Ilyas Mehemmed oglu Efendiyev was born in a famous and respectable merchant family in Garyagin (now Fuzuli city) on may 28, 1914. His father – Mehemmed kishi, who came from the family of a well-educated clergyman by descent and a rich merchant, was born in 1884. His forefathers were popular in the whole Garabag, supporting poor, kind and noble men. One branch of this family-tree, belonged to the merchant generation, was engaged in commerce. The other branch consisted of well-educated akhunds (theologians) and celebrated scholars who got ecclesiastical education. The writer's father Mehemmed Efendiyev belonged to the merchant branch of this family. When he was 7 or 8, his father died, and his mother not getting married dedicated all her life in growing up 4 little sons and a daugther by herself. Mehemmed Efendiyev finished Russian-Tatar school with excellent marks and learned the Russian language perfectly. After leaving school he moved to Garyagin and worked with his brother-in-law at hardware store. After some time he was engaged in this business by himself. He had trading contacts with different cities of Russia, Tebriz, Istanbul, made fortune with some partners by purchasing and selling goods and was far-famed. In 1920, after bolshevics occupied Azerbijan, Mehemmed kishi worked in different economic institutions. His grandfather Hajı Akhund got high religions education, he was a man of wide world outlook, high education, and great respect. He had very rich library at home. Ilyas Efendiyev notes that he wasn't a greedy man like other mullahs he never got money from the poors, he called the people to live honestly, avoid unfair dealings, give a helping hand to the poors. Poor people always came to his house for advice.

The writer's grandfather Bayram bey finished high-schoo (gymnasium) in Russian and worked as an official in state enterprises. He was head of Shusha district in the time of Musavat government.

The Efendiyevs were exposed to persecutions, they were deprived of their native fatherlands, some members of this family were shot like «khalq dushmeni» (national enemy), the others were arrested, Mehemmed Efendiyev was marked like «kulak», his house, big estate and ochard were seized, and he was deprived of the right to vote. Mehemmed Efendiyev's family, that lived under a hard condition and in big troubles, was even deprived of the right of buying food and clothes. But as they were kind and generous people, who always helped and supported poor people before bolshevics supremacy over them, their relatives and neighbours helped them at hard times in an underhand way.

The writer remembering the events of those years said: «Our family was in great need. My father was unemployed for he was deprived of the right to vote. I was the eldest of 7 children. Our big house, which had been built by my father, was seized. Our family of 9 members was given only two rooms on the second floor of that seized house. My little brothers were sleeping on or under the table, on which we had a meal».

In this multichildren family there was a strict discipline. Love to mother, respect to father was one of unbroken laws of the family. Each member of the family had his own duty, the eldest and the youngest were distinquished. The children got used to hard labour, the father was strict and stern, but the mother was kind and merciful. There was a mutual respect inside the family: love to nature, reading, interesting books came from the mother. The father was the head of the family in the Efendiyevs like other moslem families, and he solved all the problems. Like the other hundreds of families, who lived in Garabagh Lowlands, Mehemmed kishi also together with his family moved to summer pasture house in Shusha.

As Ilyas had spend the definite part of his childhood in Shusha, Shusha and Garabagh are leading topics in the writer's creative activity. Pleasant days of this family, joyful moments of Ilyas' childhood came to an end in April – May of 1920. The members of the family, branded with «kulak», got separated, the fear of security organs and getting into jails parted the relatives.

The writer's father couldn't stand unjust, insultings and persecutions of the years of 30's, was unemployed, couldn't earn the family's living. Being seriously ill, Mehemmed kishi, who became an old of man of 80 died in 1934 at the age of 50. Ilyas Efendiyev's grandmothers – Fatma khanım (Mrs. Fatma) and Beyaz nene (grandma) were well educated old women of wide world outlook, who knew most legends, tales and sagas of folk literature by heart. The writer's mother Bilgeyis khanım played an unexampled role in formation of Ilyas as a young man, having a great intevest in books, literature and reading. She wasn't only his mother, but his teacher, friend, and father after Mehemmed kishi's death. Ilyas, who couldn't make friend with him, always shared his secrets and prolems with his mother.

Ilyas Efendiyev wrote about his mother: «My Mother, like other moslem girls, got home religious education. She could read and write the Arabic and Russian alphabets. She was fond of reading. She had read almost all books published in the Azerbaijani language. She taught me to read and write the Arabic and Latin alphabets. She retold no end of stories from the books she had read. I still remember her retelling the books «Armenuse», «Ingılıs khanum» (The English lady), «Hind rajesı» (Indian rajah), «Rustem and Zohrab», «Elif Leyla» and so. on. I had first heard about Fuzuli's «Leyli ve Mejnun» (Leyli and Mejnun) from my mother. Generally speaking, my mother was a woman of delicate taste. She knew a thing or two about social events of that time. Though she believed in God, she detested mullahs. I had a great interest in reading thanks to my mother». All these retold stories, tales, and legends influence Ilyas tender heart and played a great role in forming this child as a writer later on. Ilyas Efendiyev wrote about it: «…While my mother was retelling all these, a wonderful world conjured up in my mind, and the heroes of this world and their bravery didn't dissappear in front of my eyes for a long time». Their troubles and excitements made me sad. I was glad for their victories and gradually this world on my mind was sweeter for me than the real life, the people I met (except my mother). That world seemed more pleasant and attractive afterwards. Mysterious world which seemed «pleasant» to Ilyas Efendiyev took him into its lap, and «interesting stories» told by his grandmother and mother and written down on his pocket note-book turned into the plot of some of his literary works. F.ex: In «Saqsaqan» (Magpie) story the writer wrote about the tale retold by granny Fatma: «Suleyman padishah (monarch), who knew the language of birds, orders all the birds to bring him the nicest nesting (fledgling) of the world. The Grow looks for much, looks at tens of nestings, finally, takes his ugly nesting to the padishah in its beak and says: «Your majesty, I didn't find any nicer nesting than this one.», or the subject – matter taken from the epos «Kitabı-Dede Gorqud» (Dede-Gorgud book) and the other legend dealt with our people's struggle against alien conquerors was background for the story «Garı dagı» (The Mountain of an old woman). The story in «Vezır Allahverdi khan ve Behlul Danende» (Vizier Allahverdi khan and Behlul Danende) was taken from the legends told him by his mother.

On one hand, Ilyas Efendiyev's childhood and youth was spent in so fantastic legendary atmosphere, on the other hand, it coincided with violent bolshevic's black-hundred and communist ideology. Like all rich families, the Efendiyevs also faced with unjusts of that period. Furthermore, all these left the deep wounds in Ilyas' heart. May be his literary heroes' discontent with the communist and soviet regime, tendency of not accepting the demands of that time was the result of it.

The writer had been used to hard labour since his childhood, took great interest in reading, learned to read and write before he went to school, and read many books. Ilyas went to school in 1921 and finished 2 grades secondary school with a pedagogical bias with excellent marks. The principal of the school was Jemil bey Vezirov, teachers were Mehdi Mehdizadeh, Jumshud Zulfuqarlı, Beyler Agayev and others. While he was at the secondary school, Ilyas Efendiyev dissatifying with teachers' home assignments, in addition to them, he had read a plenty of books freely, especially the translated books of the Russian classics A.S.Pushkin, M.Y.Lermontov, A.P.Chekhov, I.Turgenev, M.Gorki. At the same time he took a great interest in Maths and Physics, learned Geography readily, and followed the works of great travellers, especially R.Amudsen, Nansen, Ch.Columb, A.Vespuchi attentively. Howorer, he was much more interested in literary works and literary criticizm. Ilyas Efendiyev wrote: «Along with classic novels, plays, poems I also read the works of well known, much spoken literature scholars, such as prof. Friche, prof. Kogan, prof. Kopruluzadeh, Ismayıl Hikmet restlessly and willingly and took notes in small notebook for myself. I was keen on reading and kept reading with the dream of becoming a great literature scholar like prof. Friche, Kopruluzadeh in future».

The tens of artisans' lives and literary carees, who are on the top in the world literature and culture, once more prove that in formation and getting matured of great men of literature, painters, and composers and then rising to the level of advanced science and culture of your own nation some significant vital factors play a determinant role.

It is difficult, and may be impossible to explain correctly the process of writer's formation and getting matured without studing all the complexity and different aspects of his social literary environment, determining precisely the place and position of his relations with his contemporaries.

The family upbringing, hearth has had a great influence on the process of young Ilyas Efendiyev's getting matured, his taking great interest in reading, literature, and science. However, it was an decisive reason, but not an only factor. In his formation as a prominent writer, as a great artisan the other factors, such as the teaching staff of the school, he went to and taught lessons, the social and cultural environment of the region, he had grown up, the newspaper of the region «Gızıl Araz» (Gold Araz), which he followed and read with great interest in his youth, People's theatre, which was in Fuzuli, his institute life, editorships in «Yeni yol» (New Way), «Communist», «Edebiyyat qezeti» (Literature Paper), and finally, Bakı literary environment, «Union of Writers» have played a significiant role. It's true, some of these have influenced much, the others a little, but none of them was in effective. The beginning of the way leading to the world of art, has gone through his family and secondary school. It was such a moment of a man's life, the teenager boy began to acquire specific and independent knowledge, to perceive the events happening around, taking interest in reading, and developing his intellect. A lot depend on the family, atmosphere, mutual relations say a lot in this aspect. The man comes across the first life experiments here. The members of the family, in which Ilyas had grown up, earned their livings honestly, eating their insolicit bread and grew up their children in this spirit. After leaving secondary school, he taught the Azerbijani Language and literature in Boyuk Behmenli (Big Behmenli) village. In 1935-1938, he taught geography at secondary school in Garyagin, at the same time he took an active part in educating the youngs, abolishing illiteracy, attracting schoolchildren, children under schoolage into education. The social and cultural life in Garyagin also played a significant role in the formation of the writer. It's true that we don't have enough information about the environment in the region in 30's. However, the writer's own memories, information about school and teaching staff, and the educated men of the region, different articles printed in the region's local papers, writings about the work of the dram collective, that played a great role in the youngs life and up bringing in those years, make it possible to say definite information about.

The newspaper «Gızıl Araz» (Gold Araz) was published in those years. This paper, published under Heydar Heydarov, Bala Baqırov, Samad Aliyev, and others' editorships in different periods along with printing materials about day's social-political events, the urgent problems of economy also elucidated largely some different fields of literature and culture. The literature teachers Nemet Huseynov's, N.Kazımov's writings, interesting, young poet Nejet Guliyev's poems, the celebrated intellectuals of the region Memmed Sadıqov's, Savalan Zulfuqarov's, A.Manaflı's, and others' articles were printed in the pages of this paper, which Ilyas Efendiyev read with enthisiasm, and all these didn't distract from Ilyas Efendiyev's attention and were not ineffective, but had a great influence on the formation of the young teacher's world outlook. The paper «Gızıl Araz» (Gold Araz), which frequently published interesting writings, had special pages on some issues related to the jubilees of M.F.Akhundov, M.Y.Lermontov, A.S.Pushkin, T.G.Shevchenko and other classic writers. This paper always threw light on the children's upbringing and education, their dodgings from schools, forcing juvenile girls into getting married, kidnapping them, the conditions of schools and kindergartens, and other issues. The article «Our young writer» dealt with Nejef Guliyev`s literary career who was rewarded with money award by the editorial board. In the article «At the State Theatre» order-bearer, people's artist Huseynqulu Sarabski's meeting with the voters, the other article elucidating the school life wrote that the geography, nature, physics, maths, and other circles' work were orqanized at schools on a high-level, scientific meetings were held, and all these gave supplementary knowledge and information. While Ilyas Efendiyev was at the secondary school, he also took an active part in those circls, and after working as a teacher, he wasn`t estranged from them, but led one of the circles.

One of the institutions and orqanizations in the pages of «Gold Araz» was kolkhoz (collective form), sovkhoz (state-form) theatre. Later on, working as Garyagin State Theatre, this practical staff staged successffully «Lachın yuvası» (The nest of Lachın), «Life», «Almaz», «Veten namusu» (Land's honour), «Dagılan tifaq» (Broken hearth), «Meshedi Ibad» in the villages of the region and in other regions. The director of the theatre Savalan Zulfuqarov notes in one of his writings «Our theatre will play the comedy «Toy» (The Wedding) soon». People's artist Mirzaga Aliyev came to our region to accept the play A.Manaflı's «My view on Life article dealt with the theatre director S.Zulfuqarov's, the chief of department of art Esed Jeferov's, actors Agababa Abdullafev's, Murshud Hashımov's, Jemil Vezirov's, Rza Aliyev's, Shole Yolchuyeva's literary activities. Ilyas Efendifev, who was going to be a celebrated dramatist in future, first met the miracle world named «theatre» in Garyagin».

He notes that «I used to go there frequently and watched the actors' playing with a great interest».

The influence of both newspaper «Gold Araz» and the region theatre on the maturing of Ilyas Efendiyev – the young teacher, who made his first searches and steps in the art, was beyong doubt.