Hakob Melik Hakobian, better known by his pen name Raffi, is a renowned Armenian author born in 1835 in Payajouk, an Armenian village situated in the Salmas province (presently in the north of Iran, near Urmia Lake) in Persia. He died in 1888 in Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi). Raffi is a prominent figure of Armenian literature. The fame of Raffi is based on his tendentious novels and stories such as "Jelalleddin," "Khent," "Sparkles," "Samuel," "David-Bek" depicting the hardships the Armenian people faced. He gained insight into the baser side of mankind through real life experiences during his travels. More than once he portrays representatives of the younger generation as courageous and independent people full of sympathy for their nation and hatred towards its enemies, ready to work and struggle (E.g. Sarhat in "Jelalleddin," Vardan and Dudukchiyan in "Khent," Aslan and Karo in "Sparkles").