Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani (1658-1725)

A remarkable Georgian enlightener of the late feudal period, Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani was born in 1658 in the village of Tandzia. His father, Vakhtang Orbeliani, served as the secretary of the King of Kartli, and his mother, Tamar, was the daughter of Zaal, Eristavi of Aragvi, who ruled over the mountainous region of Kartli. Sulkhan spent his childhood in Tandzia, where he was raised with his brothers. Later, he lived mainly in Dmanisi. From childhood, Sulkhan was particularly close to the sons of King Vakhtang V Shahnavaz (r. 1658-1675), especially Giorgi (the future King Giorgi XI of Kartli).

Village Tandzia

From an early age, young Sulkhan displayed exceptional talent. He was educated by the best tutors, among them Beruka Zedginidze, who taught Sulkhan theology and other disciplines, and Giorgi Iashvili, who instructed him in the chanting of church hymns. In later years, Sulkhan recalled that he had a particular love for learning in his childhood, and that he felt he had mastered everything Beruka Zedginidze and Giorgi Iashvili had taught him. In addition to theology, philosophy, and other subjects, Sulkhan also learned Armenian, Turkish and Persian. Later, he studied Italian and Latin, though he never mastered them fully, and, towards the end of his life - Russian.

Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani

Following the death of the King of Kartli, Vakhtang Shahnavaz, his son, Giorgi XI (r.1676-1688), ascended the throne. Like several of his predecessors, the Bagrationis, Giorgi formally converted to Islam, after which was he confirmed by the Shah as the King of Kartli. During his reign, King Giorgi faced many difficulties, including constant hostility and intrigue from the Shah’s officials, as well as opposition from Kartlian nobles. Nevertheless, thanks to his strong character, willpower, and courage, he managed to retain the royal throne of Kartli for many years. Eventually, he resolved to rebel against the Qizilbash domination. Although the uprising was carefully prepared, it was betrayed by Sulkhan’s uncle, Tamaz Orbeliani.

 King - George XI of Kartli

In contrast to his traitorous uncle, Sulkhan was loyal to King Giorgi. For that loyalty, the king granted him the village of Shosholeti in the Ktsia Valley. Although Sulkhan’s active involvement in the political life of Kartli left him little time for literary pursuits, he still found time to write. It was during this period that he wrote his famous The Book of Wisdom and Lies. Alongside his literary activities, Sulkhan was appointed by King Giorgi as the tutor of his nephew, Vakhtang (son of Prince Levan, the King’s younger brother). Sulkhan made a great contribution to the upbringing of the royal family, a fact noted by Jean Richard, a Catholic missionary in Kartli. In his words, “the members of the royal family respect and love Sulkhan as much as their own father; they also consider him the father of all Georgia.”

The Book of Wisdom and Lies. 1957 Edition

In place of the rebellous Giorgi, the Shah granted the throne of Kartli to the King of Kakheti, Erekle Nazar Ali Khan, the grandson of King Teimuraz I (r. 1605-1648). Erekle had spent many years in Russia before traveling to Iran, where he converted to Islam. It was evident that Erekle was prepared to do anything necessary to secure royal power, and, in 1688, he occupied Tbilisi and launched a brutal persecution of King Giorgi’s loyal supporters in Kartli. Largely unfamiliar with Georgia and its local customs, Erekle ruled harshly. During his reign, the burden of serfdom became intolerable, and the Qizilbash forces were especially cruel, killing men and kidnapping women and children to be sold into slavery.

In order to free themselves from Erekle’s rule, the Kartlian nobles loyal to King Giorgi contacted the king, who had fled to Imereti. Giorgi returned to Kartli and renewed the struggle against Erekle, but, due to insufficient support, his efforts failed. In 1695, Giorgi withdrew to Imereti once more, accompanied by his loyal supporters, among them Sulkhan Orbeliani. Sulkhan, however, could not endure the prolonged exile and soon returned to Kartli. The Shah forbade Erekle from persecuting Giorgi’s supporters. Family connections may also have played a role in Sulkhan’s peaceful return to Kartli, as the wife of Sulkhan’s uncle, Aslan, and the mother of Erekle Nazar Ali-Khan were sisters.

On his return to Kartli, Sulkhan withdrew from politics and secluded himself in his estate. In 1698, at the age of forty, he became a monk in the Gareji Desert and received the monastic name Saba. It is strange that Sulkhan was ordained a monk in Gareji without obstacle, despite the fact that Sulkhan had converted to Catholicism several years earlier. According to one account, he became a member of the Roman Catholic Church in 1687; however, others say he converted to Catholicism in 1701.

The situation in Kartli improved significantly when the Shah returned the royal throne of Kartli to Giorgi. Since King Giorgi was fighting the Afghans in Iran, the Shah entrusted the governorship of Kartli to Giorgi’s nephew, Sulkhan-Saba’s former student, Prince Vakhtang. Sulkhan-Saba became one of Vakhtang’s most loyal and closest associates.

Vakhtang VI and Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani - Miniature

At the outset of Vakhtang’s governorship, Sulkhan-Saba still resided at the Gareji Monastery. Owing to his close relationship with Vakhtang, he brought considerable benefits to the monastery, and contributed greatly to the revival of monastic life there. Nevertheless, the needs of the kingdom soon required Sulkhan-Saba’s departure from the monastery. He was summoned to Iran by the brother of Giorgi XI, Kaikhosro, on a special assignment. This mission proved brief: He arrived in Iran on December 1, 1710, and returned on February 20, 1711, and was back in Georgia by May. Soon afterward, he had to go to Iran again, this time with Vakhtang.

The Shah intended to confirm Vakhtang as King of Kartli, but only on one condition— that Vakhtang convert to Islam. Vakhtang resolutely refused, and, as a result, the Shah barred him from returning to Kartli. While detained in Iran, Vakhtang resolved to seek assistance from Europe, and entrusted the mission to his tutor, Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani. Vakhtang had already established active correspondence with the European powers, especially the French, and had even received a letter from the French King Louis XIV. Fully aware of the international realities of the time, Vakhtang did not request military intervention or the expulsion of Iranian forces from Georgia. Instead, he proposed a pragmatic plan: France was to use Georgia as a trade corridor, exert diplomatic influence on the Shah to secure Vakhtang’s release, and establish French Catholic missions in Georgia.

With this mission, Sulkhan-Saba returned from Iran to Kartli, and, in August 1713, he set off for Europe with the Catholic missionary Jean Richard. They went to Constantinople, and from there traveled to France. They were in Marseille by January 23, 1714, at which point Richard informed the renowned French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, of his arrival and that of the Georgian ambassador. From there, Sulkhan-Saba went to Paris and met with King Louis XIV of France.

King Louis XIV of France 

The French king received him with great honor. In May 1714, Sulkhan-Saba left Paris and arrived in Rome at the end of June, where he was also received with great honor. He had a particularly cordial meeting with Pope Clement XI. From Rome, Sulkhan-Saba traveled to Florence, and from there, to Pisa. After a few months spent in Pisa, he went to the island of Malta, and from there he returned to Constantinople, reaching the city in January 1715. He spent some time in Constantinople and then left the capital of the Ottoman Empire on May 13, 1716 and returned to Georgia. After a long and difficult journey, which took a heavy toll on Sulkhan-Saba’s health, he returned to Kartli in July 1716.

Unfortunately, the Europeans managed to fulfill only part of their promises. Pope Clement did send Capuchin missionaries to Georgia with Sulkhan-Saba, but the establishment of an economic and political union between France and Georgia failed. This failure was not due to a lack of interest or bad faith on the part of the French, but rather to the ongoing War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), a war which had weakened and impoverished France. Obviously, when France could not resolve the situation in its neighborhood, it was needless to talk about any serious relations with the distant Kingdom of Kartli.

Sulkhan-Saba found himself in a rather difficult situation in Kartli. Soon, part of the Georgian clergy began to plot against him because he had converted to Catholicism. Sulkhan-Saba recounts these difficult events in his three autobiographical parables (The Sun and the Rose, The Sea and the Dolphin, The King and the Hunting Dog). His opponents demanded that he renounce Catholicism, but he firmly refused, which only intensified his persecution. His enemies even managed to sow discord between him and King Vakhtang, although Sulkhan-Saba remained loyal to the king to the end.

In addition to his diplomatic and political activities, Sulkhan-Saba left a huge mark on Georgian literature and culture. In The Book of Wisdom and Lies, he created fascinating characters. It is a work distinguished by its humor and interesting narration, touching on important problems of morality and upbringing, governance, kingship, power and obedience. He also undertook the monumental task of compiling a dictionary of the Georgian language (The Georgian Dictionary), providing definitions for a vast array of Georgian words. Sulkhan-Saba articulated his theological and philosophical views in several works, among which The Gate of Paradise is especially important. He also played a crucial role in the formation of the final Georgian edition of Kalīla wa-Dimna, a collection of Arab and Persian fairy tales. His literary heritage is a notable part of the late feudal Georgian culture, impacting significantly on the further development of the Georgian language and culture.

The Georgian Dictionary by Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani

In the early 1720s, the situation in the Kingdom of Kartli became particularly difficult. Although King Vakhtang eventually agreed to convert to Islam and was confirmed by the Shah as King of Kartli in 1716, the constant Lezgin (Dagestani tribesmen) invasions, the disobedience of the nobles, and the difficult geopolitical situation forced Vakhtang to look for a powerful ally. Eventually, he formed an alliance with the Russian Emperor Peter I (1682-1725), with whom he agreed to a campaign against Iran. The campaign failed. As tensions escalated with both major Islamic powers—the Ottoman Empire and Iran—Vakhtang was forced to leave Kartli with a large retinue. In 1724, he arrived in Russia. He was accompanied by Sulkhan-Saba, although the latter did not live long after arriving in Russia. Sulkhan-Saba died in Moscow in 1725. The body of the famous Georgian writer and theologian was buried in the Georgian cemetery in the village of Svesvyatskoye.