Besiki
Encyclopedia
Besarion Gabashvili commonly known by his penname Besiki (ბესიკი) (1750 – January 25, 1791) was a Georgian
poet, politician and diplomat, known as an author of exquisite love song
s and heroic odes as well as for his political and amorous adventures.
, Georgia's capital. His father, Zakaria, was a Georgian Orthodox priest and a confessor of King Teimuraz II
. Zakaria was excommunicated
and banished in 1764, but Besiki was allowed by King Erekle II
to stay at the royal court where he received his education and began his career of a minstrel
, his early style being influenced by Persian poetry and his older contemporary, the polyglot
Tbilisite Armenia
n poet Sayat-Nova
. Despite his younger age, Besiki gained many enemies at the court due largely to his satires and, most importantly, his insulting attacks on Catholicos Anton I. Rumors in Georgia have also linked Besiki with Erekle’s sister Ana, who was about 28 years older, mainly on the grounds of his love poem დედოფალს ანაზედ ("On Queen Ana"). In 1777, he was accused of impiety by Catholicos Anton, who named him as the Antichrist
and denounced him to the King. As a result of this conflict, Besiki was banned from Tbilisi and had to move to the Kingdom of Imereti
(western Georgia), where he was welcomed and appointed a chancellor by Solomon I
. Later, he was involved in the brief war for the throne of Imereti after Solomon’s death and served as a diplomat under the next Imeretian king, Solomon II
. Again, Besiki found himself implicated in the court’s intrigues. His troubadour
affection to Solomon II’s younger wife, Ana, née Orbeliani, might well have been the reason for his being sent by the king on dangerous missions, the last of which to Imperial Russia, was intended to secure Russian protection for Imereti during the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792). For three years, he accompanied the Russian Field Marshal
Potyomkin
in the campaign against the Ottoman Empire
, and suddenly died at Iaşi
, Moldavia
(January 25, 1791), where he was buried.
Besiki's diverse poetic legacy is notable for its sheer musicality and spontaneity. His finest poems – სევდის ბაღს შეველ ("I Entered a Garden of Melancholy"), მე მივხვდი მაგას შენსა ბრალებსა ("I Understood Your Accusations"), შაშვნი შავნი ("The Blackbirds") and, most of all, ტანო ტატანო ("Beauty's Stature") and დედოფალს ანაზედ ("On Queen Ana") – are dedicated to a passionate, sometimes explicitly erotic love with a tint of melancholy and an elegant tone. His heroic poetry includes the poems ასპინძისათვის ("On the Battle of Aspindza") and რუხის ომი ("The Battle of Rukhi"), both of them dedicated to the Georgian military victories over the Turkish and Abkhaz
-Circassia
n forces, respectively. In "On the Battle of Aspindza", Besiki praises the martial prowess of the Georgian army at the Battle of Aspindza
(1770) and eulogizes military talents of Prince David Orbeliani
, a Georgian vanguard commander and himself a poet of some talent. At the same time, the poem is a graphic denunciation of the Russian commander Todtleben
who had abandoned his Georgian allies just before the battle. Besiki also mastered satirical poetry, რძალ-დედამთილიანი ("The Mother-in-Law and the Daughter-in-Law"), and ჭაბუა ორბელიანზე ("On Chabua Orbeliani"), being noteworthy examples. The poet made use of some new methods in versification, in the composition, and coined some new words, renovating and enriching Georgian poetry with fresh metaphors. Besiki has left a remarkable trace in the history of Georgian literature. In particular, his poetry heavily influenced Georgian Romanticists
of the early 19th century and resounded again in their works on several occasions.
.
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
poet, politician and diplomat, known as an author of exquisite love song
Love song
A love song is about falling in love and the feelings it brings. Anthologies of love songs often contain a mixture of both of these types of song. A bawdy song is both humorous and saucy, emphasizing the physical pleasure of love rather than the emotional joy...
s and heroic odes as well as for his political and amorous adventures.
Life
Besiki was born and raised in TbilisiTbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, Georgia's capital. His father, Zakaria, was a Georgian Orthodox priest and a confessor of King Teimuraz II
Teimuraz II
Teimuraz II , of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a king of Kakheti, eastern Georgia, from 1732 to 1744, then of Kartli from 1744 until his death.- Life :...
. Zakaria was excommunicated
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
and banished in 1764, but Besiki was allowed by King Erekle II
Erekle II
Erekle II was a Georgian monarch of the Bagrationi Dynasty, reigning as the king of Kakheti from 1744 to 1762, and of Kartli and Kakheti from 1762 until 1798. In the contemporary Persian sources he is referred to as Erekli Khan, while Russians knew him as Irakli...
to stay at the royal court where he received his education and began his career of a minstrel
Minstrel
A minstrel was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events. Although minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty...
, his early style being influenced by Persian poetry and his older contemporary, the polyglot
Polyglot (person)
A polyglot is someone with a high degree of proficiency in several languages. A bilingual person can speak two languages fluently, whereas a trilingual three; above that the term multilingual may be used.-Hyperpolyglot:...
Tbilisite Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n poet Sayat-Nova
Sayat-Nova
Sayat-Nova Sayat-Nova Sayat-Nova (born as Harutyun Sayatyan , was an Armenian poet, musician and ashik who had compositions in a number of languages. His adopted name Sayat Nova meant "Master of Songs" in Persian.- Biography :...
. Despite his younger age, Besiki gained many enemies at the court due largely to his satires and, most importantly, his insulting attacks on Catholicos Anton I. Rumors in Georgia have also linked Besiki with Erekle’s sister Ana, who was about 28 years older, mainly on the grounds of his love poem დედოფალს ანაზედ ("On Queen Ana"). In 1777, he was accused of impiety by Catholicos Anton, who named him as the Antichrist
Antichrist
The term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...
and denounced him to the King. As a result of this conflict, Besiki was banned from Tbilisi and had to move to the Kingdom of Imereti
Kingdom of Imereti
The Kingdom of Imereti was established in 1455 by a member of the house of Bagration when the Kingdom of Georgia was dissolved into rival kingdoms. Before that time, Imereti was considered a separate kingdom within the Kingdom of Georgia, to which a cadet branch of the Bagration royal family held...
(western Georgia), where he was welcomed and appointed a chancellor by Solomon I
Solomon I of Imereti
Solomon I , of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was King of Imereti from 1752 to 1766 and again from 1768 until his death in 1784....
. Later, he was involved in the brief war for the throne of Imereti after Solomon’s death and served as a diplomat under the next Imeretian king, Solomon II
Solomon II of Imereti
Solomon II , of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was the last King of Imereti from 1789 to 1790 and from 1792 until his deposition by the Imperial Russian government in 1810....
. Again, Besiki found himself implicated in the court’s intrigues. His troubadour
Troubadour
A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages . Since the word "troubadour" is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz....
affection to Solomon II’s younger wife, Ana, née Orbeliani, might well have been the reason for his being sent by the king on dangerous missions, the last of which to Imperial Russia, was intended to secure Russian protection for Imereti during the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792). For three years, he accompanied the Russian Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Potyomkin
Grigori Alexandrovich Potemkin
Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tavricheski was a Russian military leader, statesman, nobleman and favorite of Catherine the Great. He died during negotiations over the Treaty of Jassy, which ended a war with the Ottoman Empire that he had overseen....
in the campaign against the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, and suddenly died at Iaşi
Iasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
, Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
(January 25, 1791), where he was buried.
Poetry
Due to Besiki’s turbulent life and permanent travels abroad, many of his manuscripts were irretrievably lost. He died unpublished, but hundreds of manuscript copies circulated for decades after his death; the titles and notes to many poems may be inventions of amateur copyists.Besiki's diverse poetic legacy is notable for its sheer musicality and spontaneity. His finest poems – სევდის ბაღს შეველ ("I Entered a Garden of Melancholy"), მე მივხვდი მაგას შენსა ბრალებსა ("I Understood Your Accusations"), შაშვნი შავნი ("The Blackbirds") and, most of all, ტანო ტატანო ("Beauty's Stature") and დედოფალს ანაზედ ("On Queen Ana") – are dedicated to a passionate, sometimes explicitly erotic love with a tint of melancholy and an elegant tone. His heroic poetry includes the poems ასპინძისათვის ("On the Battle of Aspindza") and რუხის ომი ("The Battle of Rukhi"), both of them dedicated to the Georgian military victories over the Turkish and Abkhaz
Abkhaz people
The Abkhaz or Abkhazians are a Caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. A large Abkhazian diaspora population resides in Turkey, the origins of which lie in the emigration from the Caucasus in the late 19th century known as Muhajirism...
-Circassia
Circassia
Circassia was an independent mountainous country located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia and was the largest and most important country in the Caucasus. Circassia was located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea...
n forces, respectively. In "On the Battle of Aspindza", Besiki praises the martial prowess of the Georgian army at the Battle of Aspindza
Battle of Aspindza
The Battle of Aspindza was fought on April 20, 1770 between the Georgians, led by king of Kartli-Kahhethi Erekle II, and the Ottoman Empire. The Georgians won a victory over the Turks....
(1770) and eulogizes military talents of Prince David Orbeliani
David Orbeliani
David Orbeliani , monikered David "the General" was a Georgian military figure, politician, translator, and a poet of some talent....
, a Georgian vanguard commander and himself a poet of some talent. At the same time, the poem is a graphic denunciation of the Russian commander Todtleben
Gottlieb Heinrich Totleben
Gottlob Curt Heinrich Graf von Tottleben, Herr auf Tottleben, Zeippau und Hausdorf im Saganschen was a Saxon-born Russian Empire general known for his adventurism and contradictory military career.- Early career :Totleben was born in Tottleben, Thuringia, and served at the court of Augustus III,...
who had abandoned his Georgian allies just before the battle. Besiki also mastered satirical poetry, რძალ-დედამთილიანი ("The Mother-in-Law and the Daughter-in-Law"), and ჭაბუა ორბელიანზე ("On Chabua Orbeliani"), being noteworthy examples. The poet made use of some new methods in versification, in the composition, and coined some new words, renovating and enriching Georgian poetry with fresh metaphors. Besiki has left a remarkable trace in the history of Georgian literature. In particular, his poetry heavily influenced Georgian Romanticists
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
of the early 19th century and resounded again in their works on several occasions.
External links
A collection of Besiki’s poems. Georgian eBooks. National Parliamentary Library of GeorgiaNational Parliamentary Library of Georgia
The National Parliamentary Library of Georgia is a governmental organization under the Parliament of Georgia. It is the main book depository of Georgia, as well as the most important cultural, educational, scientific, informational and methodological centre....
.