ქართულ-ბერძნულ-სირიული ისტორიულ-ლიტერატურული ურთიერთობების რამდენიმე საკვლევი საკითხი

Abstract

The centuries-old spiritual and material culture of the Georgian people needs a more thorough study. For this, it is necessary to reveal fragmentary or more or less consistent facts and information scattered in foreign sources, for which there is a wider arena today than in the previous century. This article focuses on several issues in this regard. The activities of Georgian educated monks in the Holy Land keep many secrets and their study should become the prerogative of Georgian Oriental studies scholars. Scholarly interest in this area needs to discourse many issues. In particular: The oldest traces of Georgian cultural activity abroad can be seen in the monastery of St. Saba in Palestine. St. Saba’s “Testament” (beginning of the sixth century) states that the Iberians and Syrians have the right to read several ecclesiastical books in their language in their liturgical practice. A few years ago the Armenian studies scholar W. Seibt said (without any serious argument) that in the original version by St. Saba in this place instead of Iberians or next, Armenians would be named. The author of the statement did not pay attention to the fact that the traces of Georgian worshipers in Saba’s Lavra are attested from ancient times. The spiritual novel “The Story of Barlaam and Ioasaph” is based on Georgian sources and created by St. Euthimius the Athonite, a monk serving on Mount Athos was the most popular work, widely known among European people of the late middle centuries. The problem of the authorship of The Story was a major issue of the Medieval Studies of the 20th century. According to the very spread opinion, the author was St. John Damascene. The main argument of which is the beginning or lemma of the Story reading in old Greek Mss.: “An edifying story, from the inner country of Ethiopia, brought to the Holy City by John, a monk of the monastery of St. Sabas...“ The last decades’ Byzantine and Kartvelological scientific literature undoubtedly proves that this work was created in the Georgian theological-literary center on Mount Athos. In my opinion, it should be paid special attention to the Georgian monks working in the Georgian scriptorium of the St. Saba’s monastery, who bore the name of John (Ioane) and had a connection with the Georgian monastery of Mount Athos, for identification of this unknown monk John of St. Saba Monastery; in particular, Ioane Golgotheli, certified in Georgian sources, and the famous Ioane-Tornike, who returned to Mount Athos after a few years being in Asia Minor. In 2013, one unknown fact of cultural relations between medieval Georgia and Syria became known to the Georgian scientific community. The hymn of the XIII century, previously unknown to Georgian studies scholars, from the Syrian hymnography collection, which refers to the catastrophic events of Tbilisi’s many times in 1220-30, was translated into Georgian and published together with the Syrian original in the journal “The Kartvelolojist” (#19, 2013). The hymn on Tiflis from the so-cold Warda collection concerns the disasters of conquering and ruining Tbilisi in the first half of the thirteenth century. It is met only in one manuscript of the XVI century (the University of Cambridge) and is ascribed to Gīwargīs Wardā. The hymn became available for scholarly circles with the publication of Assyriologist Anthon Pritula. In 1942, a collection of poems translated from Arabic into French was published in Marseilles under the title “Islamic Songs of Love and War“. Translator and publisher – Franz Toussaint. The compilation includes prosaic translations of Arabic, Persian, Afghan, Belujistan, Altarian, Turkish, Egyptian, Maroconian, Hogarian, Cherqezian and Georgian poems. The Georgian part of the book includes four poems: Prince Zoumali La Rose, Chavtali L’Embarras, Roustoual La Peau de Léopard, Anonime Nuit. However, the poems have not been identified by Georgian sources. The authorship of Rustaveli is one of the major issues of the discussions. Some commentators fully deny the authenticity of the facts provided by Franz Toussaint. Through oral interpretations, Franz Toussaint explained Georgian experts interested in this issue that he was able to obtain the information concerning Rustaveli from a compilation of Arabic poems by Abu’l Faraj from Cairo University bookstore. This author is considered to be from Syria, a Christian Arab writer born in 1225 (some researchers specify his name as Abu’l-Faraj Ibn al-Ibri). This famous Syrian writer, translator and compilator served as a bishop in Armenia and lived in Azerbaijan. His written records have retained information on Iberians, conversion of Georgian people to Christianity and the Georgian-Mongol relationship. So a reasonable doubt in the truth of Toussaint’s publication is too early. On the other hand, it is not desirable to consider the poem published in a French translation as a true work by Rustaveli. The issue must be thoroughly studied. To conceal or deny this fact, which has been happening for a long time, is unacceptable. This is also an urgent duty of Georgian orientalists.