Khurshidbanu Natavan (; 6 August 1832 – 2 October 1897) was an Azerbaijani poet and philanthropist. She is considered one of the best lyrical poets of Azerbaijan. Her poems are in either Azerbaijani or Persian and she was most notable for her lyrical ghazals. Natavan was the daughter of Mehdigulu Khan, the last ruler of the Karabakh Khanate (1748–1822). Life Natavan was born on August 5, 1832 in Shusha, a town in present-day Azerbaijan, in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, to Mehdigulu Khan (1763-1845) and Badir Jahan Begüm (1802-1861). Being the only child in the family and descending from Panah Ali Khan, she was the only heir of the Karabakh khan, known to general public as the "daughter of the khan" (). Her name Khurshid Banu () is from Persian and means "Lady Sun". Her pen name Natavan () is also from Persian and means powerless. She was named after her grandmother - Khurshud Begüm, daughter of Javad Khan. After her father's death, she inherited vast amounts of lands from her father including 1,315 households, 41 nomadic territories and 7 villages at age of 14. She was put in care of her aunt Gawhar agha who taught her music, poetry and painting. She probably married Kumyk noble Khasay Utsmiev in 1847. She inherited additional number of 9 villages from her mother Badir Jahan Begüm in 1861 after her death. She founded and sponsored the first literary societies in Shusha and in the whole of Azerbaijan. One of them called Majlis-i Uns ("Society of Friends") founded in 1864 became especially popular and concentrated major poetic-intellectual forces of Karabakh of that time. Natavan was closely engaged in philanthropy, promoting the social and cultural development of Karabakh. Among her famous deeds was a water main that was first laid down in Shusha in 1872, thus solving the water problem of the townsfolk. The local Russian "Kavkaz" newspaper wrote at the time: "Khurshud Banu-Begum left an eternal mark in the memories of the Shushavians and her glory will pass on from generation to generation". The aqueduct built by Natavan from famous Shusha white stones were called by the townsfolks "Natavan springs" and were also considered historical monuments under protection. Natavan also did a lot for the development and popularization of the famous breed of Karabakh horses. Natavan's Karabakh horses took part in the Exposition Universelle (1867), agricultural exhibition in Moscow (1869), in Tbilisi (1882) and