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Shota Rustaveli

Type Figure Region Georgia Time c. 1160–1220 Also known as Rustaveli

Shota Rustaveli was a court poet of Georgia's golden age, with highly uncertain birth and death dates, active roughly in the late 12th century;…

Timeline

  1. c. 1160–1184around Rustavi · GeorgiaThe poem's preface calls him 'a certain Rustaveli'. Later legend holds that he was of noble birth, well educated, and versed in Persian literature, but these details lack 12th-century documentary confirmation and can only be regarded as later tradition.
  2. c. 1184–1200Tbilisi · GeorgiaHis poem is dedicated to Queen Tamar and her consort, showing the author's familiarity with court etiquette and the context of co-rule. Later documents claim he served as treasurer (mechurchletukhutsesi); whether this is true remains disputed, but placing him within Tamar's cultural patronage circle is a reasonable judgment.
  3. c. 1189–1207Kingdom of Georgia · Georgia'The Knight in the Panther's Skin' (ვეფხისტყაოსანი) takes knightly love, friendship, and loyalty as its themes, uses Rustaveli's quatrain form, and is often dated to c.1189–1207. It is the Georgian national epic and also reflects the court ideals of Tamar's era.
  4. c. 1210–1220Monastery of the Holy Cross, Jerusalem · JerusalemThe original Georgian Monastery of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem holds murals and donation records titled 'Shota', already mentioned by 18th-century pilgrims. Whether this was the epic's author cannot be confirmed, but the legend long shaped the image of his later years.

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