Shota Rustaveli
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Shota Rustaveli ( ka, შოთა რუსთაველი, c. 1160 – after c. 1220),
mononymously A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...
known simply as Rustaveli, was a medieval
Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
poet. He is considered to be the pre-eminent poet of the
Georgian Golden Age The Georgian Golden Age ( ka, საქართველოს ოქროს ხანა, tr) describes a historical period in the High Middle Ages, spanning from roughly the late 11th to 13th centuries, during which the Kingdom of Georgia reac ...
and one of the greatest contributors to
Georgian literature The culture of Georgia has evolved over the country's long history, providing it with a unique national identity and a strong literary tradition based on the Georgian language and alphabet. This strong sense of national identity has helped to pr ...
. Rustaveli was the author of ''
The Knight in the Panther's Skin ''The Knight in the Panther's Skin'' ( ka, ვეფხისტყაოსანი, tr literally "the one with the skin of a tiger") is a Georgian medieval epic poem, written in the 12th or 13th century by Georgia's national poet Shota Rustav ...
'', a Georgian national
epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...
.


Biography

Little, if anything, is known about Rustaveli from contemporary sources. Shota Rustaveli was born in 1166. He started serving
Queen Tamar Tamar the Great ( ka, თამარ მეფე, tr, lit. "King Tamar") ( 1160 – 18 January 1213) reigned as the Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, presiding over the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. A member of the Bagrationi dynasty ...
as a Minister of Finance in 1191. His poem itself, namely the prologue, provides a clue to his identity: the poet identifies himself as "a certain Rustveli." "Rustveli" is not a surname, but a territorial epithet that can be interpreted as "of/from/holder of Rustavi". Later Georgian authors from the 15th through 18th centuries are more informative; they are almost unanimous in identifying him as Shota Rustaveli, a name that is preserved on a fresco and a document from the formerly Georgian Monastery of the Holy Cross at
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. The fresco was described by the Georgian pilgrim
Timote Gabashvili Timote (Timothy) Gabashvili (Georgian: ტიმოთე გაბაშვილი) (1703–1764) was a Georgian travel writer, traveler, diplomat, cartographer, religious and public figure. He was the first to describe the Georgian antiquit ...
in 1757/58 and rediscovered by a team of Georgian scholars in 1960. The same Jerusalem document speaks of Shota as a sponsor of the monastery and a '' mechurchletukhutsesi'' ("high treasurer"), echoing a popular legend that Rustaveli was a minister at
Queen Tamar Tamar the Great ( ka, თამარ მეფე, tr, lit. "King Tamar") ( 1160 – 18 January 1213) reigned as the Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, presiding over the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. A member of the Bagrationi dynasty ...
’s court and retired to the monastery at an advanced age. Both a folk tradition and the 17th-century royal poet Archil identify Rustaveli as a native of the southern Georgian region of
Meskheti Meskheti ( ka, მესხეთი) or Samtskhe ( ka, სამცხე) ( Moschia in ancient sources), is a mountainous area in southwestern Georgia. History Ancient tribes known as the Mushki (or Moschi) and Mosiniks (or Mossynoeci) were t ...
, where his home village Rustavi was located (in modern-day
Aspindza Municipality Aspindza ( ka, ასპინძის მუნიციპალიტეტი, ''Aspindzis munitsipalit'et'i'') is a municipality in southern Georgia, in the region of Samtskhe-Javakheti with a population of 10,372 (2021). Its main town and a ...
, not to be confused with the modern-day city of
Rustavi Rustavi ( ka, რუსთავი ) is a city in the southeast of Georgia, in the region of Kvemo Kartli and southeast of capital Tbilisi. It has a population of 130,100 (2021), making it the fourth most populous city in Georgia. Its economy is ...
near
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...
). He is assumed to have been born between 1160 and 1165. A legend states that Rustaveli was educated at the medieval Georgian academies of Gelati and
Ikalto Ikalto may refer to: * Ikalto Monastery * Academy of Ikalto {{Short pages monitor