ABOUT GEORGIA - History

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

first human settlements

200.000 years old

It can be said that the history of Georgia goes back to the dawn of the time.

Some historic reality is reflected in the legend. Kolkhida was famous for its gold sands, and Greeks were looking for the means of gold reception. May be "Golden Fleece" is the sheep fleece for trapping particles of gold from mountain streams in the countries around the Black Sea, as witnessed by the writers Patrick Leigh Fermor in Romania and Tim Severin in Georgia; or maybe it was a book where was described how to get the gold.

OTHER INFORMATIONS

It can be said that the history of Georgia goes back to the dawn of the time. Noah`s son Thargamos settled in the land of Japhet, somewhere between the Ararat and Caucasus mountains; the Georgians claim descent from his great-grandson Karthlos (while the Armenians claim descent from his brother Haik), and therefore still call themselves Karthians, or Kartvelebi, and their country Sakartvelo.

First settlements of the territory of Georgia dates as far as about a million and eight thousand years. Protohuman remains about 1.7 million years old and human remains about 200.000 years old have been found (at Dmanisi) as well as Paleolithic artifacts.

According to the various written sources and archaeological finding traces of statehood in Georgia can be found already in 18th-17th centuries BC.

By the second millennium BC, tribes were on the verge of statehood, and Medea and her father King Aetes probably did live between the 14th and 13th centuries BC on the Black Sea coast.

In Greek mythology, Jason was the son of Aeson, king of lolcus in Thessaly. After his uncle Pelias seized the throne Jason was reared by the centaur Chiron on Mount Pelion (the concept of the centaur has its origin on the steppes to the north of the Caucasus, where men were first seen riding horses). When Jason grew up, Pelias ordered him to bring him the legendary Golden Fleece from Colchis, expecting never to see him again. Jason built a ship called the Argo, and assembled a crew of 50, including such heroes as Hercules, Orpheus and Theseus.

After overcoming storms, monsters, and seductive women, they at last reached Colchis where the King Aetes ( son of Helios and brother of Circe and Phaethon), agreed to give Jason the Fleece if he succeeded in further trails such as yoking two fire-breathing bulls to a plough and sowing the dragon`s teeth of Cadmus (which sprouted as armed men).

djvari-1-09-04He won the love of Medea, daughter of Aetes and a sorceress who gave her name to the science of medicine; she secretly helped him win the Fleece and escape from Colchis. They returned to Lolcus, supposedly sailing up the Danube and carrying the Argo overland to the Adriatic. Pelias was killed but his son drove Jason and Medea from the city; they took the Fleece to Orchemenus in Boetia, and settled in Corinth, living there for many years. Jason abandoned Medea when he fell in love with King Creon`s daughter Glauce; Medea took revenge by making a magic robe that burned to death both father and daughter.

For breaking his vow to Medea, Jason was condemned to be a wanderer until, as an old man, he at last returned to Corinth and was killed when the prow of the Argo fell over and crushed him.

Some historic reality is reflected in the legend. Kolkhida was famous for its gold sands, and Greeks were looking for the means of gold reception. May be "Golden Fleece" is the sheep fleece for trapping particles of gold from mountain streams in the countries around the Black Sea, as witnessed by the writers Patrick Leigh Fermor in Romania and Tim Severin in Georgia; or maybe it was a book where was described how to get the gold.

Certainly the state of Colchis(Kolkhida or Egrisi) existed here by the 6th century BC; together with Greek ports. The oldest ( and somewhat lurid) account of Georgia is by Xenophon who retreated from Persia at the end of 5th century BC. In the east of the country the state of Kartli (known to the Greeks as Iberia) had formed by the 4th century BC.

Georgia has exhibited a tendency towards unification throughout its history. Kingdom of Kartli (Iberia) founded by the King Pharnavaz in 4th-3rd BC centuries, was first to unite several states of Eastern and Western Georgia ( Capital City – Mtskheta) and he founded the civilization of Georgia.

In AD337 King Mirian followed his wife Nana in being converted to Christianity by Nino, a slave from Cappadocia. Thus Georgia became the world`s second Christian state. By the end of the 5th century the Chosroid King Vakhtang Gorgasali (446-502) ruled a feudal state which included Abkhazia, Ossetia and much of Armenia; he moved the capital of Kartli from Mtskheta to Tbilisi, and secured autocephalous (self-governing) status for the church. From 7th to 9th centuries Georgia was conquered and governed by the Arab caliphs.

In the 10th century most territories of Georgia united into one strong state ruled by the royal dynasty of Bagrations. The Armenian family of the Bagratids (who claimed descent from David and Bathsheeba via Bagrat or St. Pancras) had moved to the Georgian borderlands by the late 8th century; Ashot Bagration became chamberlain to the Byzantine emperor and soon de facto ruler of Kartli and, in 866, Adarnase IV took the title of King; their dynasty ruled until the Russians took over in the 19th century.

The first Kings to rule the United Kingdom of Georgia were Bagrat III (975-1014), George I (1014-1027), and Bagrat IV ( 1027-1072). The capital of Georgia at that time Kutaisi, Tbilisi was held by an Arab emir. In the 11th century new fatal danger of being invaded by the Seljuks faced the country, which was avoided by the help of the King David IV (1089-1125), affectionately named David the "Builder". He realized several very important reforms to strengthen the central power and organize a powerful army by unifying all forces of Georgia to straggle against the invaders. In 1121 headed by the King the Georgian army won a severe battle at Didgori, Tbilisi was liberated and once again became the Capital City of Georgia. The King David IV made Georgia the most powerful state in the Near East, and economic strength led to cultural Golden Age in the 12th century. His policies were continued during the rein of the King George III (1156-1184) and Queen Tamar (1184-1212). Georgian`s favourite monarch remains David`s great-granddaughter Queen Tamar( Tamar Mepe in Georgian – that is translated as King Tamar). Tamar extended Georgian rule from the Black Sea to the Caspian, defeated the Turks at the battles of Shamkhori(1195)and Basiani(1202), and after the sack of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204 she set up a new Byzantine empire in Trebizond(now Trabzon) under the kinsman Alexius Comnenus, who had been brought up in Georgia. During the rein of the Queen Tamar an attempt was made to establish a parallel structure of state similar to those of the European countries.

From the beginning of the 13th century Georgia became a victim of a devastating power of Mongol Empire, found itself surrounded by the hostile Muslim world and as a consequence lost all connections with the co-religionist countries of the west. The country experienced political as well as economic crisis, which resulted in strengthening the separatist forces and breaking up the state into four independent kingdoms of Kartli, Kakheti, Imereti and Samtskhe and they were governed by the sons of Alexander I – the last King of the united Georgia. As the centralized state fell apart, other noble families took control of smaller areas, such as Dadianis in Mingrelia, the Gurielis in Guria, and the Gelovanis in Svaneti.

The 18th century saw the rise of a third power in the region, Russia, which claimed to protect the Orthodox from Islamic oppression. It began the process of conquering the northern Caucasus in 1722 under Peter the Great. As Persia's new Shah Ali Murad tried to reimpose his sovereignty, Georgian king Irakli II was forced to ask for Russian aid. On July 24, 1783 a so called "Giorgievski Treaty" – the Treaty of protection was signed in Giorgevski Castle between the united kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti and Russia. Later, after the death of king George XII the royal power of the kingdom was abolished and it was overtaken by Russia Empire.

Thus, Georgia with 2,500 years history of statehood ceased to exist and was declared as a province of Russia.

In the beginning of 20th century, on May 26, 1918 Georgia once again returned the status of an independent state but for a very short period of time. In 1921 a Socialist Republic of Russia has annexed it again and established a military totalitarian regime, which lasted for the next 70 years.

On April 9, 1991 the state independence of Georgia was restored.

On July 31, 1992 Georgia became the 179th member of the United Nations. It is a member of international and regional organizations. An agreement of partnership and cooperation between Georgia and European Union is in force since April 22, 1996.

GEORGIA


Flag	Coat of arms

Capital and largest city		Tbilisi
Official languages		Georgian
Spoken languages		71% Georgian 9% Russian 7% Armenian 6% Azerbaijani 7% other
Ethnic groups (2002)		83.8% Georgian 6.5% Azerbaijani 5.7% Armenian 1.5% Russian 2.5% others
Demonym		Georgian
Government		Unitary semi-presidential republic
Legislature		Parliament
Area		69,700 km² (120th) 26,911 sq mi
Population (2014)		4,935,880 (119th)
Currency		Lari (GEL)
Time zone		GET (UTC+4)
Drives on the		right
Calling code		+995
ISO 3166 code		GE
Internet TLD		.ge