Prince Ivane Machabeli ( ka, ივანე მაჩაბელი) (January 28, 1854 – c. 1898) was a Georgian writer, translator, publicist, public figure, active member of the National-Liberation Movement, and a founder of the new Georgian literary language. He is also well known for his resonant translations of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

and for writing the opera of "The Knight in the Panther's Skin."

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He was born into an old Georgian aristocratic family Machabeli in the village of Tamarasheni near

Tskhinvali Tskhinvali ( ka, ცხინვალი ) or Tskhinval ( os, Цхинвал, Чъреба, Tskhinval, Chreba, ; rus, Цхинва́л(и), r=Tskhinvál(i), ) is the capital of the disputed ''de facto'' independent Republic of South Ossetia, in ...

. Machabeli studied in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, and in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. Returning in Georgia, he was closely allied with

Ilia Chavchavadze Prince Ilia Chavchavadze ( ka, ილია ჭავჭავაძე; 8 November 1837 – 12 September 1907) was a Georgian public figure, journalist, publisher, writer and poet who spearheaded the revival of Georgian nationalism during th ...

, a leader of Georgian intellectual life of that time, whom Machabeli offered his assistance in all initiatives aimed at reviving Georgian culture and opposition to the

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. T ...

n rule. He served an editor in chief of the leading Georgian national magazines ''Iveria'' (1882-3) and '' Droeba'' (1883-5). Despite his preoccupation with charities, especially orphanages, and extensive journalism, Machabeli made Shakespeare his life's work. Although, he never visited

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, he produced, from 1886 to 1898, the brilliant translations of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...

'', ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cyp ...

'', ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'', ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Bat ...

'', '' Julius Caesar'', ''

Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' ( First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed, by the King's Men, at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre in arou ...

'', and ''

Coriolanus ''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Caius Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ye ...

'', which to this day serve as the standard versions for the repertoire of the Rustaveli Theatre. Machabeli left his apartment in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

on June 26, 1898, and was never seen again. The museum dedicated to Machabeli is located in his native Tamarasheni, which lies in the ongoing Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone. It was severely damaged, on July 23, 1997, in a blast allegedly organized by local Ossetian nationalists, and completely destroyed after the

2008 South Ossetia war The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...

.International Organization Affirms that Machabeli Museum is Destroyed in Tamarasheni
. ''The Georgian Times''. January 30, 2009.

References

1854 births 1898 deaths Writers from Georgia (country) Journalists from Georgia (country) Nobility of Georgia (country) Translators of William Shakespeare Translators from Georgia (country) Translators to Georgian 19th-century journalists Male journalists 19th-century translators People from Shida Kartli {{Georgia-noble-stub

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See also

References