Abo Tbileli

Abo of Tiflis (approx. 757- January 6th, 786) was an Arab martyred for Christianity.

He was in service of Nerse II, the ruling prince (Erismtavari) of Kartli.  Abo was skilled at making mixtures from myrrh. He followed Nerse from Baghdad to Kartli. Afterward, Abo followed exiled Erismtavari to Khazar Khaganate, where Abo converted to Christianity. When he returned to Kartli with Nerse, Arabs demanded that he must convert back to Islam. Abo refused, and for this, he was beheaded. The Georgian church canonized him as a saint. The day of his remembrance is the January 8th (21st). He was considered a patron of Tbilisi. The 8th-century writer Ioane Sabanisdze wrote about the martyrdom of Abo Tbileli.

Literature: კეკელიძე კ., ქართული ლიტერატურის ისტორია, ტ. 1, თბ., 1960.

A. Bogveradze