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{{Short description|Georgian poet}}
{{About|the Georgian poet|other uses of "Shota Rustaveli"|Shota Rustaveli (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Shota Rustaveli {{nobold|{{lang|ka|შოთა რუსთაველი}}}}
| image = Jerusalem-Monastery-of-the-Cross-689.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption = Fresco of Rustaveli in the [[Monastery of the Cross]] in Jerusalem
| pseudonym = Rustveli [[Meskhetians|Meskhetian]] poet
| birth_date =
| birth_place = [[Aspindza Municipality|Rustavi]], [[Meskheti]] [[Kingdom of Georgia]]
| death_date =
| citizenship = [[Kingdom of Georgia]]
| death_place = [[Jerusalem]]
| resting_place = [[Monastery of the Cross]] [[Jerusalem]] (undisclosed)
| occupation = [[poet]], [[Intellectual|thinker]], [[Politician|statesman]], [[prince]], [[treasurer]]
| movement =
| alma_mater = [[Gelati Monastery|Gelati academy]] [[Ikalto academy]] Academy in [[Byzantine Empire]]
| period = Reign of Queen [[Tamar of Georgia|Tamar]] Georgian Golden Age
| nationality = [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]]
| genre = [[poetry]], [[national epic]]
| notableworks = ''[[The Knight in the Panther's Skin]]''
| signature =
| language = [[Middle Georgian]]|
}}

'''Shota Rustaveli''' ({{lang-ka|შოთა რუსთაველი}}, {{Circa|1160}} – after c. 1220),<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Shota-Rustaveli Shota Rustaveli, Encyclopædia Britannica]</ref> [[Mononymous person|mononymously]] known simply as '''Rustaveli''', was a medieval [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] poet. He is considered to be the pre-eminent poet of the [[Georgian Golden Age]] and one of the greatest contributors to [[Georgian literature]]. Rustaveli was the author of ''[[The Knight in the Panther's Skin]]'', a Georgian national [[epic poetry|epic poem]].

== Biography ==
Little, if anything, is known about Rustaveli from contemporary sources. Shota Rustaveli was born in 1160.<ref>Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. Tbilisi: 1984, pp. 506–508.</ref> He started serving [[Tamar of Georgia|Queen Tamar]] as a Minister of Finance in 1191. His poem itself, namely the prologue, provides a clue to his identity: the poet identifies himself as "a certain Rustveli." "Rustveli" is not a surname, but a territorial epithet that can be interpreted as "of/from/holder of Rustavi"; although a 10th century manuscript fragment found in 1975 in [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]] in Sinai attests to its use as a cognomen by a noble house of Ru(i)staveli.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aleksidze |first1=Nikoloz |title=Georgia: A Cultural Journey through the Wardrop Collection |date=2018 |publisher=Bodleian Library |location=Oxford |isbn=9781851244959 |pages=40–41}}</ref> Later Georgian authors from the 15th through 18th centuries are more informative; they are almost unanimous in identifying him as Shota Rustaveli, a name that is preserved on a fresco and a document from the formerly Georgian [[Monastery of the Cross|Monastery of the Holy Cross]] at [[Jerusalem]]. The fresco was described by the Georgian pilgrim [[Timote Gabashvili]] in 1757/58 and rediscovered by a team of Georgian scholars in 1960. The same Jerusalem document speaks of Shota as a sponsor of the monastery and a ''[[mechurchletukhutsesi]]'' ("high treasurer"), echoing a popular legend that Rustaveli was a minister at [[Tamar of Georgia|Queen Tamar]]’s court and retired to the monastery at an advanced age.

Both a folk tradition and the 17th-century royal poet [[Archil of Imereti|Archil]] identify Rustaveli as a native of the southern Georgian region of [[Meskheti]], where his home village Rustavi was located (in modern-day [[Aspindza Municipality]], not to be confused with the modern-day city of [[Rustavi]] near [[Tbilisi]]). A legend states that Rustaveli was educated at the medieval Georgian academies of [[Gelati Monastery|Gelati]] and [[Academy of Ikalto|Ikalto]], and then in "[[Greece]]" (i.e., the [[Byzantine Empire]]). He must have produced his major work no earlier than the 1180s and no later than the first decade of the 13th century, most probably 1205-1207.<ref>Baramidze, Alexandre. Shota Rustaveli: The Date of “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin”. Tbilisi, 1975, p. 30.</ref>

Rustaveli was well acquainted with [[Persian language|Persian]] "and was therefore able to read and appreciate [[Persian poetry|its poetry]] without having to resort to faulty translations".{{sfn|Farmanfarmaian|2009|page=26}} Rustaveli may have composed Persian verse as well.{{sfn|Farmanfarmaian|2009|page=26}}

==''The Knight in the Panther's Skin''==
''[[The Knight in the Panther's Skin]]'' is a celebrated medieval epic poem written by Shota Rustaveli. It is considered the national epic of Georgia and one of the greatest works of [[Georgian literature]]. Although the poem takes place in the fictional settings of "India" and "Arabia," events in these distant lands are but a colorful [[allegory]] of the rule of Queen [[Tamar of Georgia]] and the size and glory of the [[Kingdom of Georgia]] in [[Georgian Golden Age|its Golden Age]].<ref>[[David Marshall Lang]]. ''Landmarks in Georgian Literature.'' [[School of Oriental and African Studies]], 1966, p. 20</ref> The poem has been translated into many languages. It was first printed in 1712 in the Georgian capital, [[Tbilisi]].<ref>{{cite book
|last=Baramidze
|first=Alexander
|title=Shota Rustaveli: Manuscripts and Editions of The Knight in the Panther’s Skin
|location=Tbilisi
|year=1975
|page=357
|language=Georgian}}</ref> The manuscripts of ''The Knight in the Panther's Skin'' occupy an important place among the works produced in Georgia. Two folios of this text, dating from the 16th century, are preserved at the [[Georgian National Center of Manuscripts]] in Tbilisi, and some lines of the poem, dating from the 14th century, are also kept there.<ref>{{cite journal
|last=Bregadze
|first=T.
|title=Several More Verses of The Knight in the Panther’s Skin in the Notes of Old Manuscripts
|journal=Bulletin of the Institute of Manuscripts
|volume=IV
|location=Tbilisi
|year=1962
|pages=93–96
|language=Georgian}}</ref> All other known copies of the poem date from the 17th century.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Tatishvili
|first=Lamara
|title=The Scribes of The Knight in the Panther’s Skin
|year=2000
|publisher=Copenhagen
|location=Tbilisi
|pages=1–2
|language=Georgian}}</ref>

==Rustaveli's Fresco in Jerusalem==
{{multiple image
| align = right
| image1 = Shota Rustaveli.jpg
| width1 = 100
| alt1 =
| caption1 =
| image2 = Rustaveli damage 2004.jpg
| width2 = 165
| alt2 =
| caption2 =
| footer = Fresco of Rustaveli before and after being vandalized in 2004
}}
The only known contemporary portrait of Shota Rustaveli was painted on the eastern face of the southwest pillar of the church of the [[Monastery of the Cross|Monastery of the Holy Cross]] in Jerusalem. It is set at the foot of two much larger images of saints and is accompanied by a Georgian-language inscription.

The portrait was vandalized in June 2004 by an unknown perpetrator, who scratched out Rustaveli's face and part of the accompanying Georgian inscription with his name. Georgia officially complained to Israel after the priceless fresco was defaced.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3867845.stm |date=5 July 2004 |publisher=BBC| access-date=6 August 2022|title=Precious Jerusalem fresco defaced}}</ref> The portrait and inscription have been restored.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kvirispalitra.ge/article/3245-meramdened/ |title=მიზანმიმართული ბოროტება! |website=კვირის პალიტრა|date=19 April 2010}}</ref>

==Legacy==
The highest Georgian state prize in the fields of art and literature is the [[Shota Rustaveli State Prize]]. Tbilisi's main thoroughfare is Rustaveli Avenue. In Tbilisi, one can also find the [[Rustaveli Theatre]], the [[Shota Rustaveli Institute of Georgian Literature]] of the [[Georgian National Academy of Sciences]], the [[Shota Rustaveli Tbilisi International Airport]] and the [[Rustaveli (Tbilisi Metro)|Rustaveli metro station]], among many other landmarks bearing his name.

Rustaveli has been featured on the 100 [[Georgian lari]] bill since the introduction of the currency in 1995. In 2001 [[Israel]] and Georgia jointly issued [[postage stamp]]s to honor Shota Rustaveli.

Streets in a number of cities in the former Soviet Union are named after Rustaveli, including in [[:ru:Улица Руставели (Москва)|Moscow]], [[:ru:Улица Руставели (Санкт-Петербург)|Saint Petersburg]] (Russia), [[Shota Rustaveli Street, Kyiv|Kyiv]], [[:uk:Вулиця Шота Руставелі (Львів)|Lviv]] (Ukraine), [[Shota Rustaveli Street, Tashkent|Tashkent]] (Uzbekistan), [[Yerevan]], [[Gyumri]] (Armenia), and elsewhere, such as pathway in Jerusalem, which leads to the Monastery of the Cross.

[[Mihály Zichy]], a 19th-century [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungarian]] painter, rose to the rank of "national painter" in Georgia as he produced the classic illustrations that have been frequently used in editions of Rustaveli's poetry. A sculpture and a street commemorate Zichy's work in Tbilisi. Georgian composer [[Tamara Vakhvakhishvili]] set Rustaveli's poetry to music in her composition ''Citation'' for voice and orchestra.

As a part of the 65th Anniversary of the Recovery of Shota Rustaveli's Fresco, [[Oxford Interfaith Forum]] organises a series of educational events, including the [[Bodleian Library]] Manuscript Presentations, and Multi-lingual Reading.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://oxfordinterfaithforum.org/blog/the-65th-anniversary-of-the-recovery-of-the-iconic-interculturalist-poet-shota-rustavelis-medieval-fresco/|title=The 65th Anniversary of the Recovery of the Iconic Interculturalist Poet Shota Rustaveli’s Medieval Fresco in the Jerusalem Monastery|agency=MCM|date=6 November 2025|language=ka}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:The Soviet Union 1956 CPA 1970 stamp (Shota Rustaveli and Episode from The Knight in the Panther's Skin).jpg|1956 Soviet stamp
File:100 lari. Georgia, 2016 a.png|2016 100 [[Georgian lari]] Banknote depicting Rustaveli
File:Villa Borghese - busto di Rustaveli primopiano P1030519.JPG|Rustaveli bust in [[Rome]]
File:Shota Rustaveli memorial.jpg|Tashkent, Uzbekistan
File:Jerusalem-Monastery-of-the-Cross-456.jpg|Memorial monument for Shota Rustaveli near the [[Monastery of the Cross|Monastery of the Holy Cross]] in Jerusalem
File:Sota Rusztaveli (1).jpg|Rustaveli bust in [[Budapest]]
File:Shota Rustaveli Monument (Tbilisi).jpg|Rustaveli Monument in [[Tbilisi]]
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Sources==
* {{cite journal |last1=Farmanfarmaian |first1=Fatema Soudavar |editor-last1=Arjomand|editor-first1=Saïd Amir|editor-link1=Saïd Amir Arjomand|title=Georgia and Iran: Three Millennia of Cultural Relations An Overview |journal=Journal of Persianate Studies |publisher=BRILL|date=2009 |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=1–43 |doi=10.1163/187471609X445464}}
* [https://oxfordinterfaithforum.org/blog/the-65th-anniversary-of-the-recovery-of-the-iconic-interculturalist-poet-shota-rustavelis-medieval-fresco The 65th Anniversary of the Recovery of the Shota Rustaveli Fresco in Jerusalem Oxford Interfaith Forum. 2025.]
* [https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/rustaveli-in-jewish-land-shared-material-culture/ Rustaveli in Jewish Land: Shared Material Culture.]

== External links ==
* [https://oxfordinterfaithforum.org/blog/the-65th-anniversary-of-the-recovery-of-the-iconic-interculturalist-poet-shota-rustavelis-medieval-fresco The 65th Anniversary of the Recovery of the Shota Rustaveli Fresco in Jerusalem Oxford Interfaith Forum. 2025.]
* [https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/rustaveli-in-jewish-land-shared-material-culture/ Rustaveli in Jewish Land: Shared Material Culture.]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121206062204/http://www.my-message.com/literature/182-from-the-portrait-to-the-sonnet On the first translation of ''The Knight in the Panther's skin'' from Georgian into Russian.]
* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/asia/mps/index.htm ''The Man in the Panther's Skin'': full text of M. Wardrop's English translation.]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040101143721/http://sangha.net/countries/Georgia/shota.htm Shota Rustaveli. ''The Knight in the Panther's Skin'' (fragments in English).]
* {{Librivox author |id=17252}}
* [http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~ci4/georgien/maler/kobuladse/rustaveli.htm Illustrations by Sergo Kobuladze.]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081120115918/http://www.fmueller.net/rustaveli_de.html Shota Rustaveli. ''Der Ritter im Tigerfell''.] {{in lang|de}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20031230235633/http://www.acnet.ge/literat.htm Shota Rustaveli Institute of Georgian Literature of the Georgian Academy of Sciences.]
* {{cite web|last1=Eco|first1=Umberto|author-link1=Umberto Eco|title=Rustaveli, chi era costui?|url=http://espresso.repubblica.it/opinioni/la-bustina-di-minerva/2010/11/26/news/rustaveli-chi-era-costui-1.26172?refresh_ce|website=L'Espresso|access-date=28 September 2017|date=2010}}

== Literature ==
*[[Tite Margwelaschwili]]. "Der Mann in Pantherfell".- "Georgica", London, 1936 {{in lang|de}}
*[[Zviad Gamsakhurdia]]. "Tropology of ''The Knight in the Panther's Skin''" (a monograph), Tbilisi, 1991, 352 pp (in Georgian, English summary)
*Shota Rustaveli. ''The Lord of the Panther-Skin'', Albany: SUNY Press, 1977, 240 pp, translated by R.H. Stevenson, UNESCO Collection of representative works: Series of translations from the literatures of the Union of Soviet Socialist republics
*Shota Rustaveli. ''The Man in the Panther's Skin'', London: The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1912, translated by Marjory Scott Wardrop, repr. 1966.
*Shota Rustaveli. ''The Knight in Panther Skin'', London: The Folio Society, 1977, A free translation in prose by Katharine Vivian.
*Beynen, G. Koolemans. "Murder, Foul and Fair, in Shota Rustaveli's ''The Man in the Panther Skin",'' in ''Medieval and Early Modern Murder,'' Larissa Tracy, ed. (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2018), pp. 350–70.

{{commons category}}
{{Tamar the Great}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rustaveli, Shota}}
[[Category:12th-century poets from Georgia (country)]]
[[Category:1160s births]]
[[Category:1216 deaths]]
[[Category:13th-century poets from Georgia (country)]]
[[Category:Male poets from Georgia (country)]]
[[Category:Meskhetians]]

Shota Rustaveli - Revision history

imported>Ackerman200 at 17:18, 6 November 2025