David Orbeliani ( ka, დავით ორბელიანი), monikered David "the General" (დავით სარდალი, ''Davit’ Sardali'') (11 January 1739 – 29 May 1796) was a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

military figure, politician, translator, and a poet of some talent. A member of the prominent Georgian noble house with family ties with the Bagrationi royal dynasty, David Orbeliani was a hereditary prince of Sabaratiano, Constable of

Somkhiti Somkhiti ( ka, სომხითი ) was an ambiguous geographic term used in medieval and early modern Georgian historical sources to refer to Armenia on one hand and to the Armeno-Georgian marchlands along the river valleys of Debed and Khr ...

, and a high-ranking military commander under King

Heraclius II of Georgia Heraclius II ( ka, ერეკლე II), also known as Erekle II and The Little Kakhetian ( ka, პატარა კახი ) (7 November 1720 or 7 October 1721 C. ToumanoffHitchins, KeithHeraclius II. ''Encyclopædia Iranica Online edit ...

whose daughter, Tamar (1749-1786), married him at

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

in 1762. In 1786, he ran afoul of Heraclius II, who stripped him of the office of Grand Master of the Court (''sakhlt-ukhutsesi'') and granted it to Ioann, Prince of Mukhrani. David Orbeliani made several diplomatic journeys to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, from where he brought manuscripts of ''Qahraman-e qatel'', a

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

prose romance of chivalry and adventure, and translated it as ''Qaramaniani'' (ყარამანიანი) which, although given some local Georgian color, follows its Persian original very closely and gained a considerable popularity in Georgia. He is also a hero of

panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of grc, ...

s by the contemporary Georgian poet Besiki (1750-1791), whom he responded by writing love-poetry very much in the spirit of Besiki.

Rayfield, Donald Patrick Donald Rayfield OBE (born 12 February 1942, Oxford) is an English academic and Emeritus Professor of Russian and Georgian at Queen Mary University of London. He is an author of books about Russian and Georgian literature, and about Josep ...

(2000), '' The Literature of Georgia: A History'': 2nd edition, p. 124. Routledge, Orbeliani died in

in 1796, and was interred at Sioni Cathedral.

References

1739 births 1796 deaths Military personnel from Georgia (country) Nobility of Georgia (country) Politicians from Georgia (country) 18th-century poets from Georgia (country) Male poets from Georgia (country) Translators from Georgia (country) Translators from Persian 18th-century male writers 18th-century translators {{Georgia-translator-stub