Besarion Zakarias dze Gabashvili (Georgian: ბესარიონ ზაქარიას ძე გაბაშვილი), commonly known by his pen nameBesiki (Georgian: ბესიკი) (1750 – 25 January 1791), was a Georgian poet, politician and diplomat, known as an author of exquisite love songs and heroic odes as well as for his political and amorous adventures.
Besiki was born and raised in Tbilisi, Georgia's capital. He came of a noble family, which claimed descent from the ancient city of Gibeon (Georgian: Gabaoni) in Palestine. The poet himself frequently used the surname Gabaoni, a variant of Gabashvili.[1]
Besiki's 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 Armenian 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 MarshalPotyomkin in the campaign against the Ottoman Empire, and suddenly died at Iaşi, Moldavia (25 January 1791), where he was buried.[2] In 2019, a statue of Besiki was inaugurated in Iasi, Romania.[3]
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.[2]
Besiki's diverse poetic legacy is notable for its sheer musicality and spontaneity.[4] 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.[5] 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-Circassian 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.[6] 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.[2] 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.[5] 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.[6] 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.
^Mikaberidze, Alexander (2007). "Besiki (Bessarion Gabashvili)". Dictionary of Georgian National Biography 2010-03-24(Date mismatch) at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2007-04-09.
^ abKveselava, M (2002), Anthology of Georgian Poetry, 181. The Minerva Group, Inc., ISBN0-89875-672-3.
^ abBaramidze, A.G., Gamezardashvili, D.M. (2001), Georgian Literature, p. 45. The Minerva Group, Inc., ISBN0-89875-570-0.
besiki, besarion, zakarias, gabashvili, georgian, ბესარიონ, ზაქარიას, ძე, გაბაშვილი, commonly, known, name, georgian, ბესიკი, 1750, january, 1791, georgian, poet, politician, diplomat, known, author, exquisite, love, songs, heroic, odes, well, political, amoro. Besarion Zakarias dze Gabashvili Georgian ბესარიონ ზაქარიას ძე გაბაშვილი commonly known by his pen name Besiki Georgian ბესიკი 1750 25 January 1791 was a Georgian poet politician and diplomat known as an author of exquisite love songs and heroic odes as well as for his political and amorous adventures ბესიკი BesikiBorn1750Tbilisi Kingdom of KartliDied25 January 1791Iași RomaniaOccupationpoet thinker diplomatNationalityGeorgianPeriodReign of King Heraclius IIGenrepoetryLiterary movementRomanticismSignature Contents 1 Life 2 Poetry 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksLife EditBesiki was born and raised in Tbilisi Georgia s capital He came of a noble family which claimed descent from the ancient city of Gibeon Georgian Gabaoni in Palestine The poet himself frequently used the surname Gabaoni a variant of Gabashvili 1 Besiki s 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 Armenian 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 nee 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 Iasi Moldavia 25 January 1791 where he was buried 2 In 2019 a statue of Besiki was inaugurated in Iasi Romania 3 Poetry EditDue 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 2 Besiki s diverse poetic legacy is notable for its sheer musicality and spontaneity 4 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 5 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 Circassian 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 6 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 2 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 5 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 6 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 See also Edit Poetry portalAkaki Beliashvili Davit Guramishvili Sayat Nova Alexander ChavchavadzeReferences Edit Leonidze Giorgi 1942 გაბაშვილები The Gabashvili Literaturis Matiane Georgian 3 4 366 a b c Rayfield Donald 2000 The Literature of Georgia A History 2nd edition pp 124 6 Routledge ISBN 0 7007 1163 5 Besiki statue opened in Romania TV Imedi Mikaberidze Alexander 2007 Besiki Bessarion Gabashvili Dictionary of Georgian National Biography Archived 2010 03 24 Date mismatch at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2007 04 09 a b Kveselava M 2002 Anthology of Georgian Poetry 181 The Minerva Group Inc ISBN 0 89875 672 3 a b Baramidze A G Gamezardashvili D M 2001 Georgian Literature p 45 The Minerva Group Inc ISBN 0 89875 570 0 External links Edit in Georgian A collection of Besiki s poems Georgian eBooks National Parliamentary Library of Georgia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Besiki amp oldid 1084013692, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
