The Shota Rustaveli Monument stands on Paata Natenadze Street, in central Akhaltsikhe, among the sights, entertainment and leisure spots of the city. A green space for walking and relaxing surrounds the monument.
For more on the monument's history, see the article on the Rustaveli Monument in Akhaltsikhe.
Shota Rustaveli, author of Georgia's national epic poem "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" and a central figure of the Georgian Golden Age, was born sometime between 1160 and 1172; little is known about his life. The name "Rustaveli" itself isn't a surname but a territorial epithet meaning "of/from Rustavi" or "holder of Rustavi": the historical village of Rustavi, the poet's place of origin, lies specifically in Meskheti, the historical region where Akhaltsikhe stands today, and shouldn't be confused with the modern city of Rustavi near Tbilisi. In the closing lines of his poem, Rustaveli directly identifies himself as a Meskh, meaning a native of Meskheti, which explains why the monument was erected in this particular city.
According to a widely held tradition, based on a document from the Georgian Monastery of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, Rustaveli served as treasurer at Queen Tamar's court: the document calls him a "high treasurer" and a sponsor of the monastery. The poet was educated in Byzantium, where he studied philosophy and rhetoric, and his poem is dedicated to praising the reign of Queen Tamar.
