Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani ( ka, სულხან-საბა ორბელიანი ; November 4, 1658 – January 26, 1725), known simply as Sulkhan-Saba, was a Georgian

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

and diplomat. Orbeliani is noted in part due to his important role as an emissary of Georgia to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

, where he vainly sought assistance on behalf of his beleaguered King Vakhtang VI.

Biography

Orbeliani was born into the House of Orbeliani, with close ties to the Georgian royal

Bagrationi dynasty The Bagrationi dynasty (; ) is a royal family, royal dynasty which reigned in Georgia (country), Georgia from the Middle Ages until the early 19th century, being among the oldest extant Christianity, Christian ruling dynasties in the world. In ...

. He was a

fabulist Fable is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a partic ...

, lexicographer, translator, diplomat and scientist. The words of one of the French missioners, Jean Richard, testify to his authority among his contemporaries: "I believe him to be the father of all Georgia." He was born on 4 November 1658, in the village of Tandzia near

Bolnisi Bolnisi ( ka, ბოლნისი) is a city in the country of Georgia (country), Georgia, located in the Kvemo Kartli region and capital of the Bolnisi district. It currently has an estimated 8,348 (January 1, 2024) inhabitants. History Boln ...

in the

Kvemo Kartli Kvemo Kartli ( ka, ქვემო ქართლი ) or "Lower Kartli", is a historic province and current administrative region (mkhare) in southeastern Georgia. The city of Rustavi is the regional capital. Location Kvemo Kartli is a region ...

region. He spent his childhood and adolescence there. He was brought up at the court of King Giorgi XI and acquired his encyclopedic knowledge in the Great Palace Library. When he was 20–25 years old he wrote a collection of fables and tales titled '' Sibrdzne Sitsruisa'' (''A Book of Wisdom and Lies''), containing his observations about life. The reader feels how ably, deliberately and naturally the author weaves together his ideas about the lives of both humans and animals. Orbeliani understands both the light and the dark side of human nature and human experience. He describes many aspects of life, answers many questions, and encourages the reader towards greater kindness and compassion. His next important work was ''The Georgian Dictionary'', which combines both a lexicon and an encyclopedia, one of the first works of its kind in history."The world does not know the encyclopedia yet. Collection of these words is a great treasure. The first volume was published in 1754; The French Academy published the French language dictionary only in 1685." A. Jikia His work helped standardize the literary

Georgian language Georgian (, ) is the most widely spoken Kartvelian language, Kartvelian language family. It is the official language of Georgia (country), Georgia and the native or primary language of 88% of its population. It also serves as the literary langu ...

. His dictionary for the language is still essential for those who wish to learn Georgian today. Orbeliani was an educator of the King of

Kartli Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...

Vakhtang VI who was the leader of the movement initiated for an intellectual renaissance in Georgia. In 1709 the first printing-house was established, where for the first time the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

and '' The Knight in the Panther's Skin'' were printed. During this period the Georgian chronicles were collected, the basis of the Georgian historiography. Orbeliani was in the center of the political and social life of the country together with Vakhtang VI. He was searching for methods of freeing the country from the Osmans. In 1698 Orbeliani became a monk at the Monastery of David Gareji, from thence called Sulkhan-Saba. Orbeliani appealed to the West for assistance. The growth of his state authority was crowned by his diplomatic missions. He travelled via Constantinople, Marseilles, Paris, Rome, and other cities of Italy and finally back to Georgia through Constantinople and Turkey. In Paris he appeared before Ludwig XIV and in Italy before the

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI (; ; ; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI was a patron of the arts an ...

, who treated him as the Father of all Georgia. The French said of him: "It is happiness that we have had the advantage of seeing the Wisdom of Solomon and divine grace with our own eyes in the person of Your Greatness". France promised assistance to Georgia, but soon

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

died. The ruling circles in France changed and relations with countries of the Near East became aggravated. Concrete historical circumstance made the travel of Orbeliani unsuccessful, his attempts to bring Georgia and the states of Western Europe together turned out to be all in vain.

Religion

Before becoming a monk of David-Garedja Monastery in 1698 under the name Saba, Orbeliani converted to the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

(1692). He originally practiced his new religion in secret. After 1703 he made spreading the Catholic faith in Georgia a major policy of King Vakhtang VI, who had been his pupil. In 1713–1714 Orbeliani made a journey to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

and to

. He visited Pope Clement XI and King

and requested aid from them for King Vakhtang and the Catholic Faith in Kartli (East-Georgian Kingdom). After his return to Kartli Orbeliani actively began trying to spread

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in Georgia, for which the

Georgian Orthodox Church The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonl ...

persecuted him. In 1724 he fled with King Vakhtang to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

Bibliography

*Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani ''Georgian dictionary'' (with commentary of I. Abuladse). VI-II, Tbilisi, Merani, 1991/1993 *A. Baramidze, Sulxan-Saba Orbeliani : c'xovreba da literaturli mogvaceoba ; nark'vevi. Tbilisi: Sabtschota Saqartvelo 1959 (geo). *M. Tarchnisvili, J. Assfalg: Geschichte der kirchlichen georgischen Literatur: Auf Grund des ersten Bandes der Georgischen Literaturgeschichte von K. Kekelidze. Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Città del Vaticano 1955 (ger). * M. Tamarashvili: History of Catholicism among the Georgians. Tbilisi 1902, passim (geo.).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orbeliani, Sulkhan-Saba 1658 births 1725 deaths 17th-century people from Georgia (country) 18th-century people from Georgia (country) Lexicographers from Georgia (country) Nobility of Georgia (country) Fabulists Politicians from Georgia (country) Writers from Georgia (country) Diplomats for Georgia (country) Former Georgian Orthodox Christians Converts to Roman Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy Roman Catholics from Georgia (country) Calligraphers from Georgia (country)