HistoryGeorgia: History
Early History
Introduction
The early archaeological cultures of the South Caucasus (the Kura-Arax and the Trialeti)demonstrated a high degree of sophistication, and from early ancient times Georgia occupieda place in occidental and oriental historiography, folklore and mythology. Adjacent to thekingdom of western Georgia (Egrisi, or Colchis to the ancient Greeks), situated along theBlack Sea coast, in southern and eastern Georgia another state of Kartli (anciently known asIberia) united tribes speaking the Kartvelian language. Georgian historic tradition dates fromthe first attempt to unite the country under King Parnavaz (Farnavazi, Pharnabazus) of Kartliat the beginning of the third century BC. Georgia became a battlefield for the continuousrivalry of Persia (Iran) and the Eastern Roman (later `Byzantine’) Empire. Christianity wasadopted in Georgia in AD 334, when King Mirian (Meribanes) III of Kartli-Iberia took instruction from St Nino of Cappadocia, and the Georgian alphabet was created for translatingholy texts. The first Georgian inscriptions appeared in Jerusalem in the 5th century, followedsoon after by the first known literary text, the
Martyrdom of St Shushanik
. At around thesame time, King Vakhtang Gorgasali founded the future capital city of Tbilisi, and managed briefly to unite east and west Georgia.In 645 Tbilisi fell to the Arabs, who dominated the area for two centuries, before beingsuperseded by the Byzantines, and later by the Seljuq Turkish sultanate, in the 11th century. Anew dynasty, the Bagrationi, gained control of Inner Kartli and the city of Uplistsikhe, and in978 King Bagrat III Bagration became the first king of both Kartli and Abkhazia, that is to sayof both eastern and western Georgia. The ascent to the throne of David IV (the‘Builder’,1089–1125) was marked by victory over the Muslim coalition at the Battle of Didgori in 1121 and the recapture of Tbilisi. During the reign of Queen Tamar (1178–1212),Georgia’s statehood reached its peak, but it fell to the invasions of Jelal-el-Din in 1225–27,which were followed by a Mongol raid in 1235. Only in 1314 was Giorgi V (the`Brilliant’)able to reunite Georgia, but, soon after, the invasions of the Turco-Mongolianleader, Timur `the Lame’ (Tamerlane, 1370–1405), finally broke Georgia’s resistance. With
the fall of the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, in 1453, Georgia remained the only Christianstronghold in the region, surrounded by Muslim kingdoms, which relentlessly invaded thecountry. Georgia fragmented into a number of kingdoms and principalities. In despair, in1783 King Irakli (Erekle) II of the reunified Kartli-Kakheti (1762–98) signed the Treaty of Georgievsk, under the terms of which the kingdom became a Russian protectorate. Nevertheless, when the Persians invaded Tbilisi in 1795, Russia showed no willingness tohelp and in 1800, upon the death of King Giorgi XII, Tsar Paul (Pavel) I of Russia declaredthe annexation of eastern Georgia. The decree of his successor, Tsar Alexander (Aleksandr) I,of 12 September 1801, finalized the issue; the kingdom was abolished.
Under the Russian Empire (1801–1917)
Having annexed Kartli-Kakheti, the Russian Government exiled the heir, David, and the royalfamily to Russia. In 1804 King Solomon II of Imereti (the main principality of westernGeorgia) was forced to accept Russian sovereignty. The leaders of other, smaller principalitiesshowed little resistance to the Russian conquest. Successful wars against Turkey and Persiaconfirmed Russian rule over the South Caucasus, although frequent mishandling of sensitiveissues and local traditions by the Russian administration caused numerous uprisings. ForcefulRussian expansion caused the Muslim peoples of the North Caucasus to resort to militaryresistance. Russian forces, supported by Georgian militia, finally won the Great CaucasianWar, which ended in 1864–65. Many Caucasian Muslims (
muhajirs
), including Abkhazians,left for the Turkish Ottoman Empire, dramatically altering the demographic balance. Muslimsfrom Akhaltsikhe (Meskheti) and Adjara also emigrated.With the appointment of the first viceroy, Mikhail Vorontsov (1845–54), Georgia integratedmore rapidly into the Russian Empire. Meanwhile, a political movement aimed at protectingnational identity, headed by the prominent poet Ilia Chavchavadze, emerged. The 1860s weremarked by the emancipation of the serfs in Georgia, as elsewhere in the Russian Empire. Thiscaused further social differentiation and economic disaster for the majority of peasants. The politicization of society increased, creating a favourable environment for the development of socialist ideas. In 1899 the Tiflis (Tbilisi) committee of the All-Russian Social DemocraticLabour Party was formed, dominated by a Menshevik, legalist wing, led by Noe Jordania. Itwas opposed by the Bolsheviks, among whom Stalin (Iosif Dzhugashvili, or IosebJughashvili) gradually acquired a leading position. In August 1914 Russia entered the FirstWorld War, and the Russian army advanced deep into Turkey, occupying Kars, Ardahan andEastern Anatolia. Following the abdication of Tsar Nicholas (Nikolai) II in March 1917, theProvisional Government nominated an executive in the South Caucasus—the SpecialTranscaucasian Committee (Ozakom)—but its power was restricted by soviets (councils),which were controlled in Georgia by Mensheviks. While the latter supported the RussianGovernment and the prolongation of the war, the Bolsheviks demanded peace at any price,demobilization and revolution. When, in November, the Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd(now St Petersburg), Russia, the Georgian Mensheviks, the Armenian Dashnaks and the AzeriMüsavatists immediately responded by creating an executive body, the TranscaucasianCommissariat, and, later, a legislative body, the Seim. Following the signature of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty on 3 March 1918, the Bolsheviks ceded the districts of Akhaltsikhe,
Akhalkalaki, Ardahan, Batumi and Kars to Turkey, and the Russian-Caucasian armywithdrew. The peoples of the South Caucasus had no means to resist the Turkish advance, andan armistice was negotiated. Under Turkish pressure, an independent Federative Republic of Transcaucasia was proclaimed. Disagreements between Armenians, Azeris and Georgians putan end to the federation only five weeks later. On 26 May the Georgian Democratic Republicdeclared its independence.
First Republic (1918–21)
In June 1918 the Georgian Soviet (Council) was dissolved, and Jordania became the PrimeMinister of a social democratic administration. The Government implemented limited landreform, nationalized mines and railways, and signed a special agreement with the GermanGeneral, Otto von Lossow, establishing a German protectorate. Shortly after that, another agreement was signed, with Turkey, which recognized the loss of Akhalkalaki andAkhaltsikhe. When, in November, Germany was defeated in the First World War, the Britishemerged as the dominant power in the region. Ethnocentric policies continued to feed tensionsamong the non-Georgian population, and in December 1918 the Armenian army moved intoGeorgia, which retaliated. Further fighting on the Armenian border was halted by Britishforces. At the Paris Peace Conference in January 1919, Georgia received de facto recognition by the Allied Powers. In the mean time, a serious military threat was presented by theVolunteer Army of Gen. Anton Denikin, which attacked Georgian forces in the Sochi regionof Russia in February.During 1920 the geopolitical situation changed dramatically. As the civil war in Russia cameto an end, the Caucasian Bureau (Kavburo), under the leadership of Sergo Ordzhonikidze(Orjonikidze), was founded to formally establish Soviet authority across the Caucasus. Whenthe Bolsheviks organized uprisings in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the People’s Guardresponded with violence. In April the Red Army occupied Azerbaijan and proclaimed it aSoviet Republic, and a Soviet Republic of Armenia was declared in December. Georgia wasleft undefended against Soviet expansion when, in July, the British withdrew their forces.Russia signed a peace treaty with Georgia on 7 May. Nevertheless, Ordzhonikidze and hisunyielding supporters in Baku (Bakı, Azerbaijan) continued to insist on invasion. On 16February 1921 a Revolutionary Committee was formed by Bolsheviks in Georgia. The 11thRed Army entered Georgia from the east, and other troops moved in from Armenia and fromSochi. Although the Georgian Republic had been officially recognized by the Western powersat the beginning of the year, and on 25 February the Georgian ambassador had presented hiscredentials in Paris, France, on the same day Russian troops, led by Ordzhonikidze, enteredTbilisi, and Georgia’s brief period of independence came to an end.
Soviet Georgia
With the fall of Tbilisi, the Menshevik Government retreated to Batumi, finally fleeing toEurope on 16 March 1921. On 21 May Georgia’s Bolshevik Government signed a treaty withthe Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), and Georgia became a SovietSocialist Republic (SSR). The opposition, united in a so-called Parity Committee, began
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