Alexander Orbeliani
Encyclopedia
Prince Alexander Orbeliani (Jambakur-Orbeliani) (May 24, 1802 – December 28, 1869) was a Georgian
Romanticist poet, playwright, journalist and historian, of the noble House of Orbeliani
.
Alexander Orbeliani was born in Tiflis (Tbilisi), then under Imperial Russian rule, to Prince Vakhtang Orbeliani and Princess Tekle Bagrationi, a beloved daughter of the penultimate Georgian king Erekle II
. In 1817, he joined the Russian military service. However, together with his mother and his brother Vakhtang
, he led a failed coup attempt against Russian rule in 1832. The conspirators planned to invite the Russian officials in the Caucasus
to a grand ball where they would be given the choice of death or surrender. After the collapse of this plot, Orbeliani was arrested and exiled to Orenburg
whence he would not be able to return until 1840. The abortive uprising and relatively mild punishment that followed forced many conspirators to see the independent past as irremediably lost and to reconcile themselves with the Russian autocracy, transforming their laments for the lost past and the fall of the native dynasty into Romanticist poetry. Orbeliani’s most coherent pieces are the allegorical poem of 1832, The Moon (მთოვარე), and a patriotic short story Immaculate Blood (უმანკო სისხლი) about three sisters, nuns, who prefer death to apostasy when the commander of invading Persian troops demands it; the latter is so impressed that he has to die with them. Orbeliani also attempted a series of plays, but his interest in the press was more important. He was a founding member of the editorial board of Tsiskari, which for several years was the backbone of the Georgian periodical press. Through it Orbeliani channeled his efforts to standardize a literary language, based on revival of archaic forms. He was also one of the first Georgian writers to take an interest in retrieving folk poetry from the people, and authored several works on Georgian history and culture.
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
Romanticist poet, playwright, journalist and historian, of the noble House of Orbeliani
House of Orbeliani
The Orbeliani was a Georgian noble family , which branched off the Baratashvili family in the 17th century and later produced several lines variously called Orbeliani, Orbelishvili , Qaplanishvili , and Jambakur-Orbeliani...
.
Alexander Orbeliani was born in Tiflis (Tbilisi), then under Imperial Russian rule, to Prince Vakhtang Orbeliani and Princess Tekle Bagrationi, a beloved daughter of the penultimate Georgian king Erekle II
Erekle II
Erekle II was a Georgian monarch of the Bagrationi Dynasty, reigning as the king of Kakheti from 1744 to 1762, and of Kartli and Kakheti from 1762 until 1798. In the contemporary Persian sources he is referred to as Erekli Khan, while Russians knew him as Irakli...
. In 1817, he joined the Russian military service. However, together with his mother and his brother Vakhtang
Vakhtang Orbeliani
Vakhtang Orbeliani was a Georgian Romanticist poet and soldier in the Imperial Russian service, of the noble House of Orbeliani....
, he led a failed coup attempt against Russian rule in 1832. The conspirators planned to invite the Russian officials in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
to a grand ball where they would be given the choice of death or surrender. After the collapse of this plot, Orbeliani was arrested and exiled to Orenburg
Orenburg
Orenburg is a city on the Ural River and the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies southeast of Moscow, very close to the border with Kazakhstan. Population: 546,987 ; 549,361 ; Highest point: 154.4 m...
whence he would not be able to return until 1840. The abortive uprising and relatively mild punishment that followed forced many conspirators to see the independent past as irremediably lost and to reconcile themselves with the Russian autocracy, transforming their laments for the lost past and the fall of the native dynasty into Romanticist poetry. Orbeliani’s most coherent pieces are the allegorical poem of 1832, The Moon (მთოვარე), and a patriotic short story Immaculate Blood (უმანკო სისხლი) about three sisters, nuns, who prefer death to apostasy when the commander of invading Persian troops demands it; the latter is so impressed that he has to die with them. Orbeliani also attempted a series of plays, but his interest in the press was more important. He was a founding member of the editorial board of Tsiskari, which for several years was the backbone of the Georgian periodical press. Through it Orbeliani channeled his efforts to standardize a literary language, based on revival of archaic forms. He was also one of the first Georgian writers to take an interest in retrieving folk poetry from the people, and authored several works on Georgian history and culture.