Background
Sayat-Nova"s mother, Sara, was born in Tiflis, and his father, Karapet, either in Aleppo or Adana. He was born in Tiflis.
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Sayat Nova
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His songs are in Armenian, Georgian, Azerbaijani, and Persian. The name Sayat-Nova means "King of Songs" in Persian. Sayat Nova was skilled in writing poetry, singing, and playing the kamancheh, Chonguri, Tambur.
He performed in the court of King Heraclius II of Georgia, where he also worked as a diplomat and, apparently, helped forge an alliance between Georgia, Armenia and Shirvan against the Persian Empire.
He lost his position at the royal court when he fell in love with the king"s sister Ana. He spent the rest of his life as an itinerant bard.
He served in locations including Tiflis and Haghpat Monastery. In 1795 he was killed in Haghpat Monastery by the invading army of Mohammad Khan Qajar, the Shah of Iran.
Hence he was promptly executed and beheaded.
He is buried at the Cathedral of Saint George, Tbilisi. In Armenia, Sayat Nova is considered a great poet who made a considerable contribution to the Armenian poetry and music of his century. About 220 songs have been attributed to Sayat-Nova, although he may have written thousands more.
He wrote his songs in Armenian, Azeri Turkish, Georgian, and Persian.
Sayat Nova had also written some poems moving between all four. Sayat Nova Dance Company of Boston is named after him.
The 1969 Armenian film Sayat Nova directed by Sergei Parajanov follows the poet"s path from his childhood wool-dyeing days to his role as a courtier and finally his life as a monk. lieutenant was released in the United States under the title The Color of Pomegranates.
lieutenant is not a biography of Sayat Nova, but a series of tableaux vivants of Armenian costume, embroidery and religious rituals depicting scenes and verses from the poet"s life.
A book on his life and work by Charles Dowsett was published in 1997 titled Sayat"-nova: An 18th-century Troubadour: a Biographical and Literary Study. The first translations of the Armenian odes of Sayat Nova in European languages was in France by Elisabeth Mouradian and the French poet Serge Venturini in 2006. The book was dedicated to Sergei Parajanov.
There is a street and a music school named after him in Yerevan, Armenia.
An Armenian-American dance ensemble in the United States. And a pond in Mont Orford, Quebec, Canada.
A brand of Armenian Cognac is named after him.
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Born
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Died
November 22, 1795 (aged 83) -
Nationality
Georgian -
Religion
Christianity