| Shirali Muslimov | |
|---|---|
| Born | Shirali Baba Muslimov March 26, 1805 Barzavu |
| Died | September 2, 1973 (aged 168) Barzavu |
| Nationality | Azerbaijani |
Shirali Baba Muslimov (also Mislimov) (Azerbaijani: Şirəli Müslümov, Ширəли Mүcлүмов, شیرعلی مسلموف, pronounced [ʃiɾæˈli mysˈlymov]) (allegedly 26 March 1805 - Barzavu – September 2, 1973) was a Talysh shepherd from the village of Barzavu in the Lerik region of Azerbaijan, a mountainous area near the Iranian border. He was claiming to be the oldest person who ever lived when he died on September 2 (or 4), 1973 at the alleged age of 168. This is 46 years older than French woman Jeanne Calment, who has had the longest confirmed lifespan in history at 122.
Muslimov's story was taken up in 1973 by National Geographic Magazine,[1] which told that on the occasion he still rode horseback and tended an orchard planted in the 1870's. National Geographic later recanted on the claim. The same story was told by the Guinness Book, stated as unconfirmed along other similar claims.[2]
His marital status was also controversial. National Geographic told he had a wife 120 years old, whom he had married 102 years earlier. However on his obituary, published by Time magazine, it is said he was survived by his 107-year-old third wife. According to another claim , at the purported age of 136 he married and had a daughter. The only evidence in favor of Muslimov's age claim is an official passport that listed his birthdate. Muslimov had no known birth certificate.
In the 1970s many Westerners were made aware of these extreme claims of longevity in Azerbaijan and elsewhere in the Caucasus region when a U.S. Dannon yogurt commercial invoked some of these people to suggest that the secret of their long lives lay in the frequent consumption of yogurt.
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Şirəli Müslümov lived in Barzavu, a small village in the region of Lerik, the mountainous area of Azerbaijan near the border of Iran in what would be born in 1805. According to myth, the man had worked hard every day, up to 165 years, and decided not to marry until a century ago. Müslümov did not smoke and, as a good Muslim, did not drink, but ate fruit, vegetables, wholemeal bread, chicken broth, low-fat cheese and yogurt. He had three wives, the third of which had 107 years at the time of his death and was seven years older than one of the grandchildren man. It is, however, tell many other stories in this regard, some of which claim that had six wives and the second had been pregnant more than seventy years. Müslümov became ill with pneumonia in the winter the 1972nd - one thousand nine hundred seventy-three, but survived at least until the 168 th birthday, only to shut down in late summer.
Müslümov The case became known in 1963 , when a young photojournalist TASS, Kalman Kaspiev, went to Barzavu to interview the elderly. Acts standing certifying the improbable: a man born in 1805 was still alive at the age of 158 years. The official press Soviet certainly did not let slip such a wonderful opportunity: Müslümov had been employed in a collective farm, recalled the days of Tsarist Russia, and requested a comparison, he said with a little 'of complacency that things were better in new regime. The story of Şirəli Baba (Grandfather Şirəli) did so around the world.
On the other hand, was not the only Soviet propaganda affected the incredible story: even the National Geographic credited to, even if it later backed down. In addition Müslümov was only the tip of the iceberg. The Caucasus of the seventies was full of similar statements, to the point that they tried to give them an explanation, either by scientific interest, look for commercial reasons: as has been suggested that the longevity was linked to a diet of dairy and, in particular yogurt, Danone took the ball to support this theory to give a boost to its sales.
But the service Kaspiev also changed the life of the small Azeri village, where they arrived electricity, radio and television, was also built a comfortable road that would serve the same number of curious and government institutions to meet and honor what they thought was the best the man of the world's longest. Elder was loaded with gifts and provided with a special board, and in 1964 the Soviet government organized a big party for his alleged birthday 159.