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The book Torture of Shushanik by Iakob Tsurtaveli

The Martyrdom of Shushanik (Ancient Georgian: Martyrdom of St. Shushanik the Queen) - a hagiographic work written by Iakob Tsurtaveli (Khutsesi).

This is the oldest monument of Georgian fiction that has survived to our time. Written in the 5th century, namely 476-483 BC.

The author is an eyewitness and participant in the narrative stories. It is suggested that James became a bishop in the early sixth century.

Information about Iakob Tsurtaveli is preserved in his own work, which shows that he was a priest of Varsken Pityakhshi, a person close to Shushanik, a contemporary of Kartli Pityakhshi, a contemporary and participant in the tragedy in Tsurtavi. The essay was written 476-483, after the martyrdom of Shushanik, before the execution of Varsken by Vakhtang Gorgasali. He is thought to have been ordained bishop of Tsurtavi and to have attended an ecclesiastical assembly in 506 (Bishop Jacob of Tsurtavi is mentioned among the members of this congregation). His work is rendered in a modified form (the beginning should be missing, some details omitted, etc.). The oldest manuscript is from the X century. The history of Georgian literature begins with "Shushanik Simplicity" and it has immeasurable significance for Georgian culture.