I lived from 1172-1216.
I was from Georgia, and am in the Asian category.
Shota Rustaveli was a Georgian poet of the 12th century, and the greatest author of classic Georgian secular literature. He was the author of "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" which is the Georgian national epic poem. Little is known of his life; most of what we know has been handed down through folk tradition and legend. It is believed that Rustaveli was born between 1160 and 1165 (some have it as late as 1172).
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He is said to have been educated at the medieval Georgian academies of Gelati and Ikalto in the Byzantine Empire which is now Greece. His literary works were produced sometime between the 1180’s and 1207. "The Knight in the Panther's Skin", which tells of a young prince seeking a friend's beloved, who has been captured by devils, has been translated into many languages. It was first printed in 1712, in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. According to legend, he was orphaned as a child and brought up by an uncle, who was a monk. The early introduction to religion is reflected in his later poems, which are often religious and philosophical. Some say he went to Jerusalem when he grew old and died in a Georgian monastery. Others that he wrote a series of odes to the Queen Tamara, who ruled during the twelfth century, when Georgia achieved its greatest power and influence. As a reward, the queen appointed Rustaveli treasurer of the court, and he duly fell in love with her.
Rustaveli himself considered poetry as one of the oldest branches of wisdom. He considered it the poet’s duty to evoke strong emotions and inflame the heart of the reader.
It is generally believed that Shota Rustaveli died about 1216.
My poetry
PROLOGUE
1 He who created the firmament by the omnipotent might of his power,
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