History of Georgia
From the ancient times through the “Rose Revolution”
by Valeri Silogava and Kakha Shengelia. Reproduced under permission of Caucasus University Publishing House.
Preface
One book apparently is not enough for the long history of Georgia. “Studies in the History of Georgia” has been published in eight volumes in the Georgian language and in five volumes in Russian. The present book is concise but tells the history of Georgia from the ancient era (Stone Age, i.e. 35,000 years ago) through the modern times (including the Rose Revolution of 2003). The book deals with different issues of Georgian history: geographical location of the country, natural environment, population, historical and geographical review, ethnogenesis of the Georgians and the place of the Georgian language among the other languages. The book systematically tells about the main events of the life of Georgian people and sometimes those of its neighboring peoples and countries as well. The book is attached with the list of the most important dates of the nation’s history. The book abounds with illustrations and artwork with appropriate descriptions. The illustrations give additional information about the events described in the book.
Despite its conciseness, the authors of the book tried to give all the most important historical events from the life of the country. We hope the book will be attractive and useful for the readers interested in the history, adventures and original culture of one of the oldest peoples in the world.
Introduction
1. Location, Environment, People
Georgia is a country in Eurasia to the east of the Black Sea, most of which is located in the South Caucasus, while a portion of the territory lies in the North Caucasus. To the north, it is bounded by the Caucasus ridge, to the south by the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, and to the west by the eastern Black Sea coast. To the east, Georgia shares a border with Azerbaijan and Daghestan. However, at the pinnacle of its power (the XII early XIII centuries), Georgian borders extended as far as the Caspian Sea.
Allegedly, in the earliest geological period, 28-30 million years ago, the isthmus of the Caucasus emerged and the Black and Caspian Seas were split by land, where the first man settled approximately 800 thousand years ago. The ethnological face of the Caucasus, with its numerous races and tribes, came into being over many centuries and Caucasian political units were developed.
Since the ancient times Georgia has been populated by the Georgian tribes (they dwelled to the south as well, reaching the sources of the Tigris and the Euphrates) which gave rise to the Georgian nation or Georgian people.
Mountains are the dominant geographic feature of Georgia. The Likhi Range (or the Surami Range) divides the country into eastern and western halves. At present the official area of Georgia totals 69, 5 sq. km.; however, almost 18,000 sq. km. of its historic territory – southern Georgia – is currently within Turkey; according to ancient oriental and later antique annals, the territory was always settled by the tribes of Georgian origins.
The landscape within the nation’s boundaries is quite varied, with mountains and high peaks (Ushba, Shkhara, Kazbegi etc.), mountain ranges, hills and low-lying lands. Georgia’s landscape ranges from lowland marsh forests, swamps and temperate rain forests to eternal snows and glaciers, while the eastern part of the country even contains a small segment of semi-arid plains. There are alpine and sub alpine zones as well. Georgia abounds with small and large rivers – the Mtkvari, the Alazani, the Aragvi, the Enguri, the Chorokhi, and the Tsenistkali, etc. One of the most important geographic regions of Georgia is swampy Colchis Plain, of triangular shape in close proximity to the Black Sea littoral.
Like Colchis Plain in Western Georgia, essential regions in the East are low-lying lands consisting of three parts – Inner Kartli, Lower Kartli and Kakheti.
Lakes of all sizes – Paravani, Ritsa, Amtkeli, Childiri (Shadow), Kartsakhi, Jandara, Lisi, and Kus (the last three are in Tbilisi) are important resources of water supply in Georgia. Some of the lakes are very deep – for example, the depth of Lake Ritsa is approximately 150 m.
The capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, with the population of 1. million 815 thousand, is located on the banks of the river Mtkvari. Tbilisi has not always been the capital of the country, but throughout its history, other cities and towns – Mtskheta, (the first and the most ancient of all the capitals), Kutaisi, Tianeti, Telavi, Akhaltsikhe, Batumi, Sokhumi, Zugdidi, and Artanuji (currently within Turkey) - have served as capitals.
According to the most recent census of January 7, 2002, the population of Georgia totals 4 371, 500.
The majority of the population of Georgia and the leading part of the nation is the Georgians. The Georgians fall into the following ethnographic groups: in Eastern Georgia – the Kartlians, the Kakhians, the Mtiulis, the Khevsuris, etc; in Western Georgia – the Imerians, the Mingrelians, the Svans, the Gurians, the Ajarians, the Lechkhumians, etc. Among other peoples living in the country are – the Armenians, the Azerbaijani, the Russians, the Abkhazs, the Ossetians, fewer Greeks, Jews and peoples of other origins.
The absolute majority of Georgians are orthodox Christians. A small part of Georgians is Muslims, largely in Turkey and Ajara, and fewer of them are Catholics, mostly in Meskheti, in southern Georgia.
2. Historical and Geographical Review
Throughout the long history of Georgia, its regions, ethnographic and administrative units, as well as the country itself have been changing their names. The process is studied by a branch of science called Historical Geography.
The central part of Georgia Kartli consists of Inner, Lower and Upper Kartli. To the west, Inner Kartli is bounded by the Likhi Range, which separates it from Kakheti, to the South by the Trialeti Range; to the north Lower Kartli borders with the Trialeti Range, to the west – Javakheti, to the south – the Yerevan-Bambaki Range and to the east Kakheti. Lower Kartli comprises the ravines of the Algeti and the Khrami; Upper Kartli, the same Meskheti, is vast land stretching from the source of the Mtkvari and its tributaries to Tashiskari as well as from the Chorokhi basin to the narrow gorge of the Acharistskali. The region abounds with historic parts of Georgia – Samtskhe, Javakheti, Artaani, Erusheti, Kola (on the upper part of the Mtkvari), Klarjeti, Shavsheti, Tao, Oltisi, and Speri (on the upper part of the Chorokhi). Apart from Samtskhe and Javakheti all the others, at present, are within Turkey. Upper Kartli is bounded by Basiani region, adjoining territory of the Araks (Araxes).
Kartli shares its eastern border with Kakhet-Hereti. Kakheti is stretched on the upper part of the Iori and the Alazani, while Hereti is situated in the middle part of these rivers. In the XI century, they lost their independence as political units and united into Kingdom of Kakheti.
Once, Eastern Georgia included Kakhi, Belakani and Zakatala on its northeast; however, they were taken from Georgia in the XVII-XVIII centuries and presently are within the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Imereti is the central and the largest of all the regions of Western Georgia. Generally, all of Western Georgia was known as Egrisi in the ancient times, but the name was replaced with Imereti in the XI-XII centuries. Nowadays, Imereti is bounded to the north by the Racha Range, to the east by the Likhi Range, to the south by the Meskheti Range, and to the west by the river of Tskenistskali. Historically, however the border of Kartli stretched beyond the Likhi Range to Shorapan-Skanda.
Mingrelia, or the vast Principality of Odishi, the political borders of which (especially the north and particularly in the late medieval era) were very volatile, lay on the west of the Tskenistskali to Anakopia (modern Athos). In the early XVIII century, its southeastern borders reached the Enguri, to the north-west of which lies Abkhazia.
Guria, another important historic region of Georgia, is situated between the River Rioni, the Meskheti Range and the Black Sea. The most important outlet to the Black Sea from Guria is Supsa with its oil terminal of international significance and value.
Ajara and Lazistan, also known as Chaneti, in the southernmost regions of Georgia on the east Black Sea littoral are currently within Turkey. However, the Lazis have retained their own language, akin to Mingrelian.
All the above named regions are low lands compared to other Georgian territories. The highlands in Eastern Georgia include lands in inner Kartli – Dvaleti, Mtiuleti, and Khevi – and in Kakheti -- Tusheti, Pshavi and Khevsureti. An amazing toponym Pkhovi was used to describe Pshav-Khevsureti. The highlands in Western Georgia include – Svaneti, Lechkhumi and Racha. Historically, Lechkhumi and Racha were known as Takveri.
Each of the above regions is unique with its material and spiritual culture, customs, traditions and lifestyle. All of them make up a single whole - Georgian culture. The difference between their customs and traditions used to be more marked indeed; however, they are mingling and becoming more homogenous at present. Some of the unique and important traits have vanished without being noticed or recorded. It is a part of inevitable Georgian globalization, a part of the world globalization.
A history of any country is based on certain historical evidence – called historical sources. Georgian history is no exception. Historical sources fall into two major categories – monuments of spiritual and material culture. The latter, in its turn, is divided into two types of archeological evidence– monuments on the earth and monuments under the earth. The former falls into two sub-categories – first, secular and religious architectural monuments and second, ethnographic materials, which are items of worship and everyday life. The two (archeological and ethnographic materials) are closely linked with each other, as in most cases the importance and application of one can be identified by means of another.
Monuments of spiritual culture, in their turn, fall into two groups – written documents and folklore, including linguistic materials. Written documents are of two types – documental evidence and narration. Documental evidence falls into two categories – historical documents and epigraphic evidence - old inscriptions, some of which may be historical documents of a kind according to their contents. Coins and the inscriptions on them, which are known as numismatic evidence, can either be considered as epigraphic evidence or as monuments of material culture. There are a few kinds of narrative documents – historical compositions, works of literature and foreign written documents.
The essential monuments of folklore are – legends, ballades, myths, folk narrations, etc., which are works of literature (for example, there are a few written sources of the myth about Argonauts).
Georgian History abounds with all the above sources.
Archeological evidence is a major source of exploration of ancient (prehistoric era) and medieval history of Georgia. Archeological excavations, with the view of scientific investigation, in Georgia, as well as in the whole world, first were launched in the XIX century. However, these excavations were sporadic. Nevertheless, the V Congress of Russian Archeological Society in Tbilisi, in 1801, was an event of special significance, as it initiated exploration of Georgian and Caucasian antiquities. Archeology at that time had a slightly different meaning. At the V Archeological Congress, reports were made on the monuments from the Stone Age to the creation of Georgian alphabet and Georgian paleography.
Archeological excavations became more systematic from the 1930s, when excavations were carried out by such outstanding archeologists as G. Nioradze, Al. Kalandadze et al. The most important of all the others, bringing fame to contemporary Georgian archeology, were excavations headed by I. Javakhishvili at Mtskheta (Samtavro, Bagineti, Armaziskhevi…).
Underground monuments of material culture are essential sources in studying the pre-class society, its traits, culture and lifestyle of antique Georgian towns (Mtskheta, Vani, Sairkhe, Urbnisi, Kutaisi, etc.), coin mintage, cultural relations with the outer world etc.
Recently excavated crania (pre-historic human being and his implements) at Dmanisi Nakalakari - thought to have been the first Europeans - have been a scientific breakthrough. According to the archeologists, the age and the skeletal characteristics of the Dmanisi fossils link them to the early human species; they date the discovery to 1.8 million years.
Medieval archeological monuments like the ruins of ancient towns (Dmanisi, Nokalakevi), of ancient citadels (Ujarma), of churches and monasteries (Gudarekhi, Urbnisi) as well as other monuments on the earth are a major source for studying medieval Georgian history.
Despite the great significance of tangible monuments of material culture, written monuments, reports of eyewitnesses and narrations by annalists retain paramount importance in exploring history.
Like all other cultured nations with a long history and a script of their own, the Georgians became interested in the development of their culture in the early years. The nation has created old Georgian historical literature, which is vital in studying its history. It begins from the early Middle Ages, almost simultaneously with creation of Georgian alphabet.
Of the monuments of the original Georgian historical literature the most important are – “Convert of Kartli” telling about the Georgians’ adoption of Christianity (allegedly dated to VII century, however, it could have been written earlier as it apparently contains layers of the V century) and “ The Life of Kartli” (the core of which dates to the XI century and was supposedly written by annalist and Bishop of Ruisi, Leonti Mroveri). The latter was supplemented with new historical events through centuries and tells the history of Georgia from the ancient times through the XIV century. “The Life of Kartli” comprises a few works of different authors, narrations logically and historically connected with one another, sometimes the authors are known (Leonti Mroveli, Juansher Juansheriani, and Sumbat David’s son) but most of them are anonymous or known by the pseudo names given to them by historians – Annalist of David the Builder, Basili Ezosmodzgvari, Chronicler, Giorgi-Lasha’s contemporary annalist and so on. The name of monk and scholar Egnatashvili, of the XVIII century, is closely linked with “The Life of Kartli,” for he was the head of “the Commission of Scholars” set up by Vakhtang VI. Using different historical sources, including historic documents, the Commission revised and compiled “A New Life of Kartli” covering the XVI-XVII centuries.
Another progressive figure of the XVIII century, historian and geographer, Prince Vakhushti, an illegitimate son of Vakhtang VI, wrote “The Description of Georgia,” which is not only the most valuable historical source but also is a unique work from a theoretical point of view. Vakhushti highlights the role of the environment in the life of the society, the princes of geographical division of the country, the role of psychological factor and so on. The work is far ahead not only of the contemporary Russian works (Vakhushti spent most of his life in Russia) but also of European science. The work contained a long introduction on the customs of the Georgians. It also contained a consideration of the country in provinces, with a mass of topographical details and a number of manuscript maps, which is why Vakhushti is considered the founder of Georgian cartography. The whole work of Vakhushti not only represented great advances beyond any other material which had been written up to that date, but it may certainly be regarded as among the most competent and scientific productions of the time.
Among other historians living and working in the XVIII century were – Papuna Orbeliani, Sekhnia Chkheidze, and Oman Kherkheulidze. All the other works dating to the XIX century are from the field of Georgian Historiography; therefore, they will be considered below.
Documents – historic documents, inscriptions, wills, funeral records, books and others – are essential written sources in studying Georgian history. Their study has a history of its own; however, the present book will highlight only its last two decades. In the 1980s, two scientific series “The Corpus of Georgian Historic Documents” and “The Corpus of Georgian Inscriptions” were launched; however, their publication has been stopped. The “Corps” had to give full texts of the historic source and was to be published in a number of volumes, but unfortunately, only one volume of the former (“The Corpus of Georgian Historic Documents”) and three volumes of the latter (“The Corpus of Georgian Inscriptions”) have been published so far.
Among other valuable historic sources are pieces of Georgian hagiographic literature - “Martyrdom of St. Shushaniki the Queen” (V century), “Martyrdom of St. Abo” (VIII century), “Martyrdom of Constantine Kakhi” (IX century); “The Life of Grigol of Khandzta” (954), “Martyrdom of Michael-Gobron” (912-918) and others; of the late medieval times – “Teymuraziani,” “Archiliani,” “Davitiani” etc., sometimes they describe a historic event that is not mentioned in any other documents.
Vital in studying Georgian history are foreign written historic sources. Chronologically, the oldest of all are ancient oriental written monuments - cuneiform inscriptions of Assyria, Babylon and Urartu - containing the first and the oldest data on Georgian tribes, the dwelling places of their ancestors, and national structure of their countries and states. Georgia has a long tradition of studying these historical sources (G. Tsereteli, G. Meliqishvili). The standard achieved by our scientists meets that of Europe.
Chronologically, the next are ancient Greek (Herodotus, Xenophanes, Strabo, et al.), Byzantine, and Roman sources. The fact that the data on the Georgians are given in “History” - the work of great Greek historian Herodotus, so-called father of History, (V century BC) - is noteworthy. Xenophon, old Greek commander and philosopher, traveled through the southeast Black Sea littoral and in his work, “Backward to the Sea” (Anabazis), portrayed the Georgian tribes, their culture, and lifestyle. He speaks about their pile dwelling for protection of their houses from moisture, the method still widely used in Western Georgia, especially in Guria and Mingrelia.
Abundant Armenian historical literature from the V to the XVIII century (Eghishe, Lazar Parpets) contains many valuable data about Georgia and vice versa (Georgian literature gives information on the Armenians as well as the other Caucasian peoples). For instance, only Armenian historical literature, namely Stephanoz Orbeliani, XIII century Annalist of Georgian origin, gives details of the historic event from the life of the XII century Georgia; the rebellion of the nobles against Giorgi III in 77, caused great alarm not only in Georgia but in the whole Caucasus. Another event described in the Armenian annals is the death of King David the Kuropalates, the factual founder of the Georgian feudal Monarchy and the leader of the contemporary Caucasus. According to the Armenian annalists of the XI-XII centuries, Aristarkes Lastivertsi and Matheos Urhaetsi, King David the Kuropalates was assassinated in his sleep by being smothered with a pillow by traitors sponsored by the Byzantine Emperor.
“The Life of Kartli” translated into Armenian in the XII century further enriched Armenian literature.
The series of “The Sources of Georgian Literature,” which include works of foreign and Georgian authors with relevant studies and comments, have been published. A list of previously published series is attached to each new issue; the first book “Conversation between Shah-Tahmasp and the Osmanli Envoy” was published in 1976, the last “The Will of David the Builder to Shiomghvimi” in 2003. There have been 83publications altogether, including the sources of Georgian History in the Persian, Armenian, Turkish, Greek, Italian, French, Arabian, English, Spanish and Georgian languages (unsurprisingly Georgian sources outnumber the others).
Like many other branches of science, scientific studies of Georgia started in the XIX century. In the 870s, Georgian Prince Teymuraz Bagrationi, a son of Erekle II, the first Georgian honorary member of the Imperial Russian Academy of Sciences, composed his work “New History”; his brother, Ioanne Bagrationi, the author of “Tithe Gathering” (“Kalmasoba”) wrote “The Description of Kartli and Kakheti.” Despite the modern significance of these works as primarily historical sources, they could still be considered as the first signs of Georgian historiography.
In the early XIX century, the Russian Empire, seeking dominance over the East, lavishly funded the studies of oriental countries and their peoples. They invited prominent Orientalists to the Department of Oriental studies at Petersburg University, the Academy of Sciences, and the Asian Department in the Office of Foreign Affairs and started educating local scientists for comprehensive studies of these countries. Among the scientists invited in 830, was Mari Xivier Felicite Brosset (802-881), (also is known by the names Mari Brossett and Mari Ivanich in Russia), who greatly contributed to the studies of Georgian history and became the founder of European Kartvelology. He translated “The Life of Kartli” into French, made comments and supplements, and published it in eight volumes with the Georgian text at the Publishing House at the Petersburg Academy of Sciences. It remains the only complete translated version of “The Life of Kartli,” which has retained its scientific significance. Certain parts of “The Life of Kartli” have been translated into English, German, and Russian languages. Having studied the past of Georgia, M. Brosset composed and published “History of Georgia” in French. The book was translated and published in Georgian in the late XIX century.
Great was the contribution of Platon Ioseliani (809-875) and Dimitri Bakradze (827-890) to the study of the history of Georgia. The former is the author of the book “The Life of Giorgi XIII,” describing the events of Georgian history in the late XVIII to early XIX centuries; the latter wrote a book “History of Georgia from the Ancient Times to the X century.” In addition, Dimitri Bakradze is the author of a number of works published in Russian, of which “Fh[tjkjubxtcrjt gentitcndbt gj Uehbb b Flxfht ” (“Archeological Explorations in Guria and Ajara’) is still relevant and valuable. In another book of his “Uhepbycrfz Gfktjuhfabz ” (“Georgian Paleography”), D. Bakradze puts forward certain issues regarding Georgian script that were later extensively studied by Iv. Javakhishvili and are still pressing from the scientific point of view (different theories on the origin of Georgian alphabet, the types of Georgian script, the stages of their development, compiling a comprehensive table of the development of the script according to the dated written monuments and so on). Together with Russian art critic Academician Nikodime Kondakomeri, he was the first to give a scientific description of the crosses, icons, and other sacred items kept in Georgian churches and monasteries. The work is still invaluable, especially for studying lost items. Dimitri Bakradze was a corresponding member of Russian Academy of Sciences; however, he failed to become a real member (for qualifying as a real member one was to live and work either in Petersburg or in Moscow).
A comprehensive work on the history of Georgia has never been written. Equtime Takaishvili (1863-1953) laid a solid foundation of the scientific study of the history of Georgia. By scrutinizing narrative and documental sources of Georgian history, he made a great contribution to the Georgian Historiography. During his long and prolific scientific studies in Georgia as well as abroad (France), E. Takaishvili published hundreds of Georgian written sources in the series (founded by him) “Archeological Expeditions and Comments” (two books); “Georgian Antiquities” (four books), “Ancient Georgia” (four books) and in his numerous monographs (“Archeological Expedition of 902in Kola-Oltisi and Changli” “Archeological Expedition in Lechkhum-Svaneti in 910” “Archeological Expedition in Southern Georgia in 1917” in the Georgian and Russian languages). A tremendous contribution was made to the Georgian nation and culture, by E Takaishvili, for he, in 954, returned to his country a Georgian national treasure taken abroad by the first democratic government of the country in 1921 with the view of protecting it from the Bolsheviks. In 2001, Georgian church canonized E. Takaishvili proclaiming him a man of God and established his name day.
Ivane Javakhishvili (1871-940), the great scientist and the distinguished public man, started his scientific career in the late XIX century. He was educated at Petersburg University and acquired a broad knowledge in humanitarian studies and explorations; he used his knowledge and experience acquired under the direction of Nicholas Marr for the advancement of Georgian science. In 918, with his initiative Tbilisi State University was founded, which became the hearth of Georgian science and laid the foundation for establishing other scientific institutions including the Georgian Academy of Sciences. Tbilisi State University is justly named after Ivane Javakhishvili (once it was named after Stalin). The fact that he is the only scientist whose image is depicted on Georgian money (the five Lari note) is an acknowledgment of his contribution to the advancement of the Georgian scientific school.
Iv. Javakhishvili made an outstanding contribution to the development of History of Georgia as a branch of science. In the first place, he is known as a scientist and historian. He composed his famous, a five-volume comprehensive work, “The History of the Georgian Nation.” Its first volume was published in 1913 and has been published five times since then; volume five “On Georgia of the Late Medieval Era” was published in 953. Furthermore, he laid the foundation for a number of branches of historical science: Georgian diplomacy, Georgian numismatics and metrology, Georgian paleography, history of Georgian music, history of Georgian civil engineering, history of old Georgian historical literature, etc. His monograph, “The Primary Nature and Affinity of Georgian and the other Caucasian Languages” (1938), is not only of scientific value but also of political importance. In this monograph, Javakhishvili maintains all the Caucasian languages derive from one root and adheres to the assumption of the XI century Georgian historian, Leonti Mroveli, who laid the ideological foundation of uniting the Caucasian countries under the leadership of Georgia, which was realized later in the XII century.
Iv. Javakhishvili was not only a brilliant historian but also a prominent philologist (his works in philology have been published as a separate book). His works about Catholicos Nicholas Gulaberisdze as a writer to whom he dedicated a few essays, about Shota Rustaveli, and about Ilia Chavchavadze as a historian (I. Chavchavadze is the author of History of Georgia of the XIX century as well as Iv. Javakhishvili, who also wrote History of Georgia of the XIX century in Russian) are perfect examples of the synthesis of historical and philological studies. Between 973-002, all of the most important works of Iv. Javakhishvili’s were published in twelve volumes. This edition is justly believed to be the encyclopedia of the Caucasian peoples. Until now, Iv. Javakhishvili is the only scientist to whom a special encyclopedic dictionary was dedicated; this fact laid the foundation of publishing personal encyclopedias in Georgia.
Iv. Javakhishvili is the founder of the historical scientific school; his students as well as his students’ students have been successful historians. Of his numerous students, Svimon Janashia and Nicko Berdzenishvili deserve a special mention. The former founded Georgian Marxist Historiography and laid the foundation for a new era in Georgian historiography. He studied Georgian history from the Marxist point of view and composed his basic works – “Feudal Revolution in Georgia” and “Georgia on the Early Stages of Feudal Development.” The works give a deep scientific analysis of the events, which is why they deserve a place in the gold fund of the History of Georgia. N. Berdzenishvili, whose numerous works (published in nine volumes; the first volume was published twice – the second edition is amended) cover almost all aspects of Georgian history, is considered the founder of Georgian historical geography.
Of the historians of later periods, Giorgi Melikishvili and Shota Meskhia are the most prominent figures. The former (a historian of worldwide importance), the Orientalist historian, successfully used the old oriental sources and applied them in the studying of ancient history of Georgia and the Caucasus. He was the first in the world to make up the corpus of Urartian cuneiform inscriptions (published twice – as an article in a scientific journal and as an individual book) and was the first Soviet historian to be awarded the Lenin Prize, which was greatest recognition not only of his works but also of Georgian historiography. G. Melikishvili is the author of monographs in history of Urartu as well as in the history of ancient Georgia. He studied the ancient peoples of Georgia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. He wrote monographs on the prerequisites and conditions for uniting feudal Georgia. His amazing work, “What Cuneiform Inscriptions Tell,” tells not only about the history of deciphering the cuneiform inscriptions but also about the peoples of Urartu and other peoples of the ancient East.
Shota Meskhia, the founder of scientific studies of the cities and towns of feudal Georgia, is one of the outstanding figures in the study of Georgia of the feudal era. His work, “The Towns and Urban Life in Feudal Georgia,” is a classic example of Georgian Historiography and has been published twice, first in Georgian and later in Russian. Of the other works, by Sh. Meskhia (published in three volumes), his comprehensive monograph on the governing system of Georgia of the XII century is noteworthy. The work gives detailed history of a feudal house of the Mkhargrdzelis as well as the political life and state system of Georgia and the Caucasus. Sh. Meskhia, the author of the model publication of XIV century written source “The Monument of the Eristavis,” significantly contributed to the publication of Georgian historical sources.
The achievements in the study of the history of Georgia of the last few decades is summed up in the eight volumes of “Essays on the History of Georgia” (the first volume was published in 970), which is a creation of about 80 different authors and covers the period from the ancient times to the 980s. Editor-in-chief is Giorgi Melikishvili, who at the same time is the main author of all the essays in the first volume covering the period from the prehistoric times to IV century AD. It is the first publication giving such numerous details of the history of ancient Georgia and gives new data on the stay, social structure and political history of the tribes of the Georgian stock.
In 1989, the first volume of the Russian version of the Essays was published (five volumes will be published altogether). So far, I, II, III, and V volumes have been published. The edition is more concise and all the gaps of the Georgian version have been filled up.
At present, there are four historians at the Georgian Academy of Sciences: David Muskhelishvili, Mariam Lortkipanidze, Roin Metreveli and Edisher Khoshtaria-Brosset. David Muskhelishvili is the author of foundation studies in Georgian historiography; in 2003, he published a monograph “Georgia in the IV-VII Centuries,” which studies chronological as well as social and political issues of Georgia of early feudal era from a different point of view. Of Mariam Lortkipanidze’s works, the most important is “Political Unification of Feudal Georgia,” which studies the issue from the Marxist point of view. Roin Metreveli, in his works “David IV the Builder” and “Queen Tamar,” gives a comprehensive history of Georgia of the XII century. R. Metreveli is the author of numerous historiographic works; he studied in details social elements of old Georgia. The sphere of studies of E. Khoshtaria-Brosset includes the XIX-XX centuries; lately, he has been studying the historical sources of the medieval era; he has studied the works by Leonti Mroveli and the other issues of “The Life of Kartli.”
5. Ethnogeny of the Georgians: The Georgian Language among other Languages
Ethnogeny is a Greek word meaning the origins (genesis) of the people (ethnic group). Defining one’s origins is a paramount issue in the history of any people. The Georgians are no exception. The origins of the Georgians or of certain Georgian tribes have been drawing the interest of Georgian and foreign historians since the ancient times. These tribes differed so completely in language and appearance from the surrounding nations that the ancients created various theories to account for the phenomenon. Herodotus (484-425 BC), known as the “father of history, who states that the Georgian tribes, with the Egyptians, were the first to practice circumcision, believed them to have sprung from the people who transmigrated from Egypt during Pharaoh Sesostris’ reign (XX-XVIII B.C.) and thus regarded them Egyptians. Arguing in favor of this theory he maintained - both of the tribes, the Colchis and Egyptians, were swarthy, used the same method of flax production, spoke similar languages and lived alike. Undoubtedly, Herodotus was wrong in his judgment, and what is more, all the evidences given by him prove just the opposite. Nevertheless, his supposition about the genesis of the Georgians is the oldest of all the others.
Their origins were of great interest for the ancient Georgians as well. Leonti Mroveli, the annalist of the XI century, developed a theory that covers not only the origins of the Georgians but also of the whole Caucasus. He derives the peoples of the Caucasus from Togarmah (Targamos). A descendant of Japhet, one of Biblical Noah’s (man saved with his family from the flood sent by God) three sons - (Shem, Japheth, and Ham). Togarmah, a grandson of Japheth (a son of Tarshish) had eight sons (Heth (Haos), Kartlos, Bardos, Movakan, Lek, Heros, Caucas and Egros) who are considered the ancestors of different Caucasian peoples. Kartlos, the second of the eight, is the ancestor of the Kartvelians. Kartlos had five sons – Mtskhetos, Gardabnis, Kakhis, Kukhis, Gachianis; Mtskhetos, in his turn, had three sons – Uplos, Odzrkhi, Javakheti; others had descendents who together are progenitors of different tribes of Georgian stock. The principalities allotted to the sons of these two latter generations seem to indicate two successive waves of expansion by which the territory of the Georgians was extended and the first Georgian state was founded.
The theory by Leonti Mroveli is based on two main assumptions. First, the annalist wrote under the influence of the historical ethnology of the Old Testament and used the chart of the genesis of the peoples given in the Bible; second, all the Caucasian peoples are akin, for they derive from the same ancestor. In the first case, the annalist integrated Georgian history with the world history or more exactly, he separated it from the other world; in the second case, he prepared the ideological basis for uniting all the Caucasian peoples into one nation, which was very much in the interests of powerful Georgia in the XI and later in the XII century during the reign of David the Builder and King Tamar.
Another theory, no more than 200 years older than the one by Leonti Mroveli, is given in the earliest source of Georgian written history known as “The Conversion of Kartli”. According to the theory, the Kartvelians, who were the tribes inhabiting Eastern Georgia, came from Kartli. Historians and scholars believe that actually what is meant here is the southern region of Georgia – the upper part of the river Chorokhi - which was within Persia under the Achaemenian dynasty. Scholars believe that the local toponyms – Samtskhe (the Meskhian land), Mtskheta (of the Meskhs) serve as the proof for the Kartvelian tribe’s migration from the south to the northeast.
In other words, tracing the origins of any people is not easy; the Georgians are no exception. The ethno genesis took place in such remote antiquity that racial origins are tangled and obscure and no written sources can be found. In rare cases, the only available sources are oral – like legends and myths. Furthermore, the real ethno genesis is a rather complicated lengthy process. There are no genetically pure people as a number of different tribes took part in shaping a people. On one hand, they were assimilated (absorbed) by the dominant tribe but on the other, they influenced their (dominant tribe’s) ethnicity. Despite such a complicated process, it is still feasible to work out a scientific theory of ethnogeny of a people on basis of archeological, ethnic and linguistic analyses. In the case of ethnogeny of Georgian people, theories have been put forward by Academician Iv. Javakhishvili, Academician S. Janashia and others.
Iv. Javakhishvili’s view on the ethnogeny of the Georgians is based on linguistic data. According to him, the Kartvelian (Georgian, Mingrelian-Zenian and Svanian), Abkhazian-Adighian, and Daghestanian-Veinakhian are kindred languages. It is a prevalent belief that Georgian as well as other Caucasian languages belong to one distinct family of languages termed as Ibero-Caucasian. According to Iv. Javakhishvili’s “Theory of Migration,” Kartvelians as well as other Caucasian peoples migrated from the south stepwise from the XIV up to the VIII century B.C.
Academician S. Janashia entertained a radically different opinion. He held that approximately 5-6 thousand years ago, a major part of Asia, North Africa and Southern Europe was inhabited by kindred tribes – Pyrenees with the Basques, Apennines with the Etruscans, Balkan Peninsula with the Pelasgians, Asia Minor with the Hittites and the Sumerians, who were dwelling in the region between Mesopotamia (from the upper valleys of the Tigris and the Euphrates i.e. from the modern north unit) and the Caucasus. These very Hittites and Sumerians were the ancestors of the Kartvelians. In the XIII B.C., these people swarmed and scattered until the XII-XI centuries when the strongest of them, the Mushkis and the Tubals, founded Urartu after the collapse of which Colchis and Iberia were formed on the territory of modern Georgia. According to S. Janashia, it was not flux of the Kartvelian tribes from the south to the north, not even stepwise, but rather it was a shift of the cultural and political center from the south to the north, on the vast territory inhabited by the people of the same stock. The theory by S. Janashia is known as the Theory of the Alteration of the National and Cultural Centers.
Indo-European immigrant tribes of different languages and culture intruded into the vast region, namely European part, and in many cases became blended with local, aboriginal inhabitants of the same stock. The immigrant disintegrated the autochthonous population; they made a strong impact upon them but were profoundly affected in their turn. The majority of the modern Indo-European peoples are a product of a mingling of aboriginal and immigrant Indo-European tribes. Of this group of peoples, the Georgians in the Caucasus and the Basques on the Pyrenees are the sole survivors. Thus, the debatable hypothesis of the Kartvelians and Basques kinship was formed.
The hypothesis traces its origins to ancient times. As is well known, the Greeks called both Kartli and Pyrenees Iberia. They believed that the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar (605-562BC), transmigrated people from the Spanish Iberia to the Caucasian. However, some scholars consider the belief is based solely on the fact that the two regions share the same name. Yet, others find a lot in common between the popular customs (ethnographic way of life), the languages, etc. of the two peoples. In addition, the affinity of these two peoples was known in ancient Georgia. According to Giorgi Mtatsmindeli (1009-1065), the Georgian writer and scholar of the XI century, another great Georgian scholar –Ioanne Mtatsmindeli together with his son and his pupils decided to travel to Spain (“Spanaiat”) for he had heard that the Georgians were related to them and had been dwelling there once.
Modern Georgian historiography assumes that the Georgian tribes are autochthonous, i.e. they originated and have been dwelling on the territory since the ancient times. The assumption is based on the findings of numerous archeological excavations carried out for more than 50 years. The facts demonstrate that the chain of cultural and social development in the Caucasus, including Georgia, is unbroken (G. Melikishvili). The theory, which is known as the Theory of the Georgians’ Autochthon, was further reinforced by Dmanisi archeological excavations of the crania of pre-historic human.
Many theories have been put forward about the ethnogeny of the Georgians; however, each of them is questionable and scientists cannot agree on any of them.
The basis of the Kartvelians’ individuality and their autochthon is Georgian and the other Kartvelian languages. As is well known, the world languages according to the kindred fall into different families: Indo-European, Semitic, Kemitic, Finno-Ugrian, Altaic (Turin-Mongolian), and Manchurian-Tungusian, Chinese-Tibetan, Dravidian, etc. There are no more than 5 families in all; however, each of them consists of a few branches and groups: Kartvelian or Iberian, Abkhazian-Adighian, Nakhian and Daghestanian groups. The Kartvelian or Iberain group includes - Georgian, Zanian - the common name for Mingrelian and Chanian or Lazian and Svanian. It is evident that they derive from the same proto-Kartvelian, the common ancestral language. Svanian is believed to have been the first to separate in the early 2000 B.C. Later, Mingrelian-Chanian and Kartvelian languages separated and developed individually.
copyright © Valeri Silogava and Kakha Shengelia, "History of Georgia. From the Ancient Times Through the 'Rose Revolution'"
