Reception of Orient and Georgia by a European Scholar of the 17th Century

Abstract

The article introduces the Latin work Illustrium, Ab Orbe Condito, Ruinarum by the German Jesuit scholar Johannes Bisselius, dated 1663, which the author encountered while studying the Slovak school drama Katherine (Ketevani), Queen of Georgians, Decorated with Her Own Blood, Presented on the Stage. The drama, written and staged at the Jesuit Gymnasium in Skalica in 1701, survives only in a synopsis in Slovakized Czech and Latin. Bisselius is one of the authors named among its sources. His work contains information about Georgia and Queen Ketevan, including the inaccurate presentation of Ketevan as a Catholic saint, probably influenced by Ambrosio dos Anjos. Bisselius also discusses court intrigues, the Shah's military campaigns in Georgia, the capture of Hormuz, and the toponymy of the Eastern world. The article argues that Bisselius relied on several different authors and sources in composing his work.