literature

|Part I: {{cite book |last1=Izadi |first1=Sirus |title=Tarikh Adabiyate Farsi (تاریخ ادبیات فارسی / History of Persian Literature)|date=1995|publisher=Entesharate Hirmand |location=Tehran|isbn=964-5521-50-5}}; Part II: {{cite book |last1=Izadi |first1=Sirus |title=Tarikh Adabiyate Farsi: Az Doran Ferdowsi Ta Ahde Saljuqian (تاریخ ادبیات فارسی: از دوران فردوسی تا عهد سلجوقیان / History of Persian Literature: From Ferdowsi's Time till Seljuk Era) |date=1996|publisher=Entesharate Hirmand|location=Tehran}}

}}

notelistend}}

{{Reflist

|30em

|refs=

Refend}}

• {{cite journal|last1=Bagirov|first1=Abuzar M.|title=The Role of the Russian Orientalist Y. E. Bertels in the Formation of the Azerbaijan Literary Scene in Moscow|journal=Astra Salvensis|date=2020|volume=II|issue=Supplement, no. 1|pages=731–751|format=PDF|url=https://astrasalvensis.eu/2020-2/#}}
• {{cite book|last1=Izadi|first1=Sirus|title=Tasawwuf Va Adabiyat Tasawwuf (Sufism and Sufi Literature/Sufizm i sifiĭskaya literatura)|date=1977|publisher=Entesharate Amir Kabir|location=Tehran|language=fa}}
• {{cite encyclopedia|last1=Keyvani|first1=Majdodin|editor1-last=Kazem Mousavi-Bojnourdi|title=Dā'erat-ol-Ma'āref-e Bozorg-e Eslāmi|date=2002|publisher=Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia|volume=XI|location=Tehran|isbn=964-7025-07-6|pages=672a–673b|language=fa|chapter=Bertels|chapter-url=https://cgie.org.ir/fa/article/228525/برتلس}}
• {{cite book|editor1-last=Meshkin-nedjad|editor1-first=Parviz|title=Orientalists: Iranists and Islamists, Their Bibliography and Biography|date=2003|publisher=Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies|volume=II|location=Tehran|isbn=964-426-193-3|pages=201b–216a |language=fa}}
• {{cite encyclopedia|last1=Muslmani Ghobadiani|first1=Rahim|editor1-last=Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel|title=Encyclopaedia of the World of Islam|date=1997|publisher=Encyclopaedia Islamica Foundation|volume=III|location=Tehran|isbn=964-447-003-6 |pages=3a–4b|language=fa|chapter=Bertels |chapter-url=https://rch.ac.ir/article/Details/6289}}
• {{cite web|url= https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Evgenii+Eduardovich+Bertels|last1=Osmanov|first1=N.M.|title=Evgenii Eduardovich Bertels|date=1970–1979|website=The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition, The Gale Group, Inc.|publisher=The Free Dictionary|access-date=2 May 2023}}
• {{cite book|last1=Rodionov|first1=Mikhail|editor1-last=Michael Kemper|editor2-last=Stephan Conermann|title=The Heritage of Soviet Oriental Studies|series=Routledge Contemporary Russia and Eastern Europe Series|date=2011|publisher=Routledge|location=London & New York|isbn=978-0-203-83275-2|pages=47–57|chapter=Profiles under pressure: Orientalists in Petrograd/ Leningrad, 1918–1956|doi=10.4324/9780203832752-9|chapter-url-access=subscription|chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.4324%2F9780203832752-9}}
• {{cite book|last1=Sahab|first1=Abolghassem|title=Farhang Khavarshenasan (Dictionary of Orientalists)|date=1978|orig-date=1940|publisher=Sahab Publishing|location=Tehran|pages=64–65|edition=2nd Revised|language=fa}}
• {{cite web|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/ferdowsi-iv|title=Ferdowsi, Abu'l-Qāsem IV. Millenary Celebration|last1=Shahbazi|first1=A.S.|author1-link=Alireza Shapour Shahbazi|editor-last=Ehsan Yarshater|date=January 26, 2012|website=Encyclopædia Iranica|publisher=Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation|access-date=21 July 2023}}
• {{cite book|last1=Tabatabaie|first1=Mostafa H.|title=Naghde Asare Khavarshenasan (Criticism of Orientalism Works)|date=1997|publisher=Chapakhsh|location=Tehran|language=fa}}
• {{cite web|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/berthels-evgenii|title=Berthels, Evgeniĭ Èduardovich|last1=Zand|first1=Michael|editor-last=Ehsan Yarshater|date=December 15, 1989|website=Encyclopædia Iranica|publisher=Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation|access-date=2 May 2023}}

• {{cite web|url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/berthels-evgenii-eduardovic|title=Berthels, Evgenii Èduardoviç|last1=Azamat |first1=Nihat|date=1992|website=TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi|publisher=TDV İslâm Araştırmaları Merkezi|access-date=23 July 2023|language=tr}}

• One of Bertels' treatise on Nizami: [http://publ.lib.ru/ARCHIVES/B/BERTEL%27S_Evgeniy_Eduardovich/_Bertel%27s_E.E..html Бертельс Е.Э. Великий азербайджанский поэт Низами: Эпоха - жизнь - творчество. (1940)]
• PDFs of all five volumes of Bertels' "Selected Writings" at :ru:Бертельс, Евгений Эдуардович.
• Some of Bertels' works, published between 1923 and 1971, are available at "[http://www.orientalstudies.ru/rus/index.php?option=com_personalities&Itemid=74&person=1359 Oriental Studies.ru]".

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertels, Evgenii Eduardovich}}

Category:1890 births

Category:1957 deaths

Category:Corresponding Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences

Category:Academic staff of Saint Petersburg State University

Category:Recipients of the Order of Lenin

Category:Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour

Category:Recipients of the Stalin Prize

Category:Ferdowsi

Category:Nizami Ganjavi

Category:Russian orientalists

Category:Shahnameh

Category:Soviet orientalists

Category:Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery

Category:Saint Petersburg State University alumni