With a territory spanning over 69.7 square kilometers, and a population of approximately 4.6 million, Georgia is a melting pot of different ethnicities. An estimated 70.1 percent of Georgians are mostly Orthodox Christians, Sunni Muslims and Catholics; 8.1 percent are Armenians (Gregorian), 6.3 percent are Russians (Orthodox Christians, Starovertsy, Molokane, Dukhobory), 5.7 percent are Azeris (Shi'i Muslims), 3 percent are Ossets (Orthodox Christians), 1.8 percent are Abkhazians (Surini Muslims, Orthodox Christians), 1.8 percent are Greeks (Orthodox Christians), 1.0 percent are Ukrainians (Orthodox Christians), 0.6 percent are Kurds (Sunni Muslims, Yazidis), 0.5 percent are Jews (Judaists) and 0.1 percent are Assyrians (Sunni Muslims). With the exception of 350 years of Emirate rule in the latter part of the 8th century, the city of Tbilisi has been the capital of Georgia since the 6th century. Yet, emirate capitals, including the 8thcentury capital city of Kutaisi, and 4th century BC to 5th century AD capital of Mtskheta, remained ecclesiastic centers for a long time. Despite the seemingly endless array of cultures living in Georgia, the only alphabet created in the country was Georgian.

Other names used in the 11th century, like the self-appointed name "Sakartvelo," denoted different ethnic groups living in Georgia, while a much earlier name, "Kartli," was connected with one of the Georgian tribes which gave the country the name and literary language. Similarly, during the 8th - 13th centuries, Georgia was referred to as "Abkhazia." Georgia became known as Abkhazia because of its long line of Georgian kings, including the king of the Abkhazians, Kartvelians, Rans, Khahetians, and so on.

HISTORY OF STATEHOOD

Georgia's over two millennium history makes it a unique country. Initial documentation of the Georgian state was recorded in the Assyrian cuneiform inscriptions in the 12th century BC, and later recorded in Urartian sources. One can trace Georgia's rich history back to the beginning of the 3rd century BC, and Assyrian influences are is still evident in the Georgian culture today. Our rich history of unity and independence serves as a testament to and explanation for our nation's survival. At times, both were hardly achievable and depended more on external than internal factors. In some cases, when the local rulers were forced to compromise, they sacrificed our independence as a means of ensuring unity among our people. Such was the case in the end of the 18th century, when, exhausted from nearly three centuries of futile attempts to liberate from Turkish and Iranian invaders, Georgia allied with Russia to protect its sovereignty. 

AN ERA UNDER FOREIGN RULE

In the 16th century, Georgia was divided between Turkey and Iran. Neither country, however, was strong enough to conquer the entire country. Georgia considered Russia the only country capable of restoring its unity, and allied with Russia to protect its interests. Yet, this move cost Georgia not only the lives of several of its kings, who were executed by Iranians under the punitive campaign of Khan Agha Muhammad in 1795, but also its independence.

Abrogated by the 1783 Georgievsk Treaty of Protectorship, Russia annexed Georgia and later abolished its statehood (1801). Yet, complete destruction of the state and social institutions, including the razing of the Georgian Church and loss of cultural identity, seemed to be an acceptable sacrifice for the preservation of Georgian unity and an interruption of slave trade and local raids by Turkey and Iran.

In the 19th century, Georgia became an arena for numerous insurrections. Attractive not just for the Golden Fleece, but because of its location on the crossroads to Central Asia to the east and the Mediterranean to the south, Georgia was continuously occupied. Foreign domination of Georgia proved to be short-lived, however; just as the demise of the Hittite kingdom resulted in mushrooming of the small state coalitions like Mushki in the Central East; Tibal in eastern Anatolia; Daiaeni southwest of Transcaucasia, or Culkha; the fall of Akhaemenid Persia and the Macedonians led to the creation of the powerful kingdom in eastern Georgia in the beginning of the 3rd century. 

KARTLI: THE FIRST GEORGIAN STATE

Kartli ,derived from the Greek and Latin for "Iberia," was the seat of Georgian power in the 3rd century. By the 7th century BC, Georgian sovereignty would expand to the western state of Egrisi, or "Colchis," (later known as "Lazica"), marking the first unification of Georgia.

The decline of the Arabs in the region promoted the secession and emergence of the Georgian kingdoms and principalities, which were unified in the end of the 10th and beginning of the 11th centuries under the name "Sakartvelo." Dissolution of the Seijuks Empire signaled the emergence of the Golden Age in Georgia which was only temporarily interrupted by the invading Mongols in the 13th century. Yet, in the 13th century, Georgia once again restored its sovereignty following the fall of Ilhans of Persia and the defeat of Tamerlane.

CONTEMPORARY GEORGIA: REBUILDING A NATION

Collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917 fostered the development of the short-lived Georgian Democratic Republic. Less than three years later, however, Georgia was once again under the control of Foreign invaders; the Red Army would stay in Soviet Georgia until its independence in 1991. And since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Georgian sovereignty and unification has been restored.

Since ancient times, the Abkhazo-Adighe family, which was comprised of Kartvelian-speaking, Megrelian, Svan and Abhkazian tribes, inhabited the territory of Georgia. Recurrent migrations into Georgia by invaders and refugees alike, however, caused an infiltration of numerous ethnicity’s in Georgia throughout its early history, including Scythians, Cimmerians, Greeks, Jews, Persians, Romans, Armenians, Assyrians, Byzantines, Huns, Khazars, Arabs, Turks, Khorezmians, Ossets, Russians, Germans, Estonians, Poles, Kurds and others.

The Georgian Chronicles on "The History of Kartli" cite the existence of six principal languages in eastern Georgia prior to the creation of the first kingdom of Kartli in the 8th century: Armenian, Hebrew, Georgian, Assyrian, Greek and Khazar. Though incomplete and partly anachronistic or ambiguous, this information is a testament to Georgian multi-ethnicity and multi-culturalism.

This process was paralleled by the spread of the Georgian language, which became the state and compulsory language in the beginning of the 3rd century BC, and continued to flourish through the 8th century. Unification of western Georgia since the 8th century under the Abhkazian and Georgian rulers reinforced use of the language for official, written documents.

By the  10th century, cleric Giorgi Merchule issued a redefinition of the geographic area comprising the eastern state of Kartli; according the Merchule, the new Kartli state would include "the very country in which services were performed in Georgian," or, rather, Western Georgia as well.

Diffusion of Christianity in Georgia since the 1st century turned into a policy of forced assimilation when it was proclaimed the official religion of Georgia. Fighting on a religious basis in the multi-religious country of Georgia also inevitably occurred. An initial schism between the Armenian and Georgian churches in the 4th century paved the way for future religious wars and the emergency of self-identity of these churches in the 7th century.

But such compulsive measures were shortly succeeded by more peaceful, proselytizing resolutions in which the principal heroes included Persian or Arab leaders who were executed and blamed by their religious opponents. The Georgian Orthodox Church was created in the hope of forming a national state and escaping the domination of Persia. It remained a center of nationalism throughout the next few centuries. In the late Middle Ages, the Church played its most considerable role in Georgia's struggle with Muslim Turkey and Iran. Such concessions to religion would lead to the territorial losses in southern Georgia. Yet, the development of language and religion in Georgia, which was flailed by the slogan "Fatherland, Language, Faith," contributed to the preservation of Georgia's civil society. 

GEORGIA As AN ETHNIC MOSAIC

Georgia's long history of cultural pluralism is one reason for its promotion of multi-ethnicity. At many times, Georgian kings deliberately settled different ethnic groups throughout the country- including the Kipchak warriors in the 12th century and the Armenian and Greek artisans in the 12th and 18th centuries- to protect various ethnic groups. Throughout the era of Georgian rule, no ethnic conflicts have been known to arise. Nor did the more dangerous resettlements result in conflict; they included the dismissal of Georgian Archbishop Mikheil in the 5th century; the removal of Georgian feudal ruler Guzan; the expulsion of Suzdal Prince Uri in the 12th century; and the resettlement of the Ossets in North Caucasus in the 14th century.

Cultural and religious differences did not cause conflicts in Georgia. Comparing the situation of the three major religious minorities Monophysites (mostly Armenians), Judaists   (Jews) and Muslims (Turks, Iranians) -one can see that the first two groups, rarely, if ever, were represented by a country which was in conflict with Georgia. For the most part, religious discrepancies between Georgians and Armenians were resolved peacefully, and the unique cases of violence between both groups were resolved by the country in power; one readily recalls the 1 2th century order of Queen Tamar to the Georgians to repay the Armenians a sum of 40,000 dinars for restoration of their church. At that time, Monophysites maintained the highest state positions, while the Judaists played an active role in state affairs.

Muslim and Georgian populations, however, were frequently involved in open conflict. Yet these conflicts always coincided with conquests or threats from the Muslim groups' mother countries. Conflicts were rarely long-lived, however, and often coincided with the granting of special privileges to the Muslim contenders by Georgian kings-like the actions of David the Rebuilder in the 12th century, who granted special privileges to the Muslim minorities as a remedy for their past discrimination. In each of these conflicts, Georgia remained a non-aggressor, and protected its conquerors throughout its political and cultural expansion in the 12th -13th and 18th centuries. Georgia was traditionally a protector and ally of Muslim groups, although at times was involved in fighting against other Muslims; in the battle of Shamhkor in 1195, Georgia supported Shirwan-shah and his son-in-law in the fight against the Atabeg of Azerbaijan. Yet, Georgia refused to participate in the many religious crusades, despite being offered on numerous occasions. 

Despite infrequent political tension, the Georgian leaders promoted ongoing cultural interaction among the different ethnic groups. The most famous Georgian poet, Shota Rustaveli, made an Arab the principal, positive hero of his 13th-century poem, "The knight of the panther's skin," and identified himself with that personage. The later poet and King of Kakheti, Kartli Teimuraz I, was profoundly influenced by Persian literature.

Georgian relations with other Orthodox countries were not always ideal, as is witnessed by the wars with Byzantium and the behavior of Tsarist Russia, which not only abolished monarchy, but also eliminated autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox Church-which was assumed by the Mtskhetan See in the 5th century and survived domination by Muslim Turkey and Iran. Russian political expansion was based on the logic that "Cultural ideas and concepts are to be brought to the native population, not via Georgian, but via the Russian language." In lieu of this belief, Russian officials attempted to unite the Sukhumi bishopric with the Kuban area, thus separating it from the Georgian Church.

The policy of "divide and rule" was not alien to the creators of the Soviet system, who tried to further unravel Georgian unification; "Separation of Abhkazia from Georgia is a matter of great urgency... Another area worthy of our attention is Megrelia; it may also be placed within the Soviet sphere of influence because, if the Megrelians, like the Abkhazians, are granted autonomy, we can dismember the Georgian republic into a number of autonomies and [have] greater influence."

During Soviet power three autonomous units were established on the territory of Georgia: the Abkhazian and Adjarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics and the South Ossetian Autonomous Region. And even after Georgian independence in 1991, there were many Russian attempts to further separate the country-not only in Abhkazia, Adjaria and South Ossetia, but in Megrelia as well.

Many writers are influenced by this Russian belief in Georgian separation. And some authors readily state that these small nations were oppressed by Georgians; they are of the mistaken opinion that it is necessary to create Svan and Megrelian alphabets. Let us recall that Svans, Megrelians, Kartlians, Imeretians, Gurians and others actually comprised and created the Georgian nation and alphabet that we know today.

TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY

In 1991, Georgia proclaimed its independence from the Soviet Union. Yet Georgia has not yet attained full sovereignty. The question of whether sovereignty will be possible in Georgia, or, rather, whether or not Georgia will start a new cycle of the epic of Amirani-the Georgian prototype of Prometheus-still depends on its neighbors. Transition to democracy has been a painful process for Georgia. But the adoption of the new Constitution in August 1995, passage of several Investment laws, and the elections that were held on November 5,1995 clearly show law-abidance, internal readiness and allegiance to democratic principles.