Mirza Fatali Akhundov was a renowned Azerbaijani writer, philosopher and founder of modern literary criticism. He became famous for writing European-inspired plays in Azeri Turkic language. Mirza was born at a time when his family was facing financial hardships. When he was six-year-old, his mother left his father and went to live with her uncle, who was a highly intellectual and well-read cleric. Mirza grew under his maternal uncle's tutelage and soon mastered the canons of Islamic philosophy and literature. Initially hoping to follow in his uncle's footsteps and join the clergy, Mirza dropped out of theological school to study poetry and Western literature. He then began to produce his own works of literary genius, including comedy plays and brilliantly satirical novels. His lyrical use of Persian and well as his descriptions of Persian culture inspired an entire generation of Iranian leaders. His takedown of corrupt and nonsensical Muslim superstitions made him an early advocate of rational atheism, an ideology heavily promoted by the Soviet Union decades after his death. Mirza's vast output of work ranging from literary criticism to volumes of poetry has lifted him to the status of a colossus in the annals of great Persian, Azerbaijani and Russian writers.