The origin and formation of azerbaijaniism in literature: literary and artistic context

<jats:p>The article studies the emergence and historical development stages of the idea of Azerbaijaniness from a literary and artistic perspective. The main goal of the study is to determine the essence of Azerbaijaniness as not only a political-ideological concept, but also a spiritual phenomenon that combines the historical memory, national-cultural values, language and aesthetic thought system of the Azerbaijani people. The study examines the relationship between theories of national identity and the stages of development of Azerbaijani literature, and analyzes elements of national self-awareness in classical and modern literary examples. The article shows that the initial artistic foundations of the idea of Azerbaijaniness appeared in classical Azerbaijani poetry in connection with the concepts of man, homeland, language, spirituality and statehood, acquired socio-cultural content during the enlightenment movement of the 19th century, and at the beginning of the 20th century became one of the main directions of national ideology. As a result of the study, it is determined that Azerbaijani literature performed not only a reflective, but also a creative function in the formation of Azerbaijaniness.</jats:p>