Vakhtang Orbeliani
Encyclopedia
Vakhtang Orbeliani (April 5, 1812 – September 29, 1890) was a Georgian
Romanticist poet and soldier in the Imperial Russian service, of the noble House of Orbeliani
.
Vakhtang 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
. He was a brother of Alexander Orbeliani
and a cousin of Grigol Orbeliani
, fellow Romanticist poets. He studied at the Tiflis nobility school and enrolled into the St. Petersburg Page Corps
which he did not graduate from and returned to homeland to lead, in 1832, 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 sentenced to death, but reprieved and exiled to Kaluga
. 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. In 1838, Orbeliani joined the Russian military service and served in the Nizhny Novgorod
Dragoon
regiment. Most of his military career was spent in the struggle against the rebellious mountainous tribes during the Caucasus War. He was placed in command of the Georgian Grenadier Regiment in 1855 and promoted to major general in 1860. Between 1858 and 1863, he carried out various administrative and military duties in the North Caucasus
, including being commander in the restive districts of Kabarda and Terek
. Later in his career, he served as a member of peasants’ council and worked as an arbitrator.
Like his elder brother Alexander’s, his poetry is obsessed with the destruction of the Georgian monarchy at the end of the 18th century, and the poet seeks console in a Christian patience. His best poetry is dominated by the sacred image of Georgian Christianity — Grapevine cross
of St. Nino. Vakhtang Orbeliani is buried in the western corner of Tbilisi Sioni Cathedral
.
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 and soldier in the Imperial Russian service, 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...
.
Vakhtang 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...
. He was a brother of Alexander Orbeliani
Alexander Orbeliani
Prince Alexander Orbeliani was a Georgian Romanticist poet, playwright, journalist and historian, of the noble House of Orbeliani....
and a cousin of Grigol Orbeliani
Grigol Orbeliani
Grigol Orbeliani was a Georgian Romanticist poet and soldier in the Imperial Russian service. One of the most colorful figures in the 19th-century Georgian culture, Orbeliani is noted for his patriotic poetry, lamenting Georgia's lost past and independent monarchy...
, fellow Romanticist poets. He studied at the Tiflis nobility school and enrolled into the St. Petersburg Page Corps
Page Corps
Page Corps was a military academy in Imperial Russia, which prepared sons of the nobility and of senior officers for military service....
which he did not graduate from and returned to homeland to lead, in 1832, 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 sentenced to death, but reprieved and exiled to Kaluga
Kaluga
Kaluga is a city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Population: It is served by Grabtsevo Airport.-History:...
. 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. In 1838, Orbeliani joined the Russian military service and served in the Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
Dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
regiment. Most of his military career was spent in the struggle against the rebellious mountainous tribes during the Caucasus War. He was placed in command of the Georgian Grenadier Regiment in 1855 and promoted to major general in 1860. Between 1858 and 1863, he carried out various administrative and military duties in the North Caucasus
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian Seas and within European Russia. The term is also used as a synonym for the North Caucasus economic region of Russia....
, including being commander in the restive districts of Kabarda and Terek
Terek
The Terek River is a major river in the Northern Caucasus, flowing through Georgia and Russia into the Caspian Sea. It rises in Georgia near the juncture of the The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and the Khokh Range, to the southwest of Mount Kazbek, then flows north through North Ossetia and...
. Later in his career, he served as a member of peasants’ council and worked as an arbitrator.
Like his elder brother Alexander’s, his poetry is obsessed with the destruction of the Georgian monarchy at the end of the 18th century, and the poet seeks console in a Christian patience. His best poetry is dominated by the sacred image of Georgian Christianity — Grapevine cross
Grapevine cross
The Grapevine Cross also known as the Georgian cross or Saint Nino's cross, is a major symbol of the Georgian Orthodox Church, dating from the 4th century AD, when Christianity became an official religion in the kingdom of Iberia .It is recognisable by the slight drooping of its horizontal arms...
of St. Nino. Vakhtang Orbeliani is buried in the western corner of Tbilisi Sioni Cathedral
Tbilisi Sioni Cathedral
The "Sioni" Cathedral of the Dormition is a Georgian Orthodox cathedral in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Following a medieval Georgian tradition of naming churches after particular places in the Holy Land, the Sioni Cathedral bears the name of Mount Zion at Jerusalem...
.