საქართველო XVIII-XIX საუკუნეების სპარსულ პოეზიაში

Abstract

Georgia and Georgians appear in the Persian verse as early as the twelfth century. The Georgian theme was developed in the late Middle Ages, when Persian-Georgian relations became increasingly close. Chapter headings of the poem “Eulogy on the City of Tbilisi” written by the eighteenth-century author Safi Khalkhali illustrate the range of themes that inspired Persian poets: the city itself and its environs, well-known baths of Tbilisi, beautiful Georgian women, and Georgian wine. As a rule, these aspects of Tbilisi are mentioned in the poems of the nineteenth-century Persian authors as well, such as Fath Allah Khan Shaybani, Andalib Kashani, Mirza Sadeq Qarabagi, Vafa Dagestani and others. The majority of them were connected with Tbilisi biographically, however their poems are based on long-standing Persian concepts about Georgia and, in particular, about Tbilisi rather than on a personal experience. Two aspects of these concepts attracted special attention of the poets. The first derives from a Shi’ite tradition which considers Tbilisi to be one of the “chosen cities”, together with Kufa and Qum. Due to this reverential attitude, Iranians retained the epithet of Tbilisi “Dar al-Sorur” (“City of joy”) up to the nineteenth century. The second is associated with the ancient Oriental story of Shaykh Sana’an who fell in love with a Christian woman. In the nineteenth centuries, a local popular version of this story was developed in Georgia, according to which events took place in Georgia, the maiden was Georgian and the Shaikh died in Tbilisi. This version was well-known among Iranian poets and was widely reflected in their works.