One of the greatest representatives of the world literature - Shota Rustaveli lived in XII-XII cent. in Georgia, during the reigning of Queen Tamara. It was the time of political power of medieval Georgia and also the time of flourishing of its culture. There are many legends, telling us about poet's comprehensive education, his numeruos travels in different Eastern countries, Arabia, Bizantium, Greece.
A long before Renaissance he sang about the humanistic ideals, the feelings of love and friendship, courage and fortitude in the poem "The Knight in the Panther's Skin". Heroes of the poem are brave, philantropic, generous. They live and act in the name of a Man; they are ready to fight with evil and to restore a fairness. Heroes of Rustaveli are not nationally restricted. There are included different countries in the poem : Arabia, China, India.
Poem "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" has been translated into many languages. It has been first printed in 1712. In Georgia poem was illustrated by famous Georgian painter Kobuladze.