23. Peoples of Georgia.

The west of Transcaucasia is inhabited mainly by peoples who have received the integrated name "Georgians" or "Kartvels". Most of them speak various dialects of the Georgian language belonging to the Kartvelian group. Megrelian, Laz and Svan languages ​​also belong to this group of languages. Accordingly, in the 19th century, Megrelians (then they were called Mingrelians or Mingrelians), Svans (Svanets) and Lazians (Chans) were considered separate ethnic groups. At present, the Svans are considered a sub-ethnos of Georgians, along with the Imeretians, Gurians, Kartlis (Kartalins), Kakhetians, Javakhetians, Khevsurs, Tushins, Pshavs, Adjarians, Meskhetians, Rachins ... And as for the Mingrelians, who until the 1930s were considered a separate ethnic group, then there are two approaches here: one part of the Megrelians "became Georgianized", the other - retained their national identity, self-consciousness, language. The Laz, who speak a language close to Megrelian, are considered a separate nationality.

The peoples of Georgia in the period under review had both common ethnographic features and differences due to the environment, occupations, and religion. In this part of the review, we will get acquainted with the life and customs of the Kartvelian people as a whole, and also consider character traits major Georgian sub-ethnic groups.

The following publications served as sources of textual information:

- "Peoples of Russia. Ethnographic essays", (publication of the journal "Nature and People"), 1879-1880;
- J.-J. Eliza Reclus. "Russia European and Asian", v.2, 1884;
- M.Vladykin. "Guide and interlocutor on a journey through the Caucasus", 1885;
- I. Kanevsky. "Curious corners of the Caucasus", 1886.;
- Collection of materials for describing the areas and tribes of the Caucasus, issue 5, 1886.

The review uses photographs of contemporaries, illustrations from books and magazines, paintings by artists of the 19th century.

The Kartvels, or actually Kartalins, who still retained the name that belonged to the whole nation, are Georgians living east of Suram, in a plain of lacustrine origin, the center of which is Gori, and extreme point- Mtskheta, the ancient capital of Kartaliniya. In the eastern part, Kartvels are mixed with Tiflis Georgians, and the name of the latter is often used as a common name for various nationalities of Georgia. The Kakhetians, who occupy the easternmost part of Georgia, live in the valley of Iora and Alazan. To the west of Suram, the valleys of Rion, Tskhenis and the lower reaches of the Ingur are inhabited by Imeretins and Mingrelians; the Gurians occupy the northern slope of the Adzharian mountains, and on the other side of this wall, and partly in the Chorukh basin, the Laz live. Finally, the Svanets and some other tribes took refuge, as if in fortresses, in the mountain valleys of the Caucasus. Kartalins of different families cannot fully understand each other, due to the admixture of foreign words that have entered into local idioms; nevertheless, from Trebizond to Tiflis, all dialects are extremely similar to each other. Among the literate Kartalians, the unity of the language was maintained with the help of writing published in the Georgian language. With the exception of most of the Laz who converted to Islam, all Kartalins are Christians of the Orthodox faith. They regard St. George the Victorious. It is believed, perhaps thoroughly, that by the name of this saint, the country itself began to be called Georgia, from which, from the local pronunciation, the Russian word came out: Georgia.

Upon entering the citizenship of Russia, the Kartvelian tribe was divided into four independent parts: Georgia proper, or the Georgian kingdom, Imeretia, Mingrelia and Guria, ruled by separate independent owners. The Georgian people have been preserved in Imeretia and Mingrelia much better than in Georgia itself. In these parts, almost the entire population belongs exclusively to one Kartvelian tribe, while in Georgia the population is largely mixed with Tatars and Armenians. The reason for this is the historical fate Georgian kingdom, subjected to significant and frequent devastation. "Peoples of Russia"

Georgians living in the Kura basin, as well as their western neighbors Imeretins, Mingrelians and Laz, are quite deservedly famous for their beauty; they have luxurious hair, big eyes, white teeth, a slender and flexible waist, small and strong hands. At the same time, they do not seem to be as beautiful as the Kartvelians of the Black Sea coast, and their women are almost always lethargic, their eyes and smiles are not illuminated by thought. Most of the Georgians have a red complexion, almost purple, caused, of course, by the excessive use of wine. At every opportunity, Georgians take a goblet of wine and, uttering the Tatar words: "Alla Verdi", that is, "this is a gift from God!", empty it in honor of their friends. Kakhetians are especially proud of the wine that their land produces - the Georgian El Dorado - and they drink it in large quantities. Their wine, almost the only drink consumed in this country, is believed to sometimes compete with the best varieties of the West. One of the objects that so often strikes the eye in Kakheti is wineskins made of ox or pig skin, with protruding extremities, usually hung at the doors of shops, or dragged in carts and trembling at every push, as if alive. In order for the skin to retain its flexibility, it is sometimes torn off from a living creature, and after this barbaric operation, the skin is lubricated with oil, which gives the wine an unpleasant smell, which, however, a foreigner gets used to very soon. "Russia European and Asian"

Georgians are terrible hunters to feast, but certainly in the company. A singer and a zurna (pipe), somewhat reminiscent of our pity, with a dull drum, is an integral part of every holiday, for which a Georgian is ready to spend his last. A feast in the open air, if the time is favorable, is preferable to a feast in the house. The company is first surrounded by azarpesh (scoop spoon), kula (wooden jug), glasses, and then the turya horns are used. The guests drink to each other's health: "Alla verdy" (God has given), the Georgian says to his neighbor, raising the goblet to his lips; - “yakshi-iol” (good journey, good health), he answers, doing the same. A lot of wine is drunk, but Georgians are very rarely drunk: "here - they say - from the mother's nipples straight to the paw of the wineskin"; wine is addicted from childhood. In Kakheti, a mother will not put a child to bed until she gives him wine; a ten-year-old boy easily distinguishes an admixture of water in wine. In this blessed part of Georgia, wine is not put in anything; the time is not far off when the inhabitants, out of laziness to go for water, washed themselves with wine, cooked food on it and sprinkled the floor with it.

Women do not take part in noisy revels: they dine aside and, it happens, also revel in fame. About 30 years ago, in Tiflis, there was a Georgian woman named Guka, who made herself famous for exterminating an incredible amount of Kakhetian. People came from all sides to look at this marvel and argue with her in drinking, but, however, no rival was sought out in all of Georgia. And there was no physical possibility for this: Guka drank wine at a time not in tungs (tung - 5 bottles), but in buckets, and did not get drunk at all. She called the bucket a glass, and the tunga a glass. This became a proverb, which can still be heard in Tiflis. "Guide and interlocutor on a journey through the Caucasus"

Georgians are famous for their beauty. Despite the isolation and even the slavish position of a woman in the family, all household chores lie in the care of her husband. This indifference to work stems not from the nature of a Georgian woman, who is mostly lively and active, but from the timid jealousy of a man to lead his wife to the disgrace of other people's eyes, through her participation in activities outside the home. Georgians love to dress up; they are also not averse to gossip and are ready to chat all day without stopping, perhaps they are ready to flirt quietly, but they are far from real intrigue, and from restless neighbors, besides, there is no way to do something secretly. From early morning, the Georgian leaves his house and spends almost the whole day in the shops or in the bazaar, where, for lack of business, he often confines himself to pouring from empty to empty. The bazaar in Transcaucasia, as well as in the whole east, is the central point of all activity and all news. Both Georgians and Georgians are terribly superstitious and gullible. In general, the Georgian tribe is one of the most beautiful, capable and good-natured tribes in the world. "Guide and interlocutor on a journey through the Caucasus"

Georgian villages are scattered along the hollows and slopes of the mountains. From a distance they seem to be an irregular embankment or a heap of ruins. In Kartalinia, many villages and hamlets are devoid of gardens; in Kakheti, on the contrary, all the buildings are drowning in greenery. In the very location of the village there is nothing characteristic, definite: a two-story house stands next to a dugout, barely visible from the horizon of the earth. Everyone is built where he pleases, regardless of whether he violates the convenience of others, or takes the road. There are no streets; the passages between the houses are so narrow and filled with such ruts that single riders can hardly get through. Georgians are not in the habit of cleaning the streets; rubbish and carrion are lying around before the eyes of everyone and with their decomposition they infect the air. In the middle of the flat roofs of the houses, cone-shaped mounds rise with a hole for the exit of smoke, and around them are thrown bunches of brushwood and blackthorn going to the firebox. A plank chicken coop and a wicker body on stilts for corn, for food for birds, are the necessary additions to the house. Hut (saklya) of a commoner of primitive construction. It is built of wattle, with two compartments: one for the family, the other for pantries. The saklya is only accessible from the entrance. The roof and rear walls are flush with the ground. It is surrounded by a squat, thorny fence and hazel, vineyard, and weeping willow trees. The entrance to the saklya is closed by a canopy arranged on small posts. "Peoples of Russia"

The front door leads first of all to the "darbazi" - the main and largest room, in the middle of which there are two, and sometimes one pillar, which serves as a support for the whole house. Reception, living room, kitchen and most family life of the peasant are concentrated in this room. An iron chain with a hook on which the cauldron is hung is attached to the ceiling. A fire is also made here or a recess lined with stone is arranged, a small hearth serving for cooking and warming during the cold. Around the hearth, the family gathers to dine; this is where she sleeps. The floor in the sakla is earthen and uneven. Along the back wall of the "darbazi" there are wooden shelves with dishes. In the opposite wall of the sakli there is a large niche in which a bed is laid. The furniture consists of wide, but low ottomans, knocked together from boards, covered with carpets. There are chests and a wooden box for storing bread against the third wall. There are also water jugs and other small utensils. The owner's military armor is hung along the walls, often covered with a significant layer of soot. Food is cooked in the sakla itself, in a cauldron hanging over the hearth, and that is why constant stay in the smoke room hurts the eyes and smokes the entire inside of the house. The flame, rising, heats the saklya. A clay or iron scale with melted lard is hung to a beam resting on the ceiling. Its burning wick gives a dim, flickering light and, together with the flame of a fire, makes up the entire illumination of the sakli. The city house of a Georgian is somewhat different from the village house. Almost every house has a balcony with a wooden canopy and is fenced off from the street. A small gate leads to the courtyard. The dwelling itself consists of one chamber, so vast that several rooms with a hall could be made from it. The floor is either earthen or bricked; the ceiling is made up of either unhewn beams or planed boards. For warming, a fireplace ("bukhari") is arranged, which has a large opening without a grate. Pushed by the wind, smoke spreads throughout the room. Niches are made in the room; being covered with doors, they form cabinets. Along the walls are low sofas covered with colorful carpets. A tambourine (daira) and other musical instruments hang on the walls; right there a rifle with a bandolier and a powder flask. "Peoples of Russia"

In the above description of the common features characteristic of the Georgians, the attributes of their way of life characteristic of them, Kartalinia (Kartli) and Kakhetia were most often mentioned. These regions are located in the east and in the center of Georgia. Now, gradually moving to the west, we will get acquainted with the local features of the culture and life of the inhabitants of other parts of Georgia.

Imereti, a region in central and western Georgia, was inhabited by Imeretians, one of whom is depicted in this clearly staged photograph by Odessa photographer J. Raul:

Imeretin women are mostly brunettes and, moreover, slender, but they do not stand out in their beauty in front of men, who, if not superior to them, are not inferior to them in beauty. Men are predominantly of medium height; in the face of their pleasantness rather than correctness. Almost all men wear either a beard or a mustache; moreover, they have a special attraction to the latter. The native is a passionate defender not only of his mustache, but of every single hair; some left the service only because they had to shave off their mustaches. “What kind of conscience can be expected from a person,” the Imeretins say, “who has neither a beard nor a mustache?” Being kind, affectionate, courteous, Imeretin is ignorant and a passionate hunter for processes and lawsuits of all kinds. Among the population there were clerks, clerks and lawyers, whom everyone is afraid of, to whom everyone bows low and seeks acquaintances and favors, as useful people. Such people are famous, rob good-natured villagers and live happily at their expense. But, despite such a great desire for litigation, the Imeretians, in essence, are very good-natured and honest. "Peoples of Russia"

Javakhetia is located south of Imereti...

And to the west of Imereti is the edge of Samegrelo or, as it was called before, Mingrelia. And the inhabitants of this region of Georgia were called Mingrelians, and now they are called Mingrelians.

In a small area of ​​Mingrelia, you can meet the sea, and mountains of considerable height, and valleys, green with endless vineyards, and ridges of rocks crowned with castles and temples. There are tender fruits of the luxurious south, and gifts of the harsh north. The whole of Mingrelia is an uninterrupted garden, in which a vine with heavy bunches winds around each tree. Spreading often from tree to tree, the vines form a natural swing, on which women swing while sitting. Such a wealth of nature contributes to the preservation of the primitive state of the infant tribes by the inhabitants. Sloth, developed to the highest degree, made the Mingrelians only able to plow their fields and sew clothes, but many of them go barefoot in winter and summer. It costs nothing for a Mingrelian to build a house. It is only necessary to dig a hole in the ground, two arshins deep, and as wide as you like, and surround its walls with stone; make an entrance in one wall facing the light - then the water will not flow inside the house; divide the entire excavated space into two halves: on one - the spouse and family, on the other - the horse and cattle; cover both halves with earth - and the hut is ready. A piece of wood and a board instead of a table serve as furniture for the Mingrelian; two or three cups made of plane wood and earthenware jugs make up all of his dishes. "Peoples of Russia"

The Mingrelians have delicate and more feminine facial features; there is no masculine beauty in them, but the type of Mingrelian woman is one of the most elegant in the world. Even women from the peasant class, and they amaze with their beauty. In Mingrelia, both brunettes and blondes come across equally. True, they are not as beautiful as their neighbors, the Gurian women, but slender growth, smart, expressive faces, pretty heads, long and silky hair curlying over the shoulders, and the correct luxurious body shape attract attention. Their movements are bold, graceful, passionate. The male Mingrelian is extremely capable, receptive, stubborn and vindictive, but modest and insinuating in his manner. It is difficult to rely on a Mingrelian and take his word for it. "Peoples of Russia"

Theft, highly developed in Mingrelia, is the main vice that has deeply penetrated into the environment of the people and is an exceptional feature of the Mingrelians. Theft mainly extends to livestock, especially horses, and in this respect the Mingrelians are extremely dexterous. They cannot look indifferently at someone else's horse, especially when he walks free. The native horse thief uses many tricks to hide a stolen horse. Almost all estates were engaged in horse stealing, not excluding the clergy. Occupation is brought here to the level of art. "Peoples of Russia"

But this fertile region was inhabited not only by the Mingrelians. Judging by the following text, someone else lived in the dense forests of Samegrelo...

South of Samegrelo is Guria - a small region adjacent to the Black Sea coast. In the 19th century, the whole of Guria was covered with dense, moist forests, impassable in places.

The type of the Gurians differs significantly from the type of the Imeretians and Mingrelians. The reason for this change in the same Georgian tribe was the influence of nature and the neighborhood of the Turkish tribes, with whom the Gurians were related and were in constant communication through the sale of slaves. Such graceful children like frightened birds, such a masculine beauty of men, such an elegant thin profile of women are hard to find in the Caucasus. In their manner and grace, the Gurians are very similar to the southern Italians. The dominant character trait of the Gurian is extraordinary mobility, passion, liveliness, curiosity and enthusiasm. All Gurians are brave, good shooters and excellent walkers in terms of range and speed of transitions. It is not difficult for a Gurian to travel, for example, in a day and a half from Ozurget to Kutais, which is about 190 miles along a direct path. The Gurian is greedy, but not for profit, but for the fulfillment of his whims. A simple peasant will decide on the most terrible crime, just to get himself a luxury item. The Gurian woman enjoys more freedom than in Georgia. Men in conversations with women are very free, do not hesitate in expressions even with their mother and sisters, and allow speeches that are reprehensible in the opinion of Europeans. "Peoples of Russia"

And south of Guria, in the very south-west of Georgia, is Adjara. Until the 1930s, its inhabitants, the Adjarians, were called "Muslim Georgians". Now they are considered an independent ethnic group of Georgians. In terms of culture, the Adjarians are close to the Laz, who live near the Turkish border. The Laz are Muslims, like the Adjarians. most of the Laz now live in Turkey.

Inhabitants of Adzharia by type, costume, language are almost the same Gurians. The language of the population is also Georgian, approaching the Imereti-Gurian dialect, of course, not without an admixture of Turkish words. The Laz also belong to the Kartvelian race and almost do not differ in type or costume from the Adjarians, but they speak an dialect very close to the Mingrelian, at least the Mingrelians and the Laz can freely communicate with each other. Adzharian and Laz men, with average and above average height, are excellently built, stately, slender and dexterous, their movements and manners are extremely attractive. Their oriental bow is especially graceful, when with a graceful and quick movement of the right hand they lightly touch the forehead, then the heart and then from the chest they reject the hand down to the ground, with a slight inclination of the head. "Curious corners of the Caucasus"

The main bread plant in Adzharia is corn, the breadwinner of most of the entire western Transcaucasia. "Chada", an unleavened flatbread made from coarse cornmeal and a piece of goat's or sheep's cheese, is the usual and almost the only food of the inhabitants. Wheat and barley are sown much less, in some places, on the very shore of the sea, rice is sown and nurtured. Gardens are a significant support for the population. Excellent fruits grow and ripen magnificently here, above - apples, pears, cherries, mulberries, below - peaches, pomegranates, figs, excellent grapes and olives. Never in all of Transcaucasia have we seen one of the varieties of pears found in Adzharia: they look more like an apple, thick at the stem and thin towards the toe, almost regular hexagonal, full of oily juice, with an unusual taste and aroma... "Curious corners of the Caucasus"

And now from subtropical Adzharia we will be transported to the north-west of Georgia, to the harsh mountainous Svaneti. The inhabitants of this region - Svans, or Svanets - are also very severe. The Svans speak their own language, which, although belonging to the Kartvelian family, differs significantly from Georgian. Previously, the Svans were considered a separate nationality, now they are considered a sub-ethnos of Georgians.

Enclosed in the basin of the Caucasus Range, Svaneti is considered one of the wildest places in the Caucasus, both in terms of topography and in terms of the customs of its inhabitants. Svaneti occupies a central position in the western Caucasus, so secluded and closed that this country seems to be a separate island among a whole ocean of mountains. Such isolation had and still has a great influence on the character, manners and customs of the people. Svanet is as inaccessible and wild as the nature surrounding it. Access to Svaneti is possible only during the short summer and almost stops during the long winter. "Peoples of Russia"

Svaneti is more populated and better cultivated than many of the mountain possessions. The only source of food and wealth for the people is arable farming, and it must be said that the labor of the farmer is sufficiently rewarded, although the Svanet is extremely lazy and therefore poor. The house of the Svanet is made of stone and consists of a large two-story building, whitewashed and with windows in the form of loopholes. Svanetians like to build their houses on prominent hills near rocky cliffs in order to dominate the surrounding area. Their villages are scattered on terraces, on the slopes of the mountains, and as they move away into the mountains and rise above sea level, they are more and more crowded. The house adjoins a high quadrangular tower with its wide side, on four sides of which there are loopholes at the very top. The towers are divided into several floors, but do not belong to the houses of all Svaneti, and where the native does not have the need to hide under their protection, the towers are not built. Svanet lives in the winter in the lower floor of his house and drives his cattle there, and in the summer he moves to the upper floor. Inside the room is poor. At the very entrance to the house, a small box, made in the form of a house, hangs on hemp ropes, where cheese and fresh milk are stored. Almost every house has a garden where hemp and peas are sown; quadrangular and square arable lands are scattered here and there around the village and surrounded by a fence. "Peoples of Russia"

Free time, and especially holidays, Svanet spends in shooting and drinking. Drinkers are day and night, first one, then the other. Usually the owner's house is filled with people who are located anywhere: some on the ground, some on benches arranged in the form of armchairs and sofas with carved backs. Women immediately bake bread; meat is cooked in cast-iron cauldrons hung in sakla on iron hooks. Svanet food is simple and varied. It consists of bread baked from rye flour in the form of lumps and without yeast, extremely salty cheese and arak - a kind of vodka that is distilled from millet. Significant amusements of the Svanets are gatherings and dancing. Their songs are rude, severe and consist in the glorification of war, folk heroes and hunting. For the most part, they rhyme and are borrowed from the Imeretians. The wild and harsh nature of Svaneti made its inhabitants no less harsh. They are some kind of remnant ancient humanity, which has not been touched by a single speck of enlightenment. All residents are extremely attached to their native soil, and many of them rarely visit their neighbors. "Peoples of Russia"

The facial features of the Svanet resemble mountain Georgians. Residents of more than average height, slender and excessive fat are considered a vice, as a result of an intemperate life. Having a healthy appearance, the Svaneti are mostly blond, they shave their beards, but leave their mustaches, they cut their hair in a bracket and shave a little at the back. Women are also blond, less often - with dark blond hair, blue eyes, a straight, oblong nose, a small mouth and, in general, the salary of the face is quite regular. Nature endowed the Svanetians with considerable physical strength, good mental abilities, quick thinking, but their circle of information is extremely limited, as is their language. Not having their own script, they use Georgian scripts. The moral side of the character is a mixture of good and bad qualities. Svanet is extremely impressionable, remembers kindness, is grateful and always cheerful. He is hospitable, hospitable, but loves begging and demands a reward for every insignificant service. Svanets are chaste, true to their word and oath, but proud, vengeful, secretive and superstitious in the highest degree. Pride does not prevent them from having the lowest concept of themselves. The native does not hide his ignorance and his vices, and at the same time he confesses that he does not have the determination and willpower to correct himself. According to the concept of a Svanet, a beauty is one who has broad shoulders, small legs, full breasts and a thin waist. To preserve the harmony of the camp, some sheathe the girls, in the tenth year from birth, with raw skin from the hips to the chest. In this position, the girl remains until the marriage bed, when the groom cuts this lacing with a dagger. "Peoples of Russia"

In the north-east of Georgia, at the very border with Chechnya and Dagestan, we will find three more mountain peoples belonging to the Georgian ethnic group: Khevsurs, Tushins and Pshavs.

Pshavets of medium height, strong build. A round face, brown eyes, brown hair, a shaved head and beard, a forelock is left on the head, similar to the one worn by Little Russians. Pshava's gait is important, his character is good-natured. Pshavets is extremely wild, and not embarrassed by anyone's presence, he does whatever he wants, having no idea about modesty. Pshavian women are mostly blonde, pretty, they do not grow old as quickly as among the Khevsurs, but they quickly grow fat. The Khevsurs call the Pshavs fat dairy cows and oppress them. The claims of the Khevsurs against the Pshavs made in courts are as ridiculous as they are absurd. In the neighborhood of Tushins and Khevsurs, Pshavs live only in spring and summer, because they have their own hayfields and pastures there. In autumn and winter, they migrate far from their homes, where they find more pasture for their herds. "Peoples of Russia"

And at the end of the review of the peoples of Georgia - a few scenes from the life of Tiflis. IN late XIX century, the Armenian population prevailed in Tiflis, Russians were in second place, and Georgians were only in third ...

In the next part of the review, we will visit Eastern Transcaucasia, thus completing our acquaintance with the peoples of the Caucasus.

Today, Georgians are ONE of the most remarkable peoples, they attract the attention of historians and archaeologists with the richness and diversity of their ancient material culture and the longevity of their corporate social organizations. Its evolution can be traced quite clearly over three thousand years, and there is no doubt that the population of the Paleo-Caucasian group, the ancestors of modern Georgians, settled their land and adjacent territories long before that time.
The territory of settlement of Georgians and related Ibero-Caucasian peoples resembles a wedge in shape, located between the Caspian and the eastern tip of the Black Sea. From the north, it is bounded by the Main Caucasian Range, from the south it borders on Armenia, and from the east - on modern Azerbaijan, Albania, as ancient geographers call it.
Most of the Georgians as a nation are concentrated today within the borders of the Republic of Georgia. The total number of Georgians and representatives of related peoples of the Ibero-Caucasian branch is approximately 3.5 million people. According to the official census, by the middle of the twentieth century. 2,601,000 people lived in Georgia, which accounted for 64.3 percent of all Georgians. Another 50,000 people live in various other parts of the CIS, the rest abroad. A huge part was concentrated in the eastern provinces of Turkey. And also in some parts of Iran, especially in Feridun near Isfahan, where they were deported to early XVIII V. Shah Abbas I.
Georgians call themselves kartvelebi, and their homeland - Sakartvelo. Both names go back to the name of the mythological hero Kartlos, whom the Georgians consider their first ancestor. The main province of Central Georgia, where Tbilisi (Tiflis) is located, is called Kartli. As often happens with ethnic concepts, representatives of other peoples often designated Georgians with names that have nothing to do with their self-name kartvelebi.
Thus, the Armenians and ancient Persians called the Georgians of the eastern region Virks or Virshbuns, the element “vir” formed the basis of the name Iberia or Iberians, which, in turn, were already used by the Greeks and Romans.
Strabo and other geographers of antiquity believed that the Iberians were inhabitants of Spain, and were dismayed to find that another "Iberians" lived in the Caucasus. To explain this fact, they invented the theory that once this country was inhabited by aliens from Spanish Iberia. A similarity can be found between the Caucasian languages ​​and the Basque languages, which allows us to confirm this idea in some way, although in fact it should not be taken seriously thanks to modern scientists.
It is very likely that the root "vir" or "ver" has something in common in connection with the ancient Caucasian tribes of Saspers and Tibaren, who dominated in the time of Herodotus. The Arabs and modern Persians called the Georgians "Kurj" or "Gurj". This is where their Western European name "Georgians" comes from, which they tried to explain, moreover
very incorrectly, education on behalf of St. George, the protector and patron of the country after the adoption of Christianity.
It is interesting to note that a similar confusion exists with regard to the Albanians neighboring the Caucasians, who recently lived in the territory that is now part of Azerbaijan. These Caucasian Albanians have existed as a separate nation since the 11th century. Their name is associated with the Armenian "agbuan" or "Alvan", which has nothing to do with modern Albanians living in the Adriatic, next to Yugoslavia. These today's Albanians went down in history several centuries later than those who live in the Caucasus, they speak the Indo-European language and in any case do not consider themselves Albanians, but call themselves "skippers", and their country - Shkiperia. To avoid confusion, we note once again that all references in this volume to "Iberians" and "Albanians" refer to those peoples who were local residents of the Caucasian isthmus, and not at all to those who inhabited the Mediterranean coast.
From an anthropological point of view, the Georgians, along with the Svans and Mingrelian-Lazis, belong to the so-called Pontozagros group, occupying an intermediate position within the Paleo-Caucasian family of peoples. Modern Georgians are largely brachycephalic or hyperbrachycephalic, although, as Debet suggests, their physical type has undergone significant changes over the past two millennia. Most Georgians have beautiful brown or sallow skin and dark hair, although blondes are also found. Most of them are brown-eyed, but about 30 percent have blue or gray eyes. Usually they are of medium height, athletic and flexible.
The population of the eastern province of Kartli and Kakheti has prominent aquiline noses and a high arched skull. In western Georgia, a straight, thin nose is more common, although the general outline of the face is more like a variant of the Mediterranean type, and now common in southern Italy or Greece.
Like today's Armenians and Anatolian peasants, Georgians are the result of an ethnic mix that has been going on for several millennia. During this process, the natural, original substrate was covered by a series of waves of invading multi-ethnic groups. This happened to the Armenians and their original language, attributed to the Indo-European group, and the Hurrian and Urartian substrate, superimposed on the Indo-Aryan basis.
The ethnotype prevailing in modern Turkey with a highly raised aquiline nose has nothing in common with the narrow-eyed representatives of nomadic Turks from the Altai, but strongly resembles the characters depicted in ancient Hittite frescoes.
The great remoteness of Georgia from the main routes of migration and invasion routes has led to great demographic homogeneity, so modern Georgians can be perceived as the descendants of the indigenous inhabitants of the Caucasian isthmus and nearby territories located to the southwest, into which the Indo-European element associated with invasions joined three millennia ago Scythians and Cimmerians, the settlement of coastal regions by Greeks from Asia Minor, and even later to the successive change of Arab, Mongol, Turkish and Persian conquerors.
The communal way of life of modern Georgians is rooted in the era of the Hittites, Urartians and Assyrians. Unlike other disappeared civilizations, in Georgia, its features have largely been preserved to this day.
Modern Georgia covers an area of ​​69,300 square kilometers, including the Abkhaz
the republic with the capital Sukhumi (ancient Dioscuria), located on the Black Sea, the Autonomous Republic of Adjara with the capital Batumi and the South Ossetian autonomous region centered in Tskhinvali. Adjarians are Muslim Georgians who converted to Islam during the centuries-long Ottoman yoke. On the other side
Abkhazians belong to the northwestern or Adyghe-Circassian group of Caucasian peoples. The Ossetians are descendants of the medieval Alans, an Indo-Iranian people related to the Sarmatians.
The study of the history of the Georgian peoples must necessarily include Lazistan, a wide strip along the southeastern coast of the Black Sea, west of Trebizond, as well as east to the upper reaches of the Chorokh River and further to Bayburt and the territories located around the fortress cities of Kars and Ardahan and south west of Erzurum.
Before the Seljuk invasion in the 11th century. this mountainous Pontic region, now part of the Turkish Republic, played important role in the cultural, linguistic and ethnic development of the Georgian nation. And even earlier, the Meshesh and Tubal tribes of the Old Testament, who settled in Central Anatolia, played an important role, linking Transcaucasia and the ancient civilizations of Syria and Palestine.
Geographical and climatic conditions in Georgia are extremely diverse. The territory of modern Georgia is 54 percent mountainous, 33 percent hills and plateaus, and only 13 percent plains and valleys. Such diversity has influenced the climate, which ranges from the temperate subtropical prevailing in the coastal part of the Black Sea, and the dry warm Mediterranean type in Imereti and Kartli, to the subalpine in the pastures and forests of the Caucasus Highlands, surrounded by the very high, snow-covered peaks of Kazbek and Elbrus.
A huge variety of fauna and flora has been discovered in Georgia, since the dawn of civilization it was considered an ideal place for hunting, raising livestock, cultivating grapes and many agricultural crops. The country is rich in metals and minerals. Both in Greek myths and in Old Testament, and ancient historians mention Transcaucasia as a hotbed of metal processing. Archaeological finds confirm that Georgia is the ancestral home of metallurgy. And now manganese, copper, iron, arsenic, tungsten, gold, mercury, lithographic stone and marble are mined in Georgia.
Georgian rivers are rich in fish and are a source of cheap electricity.
Within the boundaries of the geographical area we have noted, the Georgians have preserved a number of well-distinguished regional cultures and dialects.
The Kartvels (as the Georgians usually called themselves) early divided linguistically into three main groups: the Iberians (or Georgians proper), the Svans and the Mingrelian-Lazis. Mingrelians and Laz settled along the subtropical coast of the Black Sea. The Svans formed independent tribal enclaves in the high valleys of the Caucasus Mountains, while the (numerically) dominant Ibero-Georgians occupied the present-day provinces of Kartli, Kakhetia, Samtskhe and their surrounding areas.
Two thousand years later, Strabo spoke of the Svans as a powerful warlike nation capable of bringing at least 200 thousand soldiers to the battlefield. Today, the number of Svans does not exceed 25 thousand.
During the reign of the Arabs in the Caucasus, many Georgians emigrated eastward through Surami to Ancient Colchis. Then they settled around the Rioni delta on the Black Sea coast, separating the Mingrelians from their kindred Laz people, who lived
south.
Georgians, Svans and Mingrelian-Lazis form an Ibero-Caucasian group within the Caucasian family of languages. Of course, the Caucasian languages ​​are completely independent and distinct from the Indo-European, Turkish, and Semitic families, although many words have been borrowed from them in the course of time. It is interesting, for example, to find the term ghvino (“wine”) in Georgian, which some believe is an ancient borrowing from the Indo-European language, while others consider it as evidence that it was in Georgia that the cultivation of grapes first began. Some fundamental similarities can be drawn between Old Georgian and classical Armenian, which developed in parallel with it and also adopted a common Anatolian, possibly Hurrian substratum. In connection with the existing numerous misinterpretations, it should be said about the use of the term "Caucasian". Probably some anthropologists who think they know everything, and American immigration officials, from whom nothing else can be expected, usually use this word to refer to all those who are not Negro, Jewish, Indian or Chinese. In other words, "Caucasian" is used as a term opposite to "colored". Such a view is completely unscientific and completely wrong.
For this reason, the term "Caucasian" used in this book refers only to the designation of the ancient nation and tribes that lived from time immemorial in the isthmus of the Caucasus and adjacent territories. In addition to Georgians, they include Circassians, Kabardians and Abkhazians in the northwest, as well as Chechens, Ingush, Avars, Lezgins and others.
the peoples of Dagestan - from the northwest. The situation was complicated by the introduction of the so-called "Japhetic" theory associated with the name of Academician Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr (1864-1934). A remarkable linguist and textual critic, Marr at the beginning of his career made a huge contribution to science, discovering numerous treasures of the ancient Georgian and Armenian civilizations. Turning further to the history of Asia Minor and the Mediterranean, he tried to explain from the point of view of the Caucasian languages ​​and archeology a number of ambiguities associated with the prehistory of this territory. Being sure that the peoples of the Caucasus are the most
ancient, Marr believed that in the Mediterranean civilization it is possible to distinguish elements of a more ancient than the Indo-European and Semitic substratum, in short, a certain “third ethnic element”, which he designated for ease of reference as “Japhetic” after the name of the third son of Noah Japheth, the ancestor Tubal and Meshecha.
After the 1917 revolution, Marr declared that he had discovered his own linguistic theory, which he called "a new doctrine of language." He believed that all world languages ​​were formed from four "mystical languages" - sal, ber, rosh and wop. Marr claimed to have had them in a dream. In the early 1920s, such a phantasmagoria, framed in accordance with the provisions of orthodox Marxism, was approved by the official authorities and for many years was considered in Russia the only true and indisputable theory of the origin of languages. Only in 1950 it was crushed in the book of I.V. Stalin "Marxism and questions of linguistics" and soon fell into oblivion.
Let's define our point of view. The phonetic system of the Georgian language includes five basic vowels, without distinction between short and long, and 28 consonant phonemes. Old Georgian had two more consonants, as well as diphthongs, which were then reduced to separate sounds. As in other North Caucasian languages, Georgian has three groups of consonants, different in articulation:
1) voiced: b, d, d, j, d;
2) labio-dental and anterior lingual: p", t", k", h, c;
3) labial and posterior palate: p, t, k, dz.
The system of parts of speech in Georgian is the same as in other Indo-European languages, although, along with inflectional ones, it has clear articulatory characteristics. A noun has seven cases: nominative, vocative, genitive, dative-accusative, prepositional-instrumental, and object. The latter is a special form used to indicate the subject of a transitive verb in the aorist (past tense) and in some other cases.
Postpositions are used instead of prepositions in Georgian. Sometimes the merging of a postposition with a noun leads to false etymologies.
For example, the old Georgian "mtasa zeda" ("on the mountain", literally - "mountain on", the literary analogue - "on top") led to the appearance in modern Georgian of the word "mtaze" (cf. Mtatsminda). This happens in many other cases as well. The plural in old Georgian was formed with the help of an additional suffix -ni-, in oblique cases -t "a-", in modern Georgian for education plural to form singular the plural suffix -ebu- and the corresponding ending (if necessary) are added.
The Georgian language does not have a definite or indefinite article, as well as distinctions by gender, even when it comes to pronouns. Adjectives, which usually precede the noun in modern Georgian, agree with it in case, but not in number; in Old Georgian, full agreement was considered correct, and the adjective could come after the noun.
The most complex of all parts of speech is the verb. There are different paradigms for conjugating transitive and intransitive verbs, as well as neuter and indirect verbs. According to the tense used, the grammatical subject of a transitive verb can be nominative, dative-accusative or object case.
The Georgian verb has a developed system of tenses, which distinguishes the present tense, the present continuous, the future, the past simple, the past complete, the long past tense. For its formation, the corresponding vowel infixes are used (affixes inserted inside the root of the word during word formation or inflection).
By means of prefixes cause-and-effect relations or coercion are expressed.
Consonant prefixes convey the first, second or third person and, accordingly, determine the case of the object. Special prefixes are used to indicate the direction of movement and the incompleteness of the action. First of all, this applies to verbs of motion.
All of the above makes it difficult for foreigners to learn the Georgian language. Equally difficult for a European are consonant contractions common in Georgian, such as “me vbrdskvinav” (I sparkle), “khrdsna” (spoiled) or “prtskvnis” (he / she undress), which a native speaker can easily cope with. However, with an abundance of sonorants and a rich vocabulary, the Georgian language in the mouth of a poet or speaker makes a stunning impression. As for characteristic features relationships and norms public behavior, the Georgians carried through the centuries some completely unique features, others are part of the common Caucasian heritage - the concept of honor, hospitality.
The rest were primarily associated with the national temperament and ancient traditions of the Georgian nation. Georgians differ from their eastern and northern neighbors in their proud, even somewhat pompous behavior, based on the belief in the superiority of their culture. Indeed, they have always been considered skilled herders and winemakers. An old proverb says that every peasant in Georgia is as proud as a prince. Georgians were also distinguished by their loyalty to their word and beliefs, they were
excellent speakers, passionate debaters and masters of intrigue. They were famous as skillful riders, well-aimed shooters and passionate hunters, lovers of friendly feasts. Georgians turned out to be less adapted to life in a modern industrial community and were not always sympathetic to work in factories or institutions, as well as to routine activities, where the inherent
them personal initiative.
Unlike Muslim traditions, Georgians have always given women a special place in public life. This is also evidenced by special cults dedicated to the Virgin Mary, St. Nina, who baptized Georgia, Queen Tamar, whose reign is considered the Georgian golden age.
Despite the subordination of the eldest in the house and a number of other restrictions, Georgian women never wore a veil in public places and were not excluded from social and public life. Instantly responding both to insults and outbursts of friendliness, the Georgians were proud of their hospitality, which is hard to find equal.
Like the people who gave birth the greatest poets, dancers and musicians, he found special pleasure in the right way of life and human friendship. Easy-going, cheerful, even somewhat epicurean, Georgians are endowed with a lively mind and an innate sense of humor.
Like the Armenians, they created a large stratum of intellectuals, professors, doctors, teachers, civil officials, army officers, people of free professions. However, in a commercial sense, they were not distinguished by insight, sometimes the Georgians could not even get their due. benefit from their natural resources.
One Eastern traveler called them "free, passionate and cheerful", the Georgians encouraged gatherings, although they always opposed those who tried to penetrate their closed and deeply national inner world or impose their social system on them.
Until quite recently, we knew practically nothing about the life of people in Georgia before the Bronze Age. The early explorers known for their observations, such as J. Morgan, generally doubted that any Paleolithic or Neolithic culture existed in the area. Archaeological investigations carried out over the past fifty years have radically changed our understanding of the prehistory of civilization in Georgia.
First of all, anthropologists refuted the conclusions that the settlement of Georgia occurred as a result of some migrations, and the Proto-Georgian civilization itself originated somewhere else. results archaeological research conducted in the second half of the 20th century show with certainty that Georgia is one of those areas in which the origin of mankind on our planet took place. The processes of settlement and evolution of primitive man continued throughout the main periods of prehistoric and written times. Regardless of the role played by external factors, races and cultures - and they were enough - in the formation of the Georgian nation and its ancient civilization, these elements were superimposed on the autochthonous population and the culture that
already existed in Georgia at the dawn of mankind.
It is in this connection that it is appropriate to note that several settlements were discovered to the east of Tbilisi, in the Gareji region, where the remains of an anthropoid ape were found, therefore called udabnopitek (from the Georgian word “udabno”, meaning “wild”). As it turned out, this creature occupied an intermediate position between a chimpanzee and a gorilla. It was discovered in 1939 by geologists N.O. Burshak-Abramovich and E.G. Gabashvili. From Udabnopithecus, only a few scattered fragments have survived, two teeth, one is a root, but they represent the only great ape, the remains of which have been preserved on the territory of the USSR.
Some Soviet scientists consider this discovery as evidence that the Transcaucasus is one of those regions of the world where, at the end cenozoic era and the beginning of the Pleistocene, there was a transition from ape to Homo sapiens.
The possibility of the existence of a man of the Stone Age, from the Lower Paleolithic times onwards, is confirmed by a number of important finds. Most of them were found in the valley of the river Rioni (Phasis) and on the coast of Abkhazia.
Starting from 1914, when R. Schmidt and L. Kozlovsky conducted the first systematic study of Stone Age settlements in Georgia and discovered flint tools belonging to the Aurignacian type culture in the Sakashi Cave (near Motsameti, on the left bank of the Tskhaltsiteli River), and Russian , and Georgian archaeologists explored many open and cave Paleolithic settlements. They managed to expand the chronological
framework that testifies to the existence of an ancient culture even further back in time, and to obtain new and significant materials that allow us to study the early stages human life on our planet.
In 1958, an expedition of the Georgian Academy of Sciences, led by N. Berdzenishvili, confirmed the existence of the Abbeville culture of hand axes in a settlement in Abkhazia on the northwestern coast of the Black Sea. The tools found there are similar to obsidian items discovered in 1946-1948. Sardaryan and Panichkina in the settlement of Satani-Dar near Mount Bogatlu, located in Armenia, which was considered the oldest archaeological site in the USSR.
The Acheulian culture, which replaced the Abbeville culture, is much less represented in Georgia and adjacent areas. In 1934-1936. an expedition led by S. Zamyatin (1899-1958) discovered a significant group, which included about ten settlements dating back to this era. They are located along the Abkhazian coast of the Black Sea, mainly between Gagra and the mouth of the Inguri River. When peoples belonging to the Acheulean culture settled here, the level of the Black Sea was almost 100 meters higher than today. For this reason, the most significant finds, such as those made in Yakhtkva, three kilometers from Sukhumi, were located at heights of about 100 meters above modern sea level on coastal terraces.
Previously discovered Acheulean settlements are located near the village of Lashe-Balta in South Ossetia, in the region adjacent from the south to the Main Caucasian Range. The monuments of the Mousterian period are incomparably better represented in Georgia (archaeologists use this term to designate all epochs and cultures dating from about 100 thousand to 40 thousand years BC, although many scientists prefer to call this culture Middle Paleolithic).
The finds at our disposal give a vivid idea of ​​the life of the first people on the territory of Georgia. Kerndle lists twenty-five Mousterian settlements located on the Black Sea coast in Abkhazia and Mingrelia (ancient Colchis) or areas close to them. Five settlements were found in the valley of the Rioni River, and twenty more in the basin of the Kura (Mtkvari) River and its tributaries.
Of greatest interest are four Paleolithic cave settlements discovered by V.P. Lyubin in Kudaro, high in the mountains of South Ossetia. At Kudaro, layers of Mousterian culture are superimposed on the remains of early Acheulean settlements, indicating that the area was almost permanently inhabited over time.
The varied animal bones found in abundance at Kudaro include the remains of a huge giant cave bear (almost two-thirds of its skeleton was found), as well as deer, roe deer, wild bulls, wild sheep and goats, red cave wolf, wolves, foxes, wolverines, panthers, wild boar, marten, field and bats and even a lemur. The remains of rhinos, chamois, marmots, beavers, moles, otters, hamsters, hare and ermine have been found in geological deposits of the Mousterian time. Recent finds of numerous artefacts in the vicinity of Samshvilde show that the area of ​​human settlement in the Mousterian period included Lower Kartli along the basin of the Khrami River, one of the tributaries of the Kura.
Equally important in the prehistory of Georgia is the period of the Upper Paleolithic, which lasted from about 40 thousand to 12 thousand years BC. e. It coincided with the late Ice Age, when the climate became especially severe and the same temperatures were established in the area as in the modern tundra or cold steppe.
At the same time, the transition to the Upper Paleolithic was marked by important changes in the life of primitive people. New technologies, forms of housekeeping have appeared, changes have taken place in the social organization, as well as in the physical characteristics of the person himself. In the guise of a man, the features of a primate disappeared, a straight gait developed, limbs changed, his hand resembled hands modern man. The quality of flint products has significantly improved.
Carefully crafted side-scrapers with blades appear various shapes, triangular points made from flakes. Along with flint and obsidian, items made from bone, deer antler, and mammoth tusks were used. Then the bow and arrows were invented. The shape of some stones and bone objects show that they were attached to wooden handles for work. Accordingly, the way of life of people has changed. Although hunting and picking fruits and berries continued to be their main form of subsistence, improvements in the quality of tools and their increased efficiency finally made it possible to move towards a more sedentary lifestyle.
They began to build or dig out permanent dwellings, the first religious beliefs, the walls of the caves were often covered with drawings and decorated with sculptural images and small-form products. If there were not enough caves, then tents made of skins and even spacious dugouts were used to protect from the cold. They were dug in soft soil, and covered with skins and turf on top.
Paleolithic dwellings of this type are common throughout Russia (Pushkari, Gagarino, Kostenki) and Siberia (Buret, Malta), where the possibility of using natural shelters was limited. Numerous remains of such dwellings have been found in mountainous regions, including the Caucasus.
The first Upper Paleolithic site in Georgia was discovered and described in 1916 by S. Krukovsky. She was in the Gvardzhilasklde cave, near the village of Rgani in the Chiatura region of Imereti. These remains belong to the upper layer of the Madeleine culture. A later culture of the Orinyak type in Georgia was described by G. Nioradze (1886-1951), in an excellent monograph on a cave settlement in Davis-Khvreli, located 4 kilometers from Kharagouli, located in the Shorapan region, also located in Imereti (Western Georgia ). In addition to animal bones, a human jaw and many flint tools were also found in Davis-Khvreli. Based on these findings, G. Niorazde created a very expressive reconstruction Everyday life Upper Paleolithic people in Georgia. In 1936, G. Nioradze continued his research in the cave of Sakazhia, located near Motsameti (not far from Kutaisi, the capital of Imereti), begun in 1914 by Schmidt and Kozlovsky. His conclusions were enriched by a large number of new finds, including the bones of a cave bear and a cave lion, an elk and a wild bull, fragments of human skulls and many remains of mineral paints.
Cave paintings dating back to the Paleolithic period are extremely rare in Georgia, their number is incomparable compared to those found in France and Spain. Therefore, of undoubted interest is the painting found in the Mgvimevi caves near Chiatura. They consist of seven geometric symbols applied with linear strokes. We also note that underground finds made in 1951-
1953 in the Sagvardzhile cave, located in the Dzevrula gorge in the Zestafon region, P.Z. Kiladze and other scientists from Tbilisi, include primitive carved bone tools, among them an awl, which depicts a fish, and its tail is decorated with ornaments. There are also jewelry, bone pins and a necklace with drilled sea shells.
Considering the social organization of primitive man in Georgia and other places, Soviet scientists, led by M.O. Indirectly believed that during the Upper Paleolithic there developed a matriarchy, or a clan system based on the rule of women, which persisted throughout the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. In accordance with
According to this theory, in the subsequent Eneolithic or Chalcolithic eras, a gradual transfer of power from an older woman or clan leader to a man is noted, in other words, a patriarchal system sets in. However, there has not yet been a consensus on this issue.
The Neolithic, or New Stone Age, begins in the post-glacial period, when the weather became warmer and the climate became more temperate. During the transitional Mesolithic period, 12 thousand - 5 thousand years BC. e., people gradually left their gloomy damp caves and earthen dwellings. Accordingly, their way of life has changed, becoming more mobile and dynamic. Now they spent most of their time outdoors. Cave settlements were used only in cold weather or for protection from the raging elements.
Due to the semi-nomadic way of life, material traces of the activity of the Mesolithic man were practically not preserved, with the exception of several sites, for example, discovered by A.N. Kalandadze in 1936-1937 in the lower layer of the Odishi settlement, located near Zugdidi in Mingrelia. The stone tools and microliths discovered in Odisha are similar to similar finds from Iran and Iraq.
In the 5th and 4th millennia BC. e. In Georgia and adjacent areas, one can observe the emergence of a Neolithic culture, which, in many respects, has points of contact with the Neolithic cultures of the Mediterranean, Asia Minor and the Crimea. The culture of this period is characterized by polished and ornamented stone axes with slightly curved handles and smoothly polished tools in the form of a semicircular chisel and chisel.
In addition to the already mentioned settlement in Odishi, Neolithic settlements were located on the Black Sea coast, in Tetramidze near Kutaisi and in Eastern Georgia. Hunters, fishermen and gatherers lived here, but they also grew grain, as evidenced by the finds of stone hand mills, flint flakes with small teeth that were used as blades for wooden sickles, as well as stone hoes and hoes.
In Colchis, agricultural activities have advanced much further, among the crops grown there are millet, wheat and rye. Stocks of chestnuts, acorns and hazelnuts, as well as grape seeds were found in the settlements of Reka and Anaklia. Based on the finds in Kistrika, located near Gudauta in Abkhazia, we
it is known that women spun wool and knitted simple clothes. Primitive pottery also appeared. In Odishi, Kalandadze discovered the remains of hand-made pottery with ornamental motifs in the form of individual lines or waves, often zigzag lines are also found.
This ancient pottery from Transcaucasia, rather primitive in technique and art of ornamentation, is the undoubted predecessor of the Neolithic ceramic culture of Anatolia, which surpassed it in all respects, which already flourished about bth millennium BC e.
Livestock breeding occupies a prominent place in the Neolithic culture of Georgia, which is confirmed by the finds of bones of bulls, cows, sheep, goats and domesticated wild dogs. The finds prove that various types of animals were already widely tamed in other regions of the Caucasus.

Georgians(self-name - kartvelebi, cargo. ქართველები) - Kartvelian people language family. B O Most of the Georgian nation is concentrated within the borders of Georgia. Also, many Georgians live in the eastern provinces of Turkey and in the interior of Iran - especially in the city of Fereydan. Many Georgians have dark hair, there are also blonds. Most Georgians have brown eyes, although 30% have blue or gray eyes. Due to the remoteness of the Georgians from the main routes of invasion and migration, the territory of Georgia became the object of great demographic homogeneity, due to which modern Georgians are direct descendants of the indigenous inhabitants of the Caucasian isthmus. According to the linguistic principle, the Georgians are divided into three groups - Iberian, Svan and Megrelo-Laz. Most Georgians traditionally profess Christianity (Orthodoxy), which was adopted on May 6, 319. For the most part, anthropologically they belong to the Pontic and Caucasian types of the Caucasoid race.

Historical outline

The Georgian people were formed on the basis of three closely related tribal associations: Karts, Megrelo-Chans and Svans. The process of formation of the Georgian nationality was completed mainly in the VI-X centuries.

population

The number of Georgians in the world is more than 4 million people, of which:

• about 3.66 million people live in Georgia (84% of the country's population) (2002 census).
• in Russia, according to the 2002 census, 198 thousand Georgians live permanently, and in fact - from 400 thousand to 1 million people.
• in Turkey - from 150 thousand to 300 thousand.
• in Abkhazia - 40-70 thousand people (estimate)
• in Iran - 60 thousand people (estimate)
• in Ukraine - more than 34 thousand people (2001 census)
• in Azerbaijan - about 15 thousand people (1999 census)

Language

The literary language - Georgian - is one of the Kartvelian languages.

ethnic groups

• Adjarians (Georgian აჭარელი) - the population of Adjara, profess both Christianity and Sunni Islam.
• Gurians (Georgian გურული) - live in the region of Guria, speak the Gurian dialect of the Georgian language.
• Kartli (Georgian ქართლელი) - live in the historical region of Kartli, speak the Kartli dialect of the Georgian language.
• Kakhetians (Georgian კახელი) live in Kakheti.
• Imeretians (Georgian იმერელი) - inhabit the region of Imereti, speak the Imeretian dialect of the Georgian language.
• Imerkhevtsy - live in Turkey, profess Sunni Islam.
• Ingiloys (Georgian ინგილო) - live in the north-west of Azerbaijan, profess both Christianity and Sunni Islam.
• Lechkhumi (Georgian ლეჩხუმელი) - residents of the Lechkhumi region on the Rioni River, speak the Lechkhumi dialect of the Georgian language.
• Javakhetians (Georgian ჯავახი) live in the Javakheti region. speak the Javakheti dialect of the Georgian language.
• Meskhetians (Georgian მესხი) - an ethnographic group of Georgians, the indigenous population of Meskheti, speak the Meskh (Meskhetian) dialect of the Georgian language.
• Mokhevtsy (Georgian მოხევე) are residents of the Khevi historical region.
• Mtiuly (Georgian მთიულები) - the indigenous population of the mountainous region of the East-South Caucasus Mtiuleti.
• Pshavs (Georgian ფშაველი) - live in the Dusheti region of Georgia, they speak the Pshav dialect of the Georgian language.
• Rachintsy (Georgian რაჭველი) - residents of the historical region of Racha (modern Onsky and Ambrolauri municipalities), speak the Racha dialect of the Georgian language
• Tushians (Georgian თუში)
• Fereydans (Georgian ფერეიდნელი) - live in Western Iran, profess Shiite Islam.
• Khevsurs (Georgian ხევსური) - residents of the regions of Georgia bordering Chechnya and Ignushetia, the indigenous population of the mountainous region of Khevsureti.
• Chveneburi (Georgian ჩვენებური) - live in Turkey, profess Sunni Islam.

Mingrelians (Megr.მარგალი, margali; cargo.მეგრელები: megrelebi)- the largest sub ethnic group Georgian people To the south of the Mingrelians live the Gurians, to the east the Imeretians, to the north the Svans, and to the northwest the Abkhazians. Mingrelians are extremely musical - among their tunes there are very melodic ones (recorded with the addition of notes by X. Grozdov in "Collection of materials for the description of localities and tribes of the Caucasus", XVIII, 1894); they perform their songs to the accompaniment of the Georgian folk instrument chonguri. In addition to songs, the folk art of Megrelians was expressed in fairy tales; a number of them in Russian translation are written by Sh.

Mingrelians profess Orthodoxy and belong to the Georgian Orthodox Church.

In the late Middle Ages, Megrelians enjoyed relative independence from the Imeretian kings (Principality of Megrelia) and had their own dynasty of sovereign princes (Dadiani). In 1803, the ruler of the Megrelian principality entered into Russian citizenship. Since 1857 Russian administration has been introduced. The principality was abolished in 1867 and became part of Russian Empire(Kutais province). The princes of Dadiani (the most illustrious princes of Mingrelian) subsequently became part of the Russian nobility (after the liquidation of the principality in 1867).

Svans

Svans (Georgian სვანები) - the main indigenous population in the Mestia and Lentekhi regions in northwestern Georgia, united in the historical region of Svaneti - speak Georgian and a separate Svan language belonging to the Kartvelian family.

Lazy

Lazes (Georgian ლაზები) - live in the north-east of Turkey, on the territory of the historical region of Lazistan. The Laz speak Georgian and a related Mingrelian, the Laz language belonging to the Kartvelian family, as well as Turkish.

Religion

Georgian Orthodox Church(officially: Georgian Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church; cargo. . ესია) is an autocephalous local Orthodox Church, which has the sixth place in the diptychs of the Slavic local Churches and the ninth in the diptychs of the ancient Eastern patriarchates. One of the oldest Christian churches in the world. Jurisdiction extends to the territory of Georgia and to all Georgians, wherever they live. According to a legend based on an ancient Georgian manuscript, Georgia is the apostolic lot of the Mother of God. In 324, through the labors of St. Nina Equal to the Apostles, Christianity became the state religion of Georgia. The church organization was within the boundaries of the Antiochian Church. The issue of obtaining autocephaly by the Georgian church is a difficult one. According to the historian of the Georgian church, priest Kirill Tsintsadze, the Georgian Church enjoyed de facto independence from the time of King Mirian, but received full autocephaly only in the XI century from the Council convened by Patriarch Peter III of Antioch.

Article 9 of the Constitution of Georgia states: “The state recognizes the exceptional role of the Georgian Orthodox Church in the history of Georgia and at the same time proclaims complete freedom religious beliefs and beliefs, the independence of the church from the state.

Wikipedia materials used

Origin (ethnogenesis) of Georgians

Problem origin (ethnogenesis) of Georgians is extremely complex and controversial. This is due to several reasons. The formation of any nation or any people is a long process that takes place in such a distant past that it is naturally out of the question to speak of any written sources testifying to the historical authenticity of the origin of this or that people. Historical sources for studying the origin of the people are the reports of historians more than late period and their comments and opinions on the topic. Some of this information is highly questionable. In addition, there is no absolutely pure race, since ethnogenesis is a complex and lengthy process in which many tribes and nationalities participate.

This process sometimes involves completely different ethnic groups, which, although undergoing assimilation, but, in turn, have an impact on indigenous people.

In the study of the problem of ethnogenesis great importance have archaeological, ethnographic And linguistic data and other materials. Analysis and comparison of existing sources do not always lead to an unambiguous conclusion. The question of the origin of Georgians has always been debatable, and even now it has not been fully established, since there is no consensus and generally accepted theory on this issue.

1. Sources on the ethnogenesis of Georgians. Georgians showed interest in their own origin in ancient times. According to the Georgian historian of the 11th century Leonty Mroveli, the Caucasian peoples had one ancestor - Targamos. He was the son But I and grandson Japheta. Targamos had 8 sons, who were considered the ancestors of all Caucasian peoples. The ancestor of the Georgians is considered Kartlos, son Targamos. It is clear that this theory is related to Noem: According to the Bible, the nations of the world are the descendants of the sons of But I – Sima, Hama And Japheta. But something else is interesting, the main provision of Leonty Mroveli's theory of kinship of all Caucasian peoples and their ethnic community. Here it is necessary to take into account that the author of this theory is a figure of the 11th century. At that time, despite the difficult situation, the development of the country followed the path of recovery. The ground was created not only for the unification of the country, but also for liberation of the Caucasian peoples under the banner of united Georgia. The implementation of this task required an ideological justification, which was partly served by the theory of Leonty Mroveli. Although, it is possible that there was a tradition or idea according to which the peoples of the Caucasus came from one ancestor. Interesting information about the ethnogenesis and the original location of the Georgians was preserved in the annals "Conversion of Kartli" ("Moktsevai Kartlisay"). After class Mtskheta Azo goes to Arian Kartli and returns from there with his compatriots, whom he settles in Kartli. Based on this information, the Georgians (more precisely, the indigenous inhabitants of Eastern Georgia) came from Arian Kartli. This refers to the territory of Eastern Georgia, which was part of Achaemenid Iran (upper reaches of the Chorokhi River). Interestingly, the movement of individual Georgian tribes from the south towards Kartli is actually confirmed. Flies (meskhi) from Anatolia they are moving in a northeasterly direction towards Kartli. On the way of their advancement, and now you can meet the names: Samtskhe (Sa-mtskhe, Sa-meshta, Sa-meskhe) And Mtskheta (Mtskhe-ta, Meskh-ta).

We also find information about the origin of Georgians in foreign sources. Greek historian of the 5th century. BC e. Herodotus claimed that Colchis are descendants Egyptians. This statement has nothing to do with reality. As for the population Kartli, or Iberia, as the Greeks called it, then, according to the Greeks, from western Iberia, or Spain on Caucasus relocated Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. The Greeks called Iberia the Iberian Peninsula. It is assumed that this consideration was based on the identity of the names of these two geographical regions. Apparently, this point of view was also widespread among the Georgians.

2. Scientific theories about the ethnogenesis of Georgians. Outstanding Georgian historian Ivane Javakhishvili put forward the idea of kinship of the Georgian people with the Caucasian peoples, since he believed that the Kartvelian languages ​​(Georgian, Megrelo-Zan, Svan) are genetically related to other Caucasian languages ​​(Abkhaz-Adyghe and Veinakh-Dagestan). This point of view is generally accepted and widely held. Kartvelian And Caucasian languages make up one group Ibero-Caucasian languages. Ivane Javakhishvili believed that Georgian and other Caucasian tribes came from the south and settled in the Caucasus in stages. This migration began in the 14th century BC. e. The last wave of Georgian tribes arrived in the Caucasus in the 7th century BC. However, after conducting new archaeological excavations and obtaining new materials, this hypothesis has lost its relevance.

On the issue of the ethnogenesis of Georgians, a Georgian scientist Simon Janashia expresses a different point of view. In his opinion, 5-6 thousand years ago, most of Asia Minor, North Africa and Southern Europe (the Iberian, Apennine and Balkan Peninsulas) were inhabited by kindred peoples. Then came to Europe Indo-Europeans who have been influenced by these ancient peoples: Basque- in the Pyrenees Etruscans- in the Apennines, Pelasgians- in the Balkans hittites And Subaru- in Asia Minor. Subaru occupied the territory from Mesopotamia to Kavkasioni. Hittites And Subaru were the ancestors of the Georgians. In the 13th century BC, the population of Kheta-Subareti dispersed in different directions. Of these, the strongest tribes were flies And tubals. Later, in the XI-VIII centuries BC, the tribes Hittite Subar formed a state Urartu.

After the fall of Urartu in the 6th century BC, a large public education – Iberia and even more intensified Kolkha.

Simon Janashia says nothing about the resettlement of tribes from the south, but points to the movement state And cultural center from south to north. All this happened on large area inhabited by people of the same origin. The hypothesis about the relationship of Georgians and Basque has its supporters and opponents. The kinship of the Georgian tribes with Hittites And khurits.

In solving the problem of the ethnogenesis of Georgians, first of all, a large role belongs to archaeological materials, on the basis of which a continuous historical process development of the Georgian tribes who lived in the Caucasus since ancient times.

3. Some aspects of the linguistic and ethnic processes of the Georgian people, the territory of historical residence.

The Georgian people have gone through a very long period of their development and are one of the most ancient peoples existing in modern time, common since antiquity in the vast territory of the Caucasus.

IN modern science, starting with S.N. Janashia and B.A. Kuftin, as it was pointed out, rejected the previously widely held opinion that the ancestors of the Georgian, as well as other Caucasian peoples, came to the Caucasus from the south, from Asia Minor only in the first half of the 1st millennium BC. e. The study of the ancient Georgian names of plants, animals, etc. of the era of existence common Kartvelian language basics (III millennium BC) or Georgian-Zanian (Megrelo-Chan) unity (II millennium BC) indicates that the Georgian tribes already in this era lived on the territory of the Caucasus, in particular in its mountainous zone.

IN III millennium BC e., supposed to exist base language of the Kartvelian languages, as well as the base languages ​​of other groups of Caucasian languages ​​(East Caucasian, i.e., Nakh-Dagestan, and West Caucasian, or Abkhaz-Adyghe, languages). Some researchers believe that these groups of Caucasian languages ​​\u200b\u200bare related to each other, descend from one ancestor - a common base language, from where a number of ancient (now dead) Near East languages ​​\u200b\u200b(Sumerian, Proto-Khetian, Hurrian, Urartian, Elamic) originated through linguistic differentiation , as well as the current Basque language, but this hypothesis currently causes a very skeptical attitude on the part of many scientists and does not have a strictly scientific justification.

Researchers date the beginning of the collapse of a single language - the basis of the Kartvelian languages II millennium BC uh. At this time, the first impulses were emitted Svan, the Kart-Zan (Megrelo-Chan) linguistic unity, which existed for a long time and after that, apparently fell apart in 8th century BC e.

It should be noted that many of the lexical innovations of Kart (Georgian) and Megrelo-Chan, by which they jointly differ from Svan, could have arisen only in the era after the middle II millennium BC e. We are talking about the designation of technical and cultural achievements, which these tribes became acquainted with only in the indicated period, as well as lexical phenomena that appeared as a result of contact with the southern Hitto-Hurrian world.

Since the Kart-Zan group of the Kartvelian tribes has contacts with the southern Asia Minor world (Hittites, Hurri-Urartians), it apparently occupied the relatively southern regions of present-day Georgia and partly the territories that were even further south (in particular, in northeastern Asia Minor, where subsequently we also find Kartvelian tribes). As for the Svan group, it is already in II millennium BC e. should be localized in northern part of the distribution of Georgian tribes, although at this time, as well as in the I millennium BC. e., they were apparently widespread not only in the mountainous, but also in the lowlands of Western Georgia. This conclusion leads us, in particular, the study of the ancient toponymy of this region. For example, even the name "Lanchkhuti" is considered Svan. Svan etymology is found in the name major centers- Sukhumi (Georgian Tskhumi - cf. Svansk. Tskhum - rtskhila). An analysis of the data of ancient writers also leads to the conclusion about the wide distribution of the Svan population in the territory of Western Georgia; it turns out, in particular, that the Svan element is implied mainly in the Geniokh tribes often mentioned in antiquity in Western Georgia.

On the issue of the spread of Georgian tribes in southbound it is impossible not to draw material on Asia Minor flies and tabals. As you know, they are often mentioned in the first place. Assyrian inscriptions of the 8th–7th centuries. BC e. In these tribes, we can see separate Georgian tribes that spread far to the south-west. Having largely been hittized, later they (in particular, the flies) played a certain role in the emergence of East Georgian statehood.

Currently, Georgians, like many other peoples, have sub-ethnographic groups, in particular, there are such as: Mingrelians, Kartlians, Kakhetians, Khevsurs, Pshavs, Tushins, Mtiuls, Mokhevs, Javakhs, Meskhi, Imeretians, Rachintsy, Lechkhumi, Svans, Gurians, Adjarians, Ingiloys, Taoyians, Shavshetians, Parhalians, Imerkhevians, etc.

The indicated names of Georgians, in fact, are related and come from the name of a particular area of ​​​​their historical residence on the territory of Georgia (See attached "Map of Major Historical Provinces of Georgia").

It should be noted that such sub-ethnographic groups of Georgians as the Svans and Mingrelians, who speak the state and national Georgian language, also use the Megrelian and Svan languages, which constitute an invaluable linguistic and cultural wealth of the entire Georgian people.

Georgians have been common since antiquity, both within the modern borders of Georgia and in the wider territory of the borders of historical Georgia.

In particular, even now, ethnic Georgians (Parkhalians, Taoyians, Shavshetians, Imerkhevians, Adjarians, etc.) live, already in a significantly reduced number, in the territories of “Tao-Klarjeti” in the historical part of Southwestern Georgia. These vast territories of Georgia with the Georgian population entered the state borders of the modern Republic of Turkey.

In addition, Georgian tribes from ancient times (in particular, the Khalibs, who are mentioned in the Bible as the creators of the metallurgical culture) lived in the direction of the Eastern part of Anatolia, in northeastern Asia Minor, covering the Pontic Mountains and nearby territories, which in modern Republic of Turkey.

Descendants of Georgian tribes live on this territory, which are the current Laz (Chany), spread along the Black Sea coast in its southeastern part, speaking (like the Megrelian Georgians) the related Georgian Megrelo-Lazi (Megrelo-Chan) language, and are carriers of the Kartvelian culture.

The so-called "Ingiloys", a relatively small ethnic group of Eastern Georgians, lives on the territory of the historical part of Eastern Georgia (Hereti), in the present Republic of Azerbaijan (modern Zagatala region).

Georgians, as evidenced by the Armenian historical chronicles(Favstos Buzand, Hovhannes Draskhanakertsi and others), traces of material culture were also distributed in the original Georgian territories in the southern part of Georgia (Kvemo Kartli), in the regions of Lore and Tashiri, which now make up the northern part of the Republic of Armenia.

At present, a significant number of ethnic Georgians live in Iran, in a number of its provinces of Feiredan, Mazandaran, Gilan, etc., forcibly resettled there from the Eastern part of Georgia (Kakheti-Hereti) at the beginning of the 17th century by the Iranian Shah Abass I. This group of Georgians , despite being long time(about 400 years), far from historical homeland, and in modern times, retains its ethnic identity, Georgian language and culture.

Georgians. General information about cards,

Megrelakh, Lazakh and Svans

Georgians (self-name - kartvelebi, Georgian ქართველები) are the people of the Kartvelian family. Most of the Georgian nation is concentrated within the borders of Georgia, a state on the Black Sea coast. Also, many Georgians live in the eastern provinces of Turkey and in the interior of Iran - especially in the city of Fereydan. Most Georgians have dark hair, there are also blonds.

Most Georgians have brown eyes, although 30% have blue or gray eyes. (In general, different sub-ethnic groups of Georgians differ quite noticeably from each other.) For the most part, anthropologically they belong to the Pontic and Caucasian types of the Caucasoid race.

Due to the remoteness of the Georgians from the main routes of invasion and migration, the territory of Georgia became the object of great demographic homogeneity, due to which modern Georgians are direct descendants of the indigenous inhabitants of the Caucasian isthmus. According to the linguistic principle, Georgians are divided into three groups - Iberian, Svan and Megrelo-Laz. Most Georgians traditionally profess Christianity (Orthodoxy), which was adopted on May 6, 319.

The Georgian people were formed on the basis of three closely related tribal associations: Karts, Megrelo-Chans and Svans. The process of formation of the Georgian nationality was completed mainly in the VI-X centuries.

population

The number of Georgians in the world is more than 4 million people, of which:
about 3.66 million people live in Georgia (84% of the country's population) (2002 census).
in Russia, according to the 2002 census, 198 thousand Georgians live permanently, and in fact - from 400 thousand to 1 million people.
in Turkey - from 150 thousand to 300 thousand.
in Abkhazia - 40-70 thousand people
in Iran - 60 thousand people
in Ukraine - more than 34 thousand people (2001 census)
in Azerbaijan - about 15 thousand people (1999 census).

Ethnographic groups

Adjarians - the population of Adjara, profess both Christianity and Sunni Islam.
Gurians - live in the region of Guria, they speak the Gurian dialect of the Georgian language.
Kartli - live in the historical region of Kartli, they speak the Kartli dialect of the Georgian language.
Kakhetians - live in Kakheti.
Imeretians - inhabit the region of Imereti, speak the Imeretian dialect of the Georgian language.
Imerkhevtsy - live in Turkey, profess Sunni Islam.
Ingiloys - live in the northwest of Azerbaijan profess both Christianity and Sunni Islam.
Lechkhumi - residents of the Lechkhumi region on the Rioni River, speak the Lechkhumi dialect of the Georgian language.
Meskhetians - an ethnographic group of Georgians, the indigenous population of Meskheti, speak the Meskh (Meskhetian) dialect of the Georgian language.
Mokhevtsy - residents of the historical region of Khevi.
Mtiuls are the indigenous population of the mountainous region of the East-South Caucasus Mtiuleti.
Pshavs - live in the Dusheti region of Georgia, they speak the Pshav dialect of the Georgian language.
Rachintsy - residents of the historical region of Racha (modern Onsky and Ambrolauri municipalities), they speak the Racha dialect of the Georgian language
Tushintsy
Fereydans - live in Western Iran profess Shiite Islam.
Khevsurs - residents of the regions of Georgia bordering on Chechnya and Ignushetia, the indigenous population of the mountainous region of Khevsureti.
Chveneburi - live in Turkey, profess Sunni Islam.

Sub-ethnic groups

Mingrelians

Mingrelians are the largest sub-ethnic group of the Georgian people. The Gurians live in the south of the Mingrelians, the Imeretians in the east, the Svans in the north, and the Abkhazians in the northwest. Mingrelians are very musical - among their tunes there are very melodic ones (recorded with notes by X. Grozdov in the “Collection of Materials for Describing Localities and Tribes of the Caucasus”, XVIII, 1894); they perform their songs to the accompaniment of the Georgian folk instrument chonguri.

In addition to songs, the folk art of Megrelians was expressed in fairy tales; a number of them were recorded in Russian translation by Sh. Lominadze. Mingrelians profess Orthodoxy and belong to the Georgian Orthodox Church.

In the late Middle Ages, Megrelians enjoyed relative independence from the Imeretian kings (Principality of Megrelia) and had their own dynasty of sovereign princes (Dadiani). In 1803, the ruler of the Megrelian principality entered into Russian citizenship. Since 1857 Russian administration has been introduced.

The principality was abolished in 1867 and became part of the Russian Empire (Kutais province). The princes of Dadiani (the most illustrious princes of Mingrelian) subsequently became part of the Russian nobility (after the liquidation of the principality in 1867).

Svans

Svans - the main, indigenous population in the Mestia and Lentekhi regions in northwestern Georgia, united in the historical region of Svaneti - speak Georgian and a separate Svan language belonging to the Kartvelian family.

Lazy

Laz - live in the north-east of Turkey, on the territory of the historical region of Lazistan. The Laz speak Georgian and a related Mingrelian, the Laz language belonging to the Kartvelian family, as well as Turkish.

The material is taken from the free online encyclopedia - Wikipedia.