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.
