| Sayat-Nova Սայաթ-Նովա |
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Soviet stamp from 1962 devoted to Sayat-Nova's 250 anniversary. |
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| Born | Harutyun Sayatyan June 14, 1712 Tiflis, Kartli, Persia |
| Died | November 22, 1795 (aged 83) Haghpat, Persian Empire |
| Occupation | Poet, ashik |
| Nationality | Armenian |
| Spouse(s) | Marmar |
Sayat-Nova (Armenian: Սայաթ-Նովա; Persian: سید نوا; Azerbaijani: سید نوا / Səyyad Nova; Georgian: საიათ-ნოვა) (born as Harutyun Sayatyan (Armenian: Հարություն Սայադյան on 14 June 1712, Tiflis – died 22 September 1795, Haghpat), was an Armenian[1] poet, musician and ashik who had compositions in a number of languages. His adopted name Sayat Nova meant "Master of Songs" in Persian.
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Sayat-Nova's mother, Sara, was born in Tbilisi, and his father, Karapet, either in Aleppo or Adana. He himself was born in Tbilisi. Sayat Nova was skilled in writing poetry, singing, and playing the kamancheh, Chonguri, Tambur.[2] He performed in the court of Erekle 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 daughter, and 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 various locations including Tbilisi and Haghpat Monastery. In 1795 he was killed in the monastery by the invading army of Agha Mohammed Khan, a Persian Knight, representing the Qajar tribe, an Azeri branch of the Oghuz Turks, for refusing to denounce Christianity and convert to Islam. He is buried at the Cathedral of Saint George, Tbilisi.
About 220 songs have been attributed to Sayat-Nova, although he may have written thousands more. His compositions assume the form of traditional Armenian songs[3]. Most of his surviving songs are in Azerbaijani, the lingua franca of the Caucasus at that time,[4] but he also wrote in Armenian, Georgian and Persian. He wrote all his known poems using the Georgian alphabet.[5] A number of his songs are sung to this day.
In Armenia, Sayat Nova is considered a great poet who made a considerable contribution to the Armenian poetry of his century. Although he lived his entire life in a deeply religious society, his poems are mostly secular and full of romantic expressionism.
Sayat-Nova is considered by many to be the greatest ashik (folk singer-songwriter) that ever lived in the Caucasus.