Kurban Said is a pseudonym for Essad Bey, which is a pseudonym for Lev Nussimbaum. Nussimbaum was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 1905, in a rich Jewish family. As the Soviets conquered Azerbaijan, Nussimbaum fled to Berlin, Germany, where he converted to Islam. As Essad Bey, he was a striking and eccentric figure in Berlins high society. He was the author of semi-scientific orientalistic books, aswell as adventurous novels about himself, set in Middle Eastern settings. Apart from the pseudonym Essad Bey, he used the name Kurban Said.
Nussimbaum died in 1942.
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