Sayat-Nova

{{Short description|Armenian poet}} {{for-multi|the Armenian town|Sayat-Nova, Armenia|the 1968 film|The Color of Pomegranates}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox writer | name = Sayat-Nova Սայաթ-Նովա | image = Sayat-Nova 1964.jpg | caption = Oil on canvas portrait of Sayat-Nova by Eduard Isabekyan (1964). | pseudonym = | birth_name = Harutyun Sayatyan | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1712|6|14}} | birth_place = Tiflis, Kingdom of Kartli, Safavid Iran (present-day Georgia) | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1795|9|22|1712|6|14}} | death_place = Haghpat, Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti, Qajar Iran (present-day Armenia) | occupation = Poet, ashugh | nationality = Armenian | citizenship = | education = | alma_mater = | period = | genre = | subject = | movement = | notableworks = | spouse = Marmar Shahverdian | imagesize = | ethnicity = }}

[[File:St. Kevork Armenian Apostolic Church, Tbilisi - Entrance.JPG|thumb|The tomb of Sayat Nova at the Cathedral of Saint George in Old Tbilisi]]

'''Sayat-Nova''' (Armenian: Սայեաթ-Նովայ (сlassical), Սայաթ-Նովա (reformed); {{lang-ka|საიათნოვა}}; {{Langx|az-Arab|سایات‌نووا}}; {{Langx|fa|سایات‌نووا}}; born '''Harutyun Sayatyan''' ({{Langx|hy|Հարություն Սայաթյան}}); 14 June 1712 – 22 September 1795) was an Armenian poet, musician and ''ashugh'', who had compositions in a number of languages.

== Name ==

The name Sayat-Nova has been given several interpretations.<ref name=dowsett>{{cite book|title=Sayatʻ-Nova: An 18th-century Troubadour : a Biographical and Literary Study|author=Charles Dowsett|pages=70–73|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F-ZPrs_KySQC&pg=PA70|publisher=Peeters Publishers|year=1997|isbn=9789068317954}}</ref> One version reads the name as "Lord of Song" (from Arabic ''sayyid'' and Persian ''nava'')<ref name=dowsett/> or "King of Songs".<ref>Thomas de Waal. [https://books.google.com/books?id=kZ1oAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA25 "The Caucasus: An Introduction"] Oxford University Press, 2010 {{ISBN|978-0199750436}} p 25</ref><ref>Jennifer G. Wollock. [https://books.google.com/books?id=2JvZquS-7W0C&pg=PA246 "Rethinking Chivalry and Courtly Love"] ABC-CLIO, 2011. {{ISBN|978-0313038501}} p 246</ref> Others read the name as grandson (Persian ''neve'') of Sayad or hunter (''sayyad'') of song.<ref name=dowsett/>

Charles Dowsett considers all these derivations to be unlikely and proposes the reading New Time (from Arabic ''sa'at'' and Russian ''nova'') instead.<ref name="dowsett" />

== Biography == {{more citations needed section|date=April 2013}} Sayat-Nova's mother, Sara, was born in Tiflis, and his father, Karapet, either in Aleppo or Adana. He was born in Tiflis. Sayat-Nova was skilled in writing poetry, singing, and playing the kamancheh, Chonguri and Tambur.<ref>Dowsett, Charles (1997), p. 4</ref>

He lost his social position at the royal court when he fell in love with Heraclius II's sister Ana. He spent the rest of his life as an itinerant bard.

In 1759 he was ordained as a priest in the Armenian Apostolic Church. His wife, Marmar, died in 1768, leaving behind four children. He served in locations including Tiflis and Haghpat Monastery.

In 1795, he was killed in Haghpat Monastery by the invading army of Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, Shah of Persia. He demanded that Sayat Nova convert from Christianity to Islam{{Dubious|date=July 2024}}. He refused and declaring his religion is undeniably Armenian Christian. Hence he was promptly executed by beheading.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dowsett|first=Charles|title=Sayatʻ-Nova: an 18th-century troubadour: a biographical and literary study|year=1997|publisher=Peeters Publishers|location=Leuven|isbn=90-6831-795-4|authorlink=Charles Dowsett|page=362}}</ref> He is buried at the Armenian Cathedral of Saint George in Tbilisi.

== Legacy == thumb|Monument of Sayat Nova in Yerevan In Armenia, Sayat-Nova is considered a great poet who made a considerable contribution to the Armenian poetry and music of his century. Although he lived his entire life in a deeply religious society, his works are mostly secular and full of romantic expressionism.

About 220 songs have been attributed to Sayat-Nova, although he may have written thousands more. Sayat-Nova also wrote some poems moving between all three.{{clarify|date=January 2023}}

== In popular culture == thumb|The tombstone of Sayat-Nova *[http://www.sayatnova.com 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. It was released in the United States under the title ''The Color of Pomegranates''. It 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 were in Russia by Valery Bryusov in 1916, in Georgia by Ioseb Grishashvili in 1918, in Poland by Leopold Lewin in 1961 and 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.trademarkia.com/sayat-nova-79092017.html|title=SAYAT NOVA Trademark of "MALS" LLC Serial Number: 79092017 :: Trademarkia Trademarks}}</ref> *An Armenian restaurant opened in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood in 1970 is named after him.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-07-30 |title=Sayat Nova |url=https://checkplease.wttw.com/restaurants/sayat-nova |access-date=2022-04-16 |website=Check, Please! {{!}} WTTW Chicago |language=en-US}}</ref> *In 2020, a perfume created by Dmitry Bortnikoff and Rajesh Balkrishnan was named after him. * The piano piece "Elegy in Memory of Aram Khachaturian" by Arno Babajanian is based on a melody by Sayat-Nova.

==Gallery== <gallery> File:Sayat-Nova manuscript 01.JPG|An Armenian-Georgian poem written by Sayat-Nova using mix of Armenian and Georgian alphabets. File:Sayat-Nova manuscript 02.JPG|A poem written in Azeri using Georgian letters. </gallery>

== References == {{Reflist}}

== Sources == * Charles Dowsett, (1997), ''Sayatʻ-Nova: an 18th-century troubadour: a biographical and literary study'', {{ISBN|90-6831-795-4}} * Nikoghos Tahmizian, ''Sayat Nova and the Music of Armenian Troubadours and Minstrels'', (in Armenian), 1995, Drazark Press, Pasadena, Ca.

== External links == {{wikiquote|hy:Սայաթ-Նովա|Sayat-Nova (Armenian Wikiquote)}} {{wikisourcelang|hy|Սայաթ Նովա}} * [https://sayat-nova.am Site dedicated to Sayat-Nova] * [http://armenianhouse.org/blackwell/armenian-poems/sayat-nova.html Love Song] translated into English by Alice Stone Blackwell * [http://www.classical-composers.org/cgi-bin/ccd.cgi?comp=nova Classical Composers Database] * [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sayat-Nova Encyclopædia Britannica] * [http://www.abcd.am/abcd/bookview_v2_4.php?p_id_text=6946#.Us2hRNIW0xV Sayat-Nova's Armenian, Georgian, Tatarian songs and their Russian translations in digital works collection with famous performances of poems and songs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108200435/http://www.abcd.am/abcd/bookview_v2_4.php?p_id_text=6946#.Us2hRNIW0xV |date=8 January 2014 }}

Category:1712 births Category:1795 deaths Category:Armenian Christians Category:Armenian musicians Category:Armenian male poets Category:Ashiks Category:18th-century Armenian poets Category:18th-century Armenian writers Category:Musicians from Tbilisi Category:Armenian people in Iran Category:Christians executed for refusing to convert to Islam Category:18th-century writers from Safavid Iran Category:People from the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti