giorgi tcheishvili
Academic Degrees:
1994 - Candidate of Sciences in History, Georgian Academy of Sciences' Ivane Javakhishvili Institute of History and Ethnology
Education:
1985 - Diploma with Honours (equal to MA), History, Tbilisi State University
Academic Experience:
1986 to present - Senior Researcher, Ivane Javakhishvili Institute of History and Ethnology
2009 to present - Head of the Museum and Education Unit, Natiomal Agency for Cultural heritage Preservation of Georgia
Phone: +995599500654
Address: Home: 27 Likhauri Street, Tbilisi, Georgia
1994 - Candidate of Sciences in History, Georgian Academy of Sciences' Ivane Javakhishvili Institute of History and Ethnology
Education:
1985 - Diploma with Honours (equal to MA), History, Tbilisi State University
Academic Experience:
1986 to present - Senior Researcher, Ivane Javakhishvili Institute of History and Ethnology
2009 to present - Head of the Museum and Education Unit, Natiomal Agency for Cultural heritage Preservation of Georgia
Phone: +995599500654
Address: Home: 27 Likhauri Street, Tbilisi, Georgia
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Were they Georgian or Sewordik? Analysis of the Armenian historical texts demonstrates that 1) the Sewordik’ clan held the Utik province; 2) in the 9th-10th centuries Utik was centered not at Partav-Barda, but at the fortress of Tavush; 3) the province of Utik // the land of Sewordians comprised the valleys of the Tavush, the Aghstev (Dzoropor), and the Debeda (Dzoroyget). These three areas were parts of the Georgian province of Kvemo Kartli (Arm. Gugark). Because of mixed – Ibero-Armeno-Albanian – population the Kvemo Kartli region was a bone of contention among the Caucasian dynasts. By the end of the 9th c. the Bagratuni kings of Armenia gained the upper hand and spread their suzerainty over the whole region, including Tashiri (the Debeda valley) and Gardabani (the Aghstev and the Tavush valleys). However, the Armenian ruling elite and intellectuals viwed these conquered territories as Georgian/Iberian lands - the fact reflected in the Bagratuni title (prince of princes/king of kings of Armenia and Iberia), the place (Virk, i.e. Iberia, Vratc-dasht, i.e. Iberian/Georgian valley) and the ethnic (vratc, i.e. Iberian/Georgian) names applied to Kvemo Kartli and its local population.
The historico-geographical examination of the problem explains the discrepancy in the narratives of Movses Kalankatuaci and Yovhannes Catholicos: Georg and Arewes were Sewordi princes; because their domains were situated in Kvemo Kartli, they were described as Georgian/Iberian princes by certain Armenian writers.
CHRISTIANITY AND LANGUAGE POLICY
Language is a key to understanding the mediaeval aspect of the world – this postulate on the example of the Georgian language has been known in Kartvelology since the 90s of the 20th century (N. Vachnadze).
In the present paper, by applying a comparative-historical method and retrospective analysis the authors tried to throw light on two linguistic layers – the language of preaching and the language of liturgy, i.e. in what language St. Nino, "equal of the apostles", prea¬ched Christianity on the one hand, and on the other – in what tongue church services were celebrated and all prayers said in the Kingdom of Kartli in the 4th-5th centuries.
The history of missionary activities indicates that both in the western and eastern parts of the Christian world, beyond the frontiers of the Roman/Byzantine Empire the process of converting and evangelizing "the barbarians" was going on in the native tongues of these peoples. In the epoch when Christianity was declared the state religion in Kartli (Iberia) – probably, even previous to this fact – it was preached in the Georgian language, i.e. in the language of the autochthon population of the country. This surmise is supported by numerous examples from the history of different countries of the Christian world that are referred to in the present work, this is why the authors think it to be of particular significance; it for the first time in Georgian historiography that such work has been done.
In the kingdom of Kartli, in the churches of the Georgian state to be exact, almost for a century church services were celebrated in the Greek and Aramaic languages, the Georgian language was used in reading religious texts by means of their being translated orally from the aforementioned Greek and Aramaic languages and commented on.
By the end of the 4th century the process of establishing and declaring the Georgian tongue as the language of the Christian community had finished, its finale being the translation of the books of the New and Old Testaments into the Georgian language. As for the language of the divine services, in the course of the 5th century the Georgian language was gradually obtaining its legitimate place as the main language of the liturgy.
Translating the Biblical books into the Georgian language as well as celebrating church services in Georgian is a vivid example of revealing the spiritual and intellectual potential of the Iberians (resp. Georgians). This, to great extent, was facilitated by the opposition between Christian "Greece" and Persia – a country of Mazdaizm.
On the basis of the ecclesiastic-Georgian language both the Georgian Christian culture of the Early (and not only Early) Middle Ages and the national identity of the people were developing. It is how the new Georgian Christian community was assuming shape.
The main conclusions concerning the language of the church services are corroborated by numerous examples from the history of Evangelization of different countries worldwide, this, of course, enriches the historiographic basis of the present paper, which the authors think to be paramount importance, since it is first work of this kind in Georgian historiography.
inscription of Queen Mariam Artsruni of Georgian made on the
central cathedral of the Marmashen monastery. Here is given a
scientific reading of the inscription; authors deal with the issue about
the consideration of incorporation of Ani-Shirak into Georgian
kingdom and those political, religious and ethnic processes which
were accompanied by these processes.
the province of Dvaleti on the sources of the river Ardon, and later (second half of the 18th c.) various mountainous regions on the sources of the rivers Didi Liakhvi, Patara Liakhvi, Terek, Aragvi, and Ksani. In parallel to Oseti Georgian historians and geographers of the 18th century used the terms Dvaleti, Ossetians of Aragvi, Ossetians of Samachablo, etc. Changes had
occurred in the naming of mountains as well. Ossetian mountains or Osetian and Kartlian mountains used to be referred to the mountains which separated Ossetian and Georgian villages.
European and Russian travelers and officials described separate Ossetian settlements/districts in mountainous parts of Georgia as belonging either to the king or the tavads (princes). After Georgia’s conquest at the turn of the 19th century the Russian officials employed the term Ossetia to designate both the present-day North
Ossetia and Ossetian population of Georgia. In a narrow sense Georgian Ossetia applied to the villages in the upper Didi Liakhvi and Patara Liakhvi valleys, and in a broader sense to the Ossetian settlements along the banks of the Aragvi, the Ksani, the Terek and the Prone. In certain cases the term covered Georgian or mixed Georgian-Ossetian villages as well. Since the 1830s the high-rank Russian officials elaborated projects for unification of Ossetian settlements on the both sides of the Caucasian range under a separate single government to bind the Caucasus more firmly to the
Empire. A major step towards the project was the establishment of the Ossetian okrug in Georgia (1840). Couple of years later the Dvaleti province was separated from Georgia, i.e. the Tbilisi and Kutaisi gubernias, and
joined the Military Ossetian okrug of the North Caucasus. In parallel, the terms south Ossetians (1830s) and South Ossetia (mid-19th c.) developed and came in use. At the turn of the 20th century the terms Ossetia, South Ossetia got the political connotation. As a corner stone of the secessionist ideology it led to the formation of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast (1922), armed conflict (1991-1992) and the Russian occupation (2008).
Were they Georgian or Sewordik? Analysis of the Armenian historical texts demonstrates that 1) the Sewordik’ clan held the Utik province; 2) in the 9th-10th centuries Utik was centered not at Partav-Barda, but at the fortress of Tavush; 3) the province of Utik // the land of Sewordians comprised the valleys of the Tavush, the Aghstev (Dzoropor), and the Debeda (Dzoroyget). These three areas were parts of the Georgian province of Kvemo Kartli (Arm. Gugark). Because of mixed – Ibero-Armeno-Albanian – population the Kvemo Kartli region was a bone of contention among the Caucasian dynasts. By the end of the 9th c. the Bagratuni kings of Armenia gained the upper hand and spread their suzerainty over the whole region, including Tashiri (the Debeda valley) and Gardabani (the Aghstev and the Tavush valleys). However, the Armenian ruling elite and intellectuals viwed these conquered territories as Georgian/Iberian lands - the fact reflected in the Bagratuni title (prince of princes/king of kings of Armenia and Iberia), the place (Virk, i.e. Iberia, Vratc-dasht, i.e. Iberian/Georgian valley) and the ethnic (vratc, i.e. Iberian/Georgian) names applied to Kvemo Kartli and its local population.
The historico-geographical examination of the problem explains the discrepancy in the narratives of Movses Kalankatuaci and Yovhannes Catholicos: Georg and Arewes were Sewordi princes; because their domains were situated in Kvemo Kartli, they were described as Georgian/Iberian princes by certain Armenian writers.
CHRISTIANITY AND LANGUAGE POLICY
Language is a key to understanding the mediaeval aspect of the world – this postulate on the example of the Georgian language has been known in Kartvelology since the 90s of the 20th century (N. Vachnadze).
In the present paper, by applying a comparative-historical method and retrospective analysis the authors tried to throw light on two linguistic layers – the language of preaching and the language of liturgy, i.e. in what language St. Nino, "equal of the apostles", prea¬ched Christianity on the one hand, and on the other – in what tongue church services were celebrated and all prayers said in the Kingdom of Kartli in the 4th-5th centuries.
The history of missionary activities indicates that both in the western and eastern parts of the Christian world, beyond the frontiers of the Roman/Byzantine Empire the process of converting and evangelizing "the barbarians" was going on in the native tongues of these peoples. In the epoch when Christianity was declared the state religion in Kartli (Iberia) – probably, even previous to this fact – it was preached in the Georgian language, i.e. in the language of the autochthon population of the country. This surmise is supported by numerous examples from the history of different countries of the Christian world that are referred to in the present work, this is why the authors think it to be of particular significance; it for the first time in Georgian historiography that such work has been done.
In the kingdom of Kartli, in the churches of the Georgian state to be exact, almost for a century church services were celebrated in the Greek and Aramaic languages, the Georgian language was used in reading religious texts by means of their being translated orally from the aforementioned Greek and Aramaic languages and commented on.
By the end of the 4th century the process of establishing and declaring the Georgian tongue as the language of the Christian community had finished, its finale being the translation of the books of the New and Old Testaments into the Georgian language. As for the language of the divine services, in the course of the 5th century the Georgian language was gradually obtaining its legitimate place as the main language of the liturgy.
Translating the Biblical books into the Georgian language as well as celebrating church services in Georgian is a vivid example of revealing the spiritual and intellectual potential of the Iberians (resp. Georgians). This, to great extent, was facilitated by the opposition between Christian "Greece" and Persia – a country of Mazdaizm.
On the basis of the ecclesiastic-Georgian language both the Georgian Christian culture of the Early (and not only Early) Middle Ages and the national identity of the people were developing. It is how the new Georgian Christian community was assuming shape.
The main conclusions concerning the language of the church services are corroborated by numerous examples from the history of Evangelization of different countries worldwide, this, of course, enriches the historiographic basis of the present paper, which the authors think to be paramount importance, since it is first work of this kind in Georgian historiography.
inscription of Queen Mariam Artsruni of Georgian made on the
central cathedral of the Marmashen monastery. Here is given a
scientific reading of the inscription; authors deal with the issue about
the consideration of incorporation of Ani-Shirak into Georgian
kingdom and those political, religious and ethnic processes which
were accompanied by these processes.
the province of Dvaleti on the sources of the river Ardon, and later (second half of the 18th c.) various mountainous regions on the sources of the rivers Didi Liakhvi, Patara Liakhvi, Terek, Aragvi, and Ksani. In parallel to Oseti Georgian historians and geographers of the 18th century used the terms Dvaleti, Ossetians of Aragvi, Ossetians of Samachablo, etc. Changes had
occurred in the naming of mountains as well. Ossetian mountains or Osetian and Kartlian mountains used to be referred to the mountains which separated Ossetian and Georgian villages.
European and Russian travelers and officials described separate Ossetian settlements/districts in mountainous parts of Georgia as belonging either to the king or the tavads (princes). After Georgia’s conquest at the turn of the 19th century the Russian officials employed the term Ossetia to designate both the present-day North
Ossetia and Ossetian population of Georgia. In a narrow sense Georgian Ossetia applied to the villages in the upper Didi Liakhvi and Patara Liakhvi valleys, and in a broader sense to the Ossetian settlements along the banks of the Aragvi, the Ksani, the Terek and the Prone. In certain cases the term covered Georgian or mixed Georgian-Ossetian villages as well. Since the 1830s the high-rank Russian officials elaborated projects for unification of Ossetian settlements on the both sides of the Caucasian range under a separate single government to bind the Caucasus more firmly to the
Empire. A major step towards the project was the establishment of the Ossetian okrug in Georgia (1840). Couple of years later the Dvaleti province was separated from Georgia, i.e. the Tbilisi and Kutaisi gubernias, and
joined the Military Ossetian okrug of the North Caucasus. In parallel, the terms south Ossetians (1830s) and South Ossetia (mid-19th c.) developed and came in use. At the turn of the 20th century the terms Ossetia, South Ossetia got the political connotation. As a corner stone of the secessionist ideology it led to the formation of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast (1922), armed conflict (1991-1992) and the Russian occupation (2008).