The Azeri national industrial magnate and philanthropist Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev has died on 1 September 1924 at the age of 101, in his village Mardakan, not far from Baku. Today there is no need to introduce him, because he is known to everybody.
Taghiyev is revered by Azeris for his charity work. He sponsored the construction of the first Azeri national theatre. Taghiyev provided also sponsored the building of the first secular Muslim school for girls in the Middle East in 1898-1900. He helped to maintain many city institutions and contributed to the adornment of Baku, including paving the streets and green parks. He helped to solve the water crisis in the city by helping to finance the Shollar water pipeline. He provided scholarships for Azeri youth who strived for higher education in prestigious Russian and European universities. Some of them, such as writer Mammed Said Ordubadi, politicians Nariman Narimanov and Prof. Aziz Aliyev, Professor Khudadat Bey Malik-Aslanov later rose to prominence. For his outstanding contributions, Taghiyev was awarded with a number of highest orders and medals from both Russia and abroad.
Today Azeri intellectuals, public figures and writers have come to Pir Hassan memorial, where Tagiyev is buried, to pay tribute to his memory. They laid flowers on his tomb and read a requiem mass to commemorate the great Azerbaijani.

AzerTAc