Sayat Nova

Sayat-Nova ("Սայաթ-Նովա" in Armenian) (1712-1795), or 'King of Songs' is the name given to Harutyun Sahakyan . He was probably born in Sanahin, where his mother was also born, and he grew up in a village near Tbilisi, Georgia, and was skilled in writing poetry, singing and playing the Kamancheh. He performed in the court of 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 place at court when he fell in love with the king's daughter, and spent the rest of his life as an itinerant bard. In 1795 he was killed in Haghpat by the army of Agha Mohammed Khan.

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