Georgians
Total population | |
---|---|
c. 5 million[b] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Georgia 3,224,600[4][c]
For more, see |
The Georgians, or Kartvelians.
Georgians arose from
Thereafter and throughout the
The Georgian nation was formed out of a diverse set of geographic subgroups, each with its characteristic traditions, manners,
Etymology
Georgians call themselves Kartveli
The term "Georgians" is derived from the country of Georgia. In the past, lore-based theories were given by the medieval French traveller Jacques de Vitry, who explained the name's origin by the popularity of St. George amongst Georgians,[35] while traveller Jean Chardin thought that "Georgia" came from Greek γεωργός ("tiller of the land"), as when the Greeks came into the region (in Colchis[32]) they encountered a developed agricultural society.[32]
However, as Alexander Mikaberidze adds, these explanations for the word Georgians/Georgia are rejected by the scholarly community, who point to the Persian word gurğ/gurğān ("wolf"[36]) as the root of the word.[37] Starting with the Persian word gurğ/gurğān, the word was later adopted in numerous other languages, including Slavic and West European languages.[32][38] This term itself might have been established through the ancient Iranian appellation of the near-Caspian region, which was referred to as Gorgan ("land of the wolves"[39]).[32]
Anthropology
The 18th-century German professor of
Caucasian variety – I have taken the name of this variety from Mount Caucasus, both because its neighborhood, and especially its southern slope, produces the most beautiful race of men, I mean the Georgian; and because all physiological reasons converge to this, that in that region, if anywhere, it seems we ought with the greatest probability to place the autochthones (original members) of mankind.[41]
History
Most historians and scholars of Georgia as well as anthropologists, archaeologists, and linguists tend to agree that the ancestors of modern Georgians inhabited the
The Georgian people in antiquity have been known to the
According to the renowned scholar of the Caucasian studies
Diauehi in Assyrian sources and Taochi in Greek lived in the northeastern part of Anatolia. This ancient tribe is considered by many scholars as ancestors of the Georgians.[51] Modern Georgians still refer to this region, which now belongs to present-day Turkey, as Tao-Klarjeti, an ancient Georgian kingdom. Some people there still speak the Georgian language.[52]
Colchians in the ancient western Georgian polity of Colchis were another proto-Georgian tribe. They are first mentioned in the Assyrian annals of Tiglath-Pileser I and in the annals of Urartian king Sarduri II, and also included western Georgian tribe of the Meskhetians.[47][53]
Iberians, also known as Tiberians or Tiberanians, lived in the eastern Georgian kingdom of Iberia.[47]
Both Colchians and Iberians played an important role in the ethnic and cultural formation of the modern Georgian nation.[54][55]
According to the scholar of the Caucasian studies Cyril Toumanoff:
Colchis appears as the first Caucasian State to have achieved the coalescence of the newcomer, Colchis can be justly regarded as not a proto-Georgian, but a Georgian (West Georgian) kingdom ... It would seem natural to seek the beginnings of Georgian social history in Colchis, the earliest Georgian formation.[56]
Genetics
An FTDNA collection of Georgian Y-DNA suggests that Georgians have the highest percentage of
Culture
Language and linguistic subdivisions
Georgian is the primary language for Georgians of all provenance, including those who speak other
All of these languages comprise the Kartvelian language family along with the related language of the Laz people, which has speakers in both Turkey and Georgia.
Religion
According to Orthodox tradition,
As was true elsewhere, the Christian church in Georgia was crucial to the development of a written language, and most of the earliest written works were religious texts.
Today, 83.9% of the Georgian population, most of whom are ethnic Georgian, follow Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
There is also a small number of Georgian Jews, tracing their ancestors to the Babylonian captivity.
In addition to traditional religious confessions, Georgia retains
Cuisine
The Georgian cuisine is specific to the country, but also contains some influences from other European culinary traditions, as well as those from the surrounding Western Asia. Each historical province of Georgia has its own distinct culinary tradition, such as Megrelian, Kakhetian, and Imeretian cuisines. In addition to various meat dishes, Georgian cuisine also offers a variety of vegetarian meals.
The importance of both food and drink to Georgian culture is best observed during a Caucasian feast, or supra, when a huge assortment of dishes is prepared, always accompanied by large amounts of wine, and dinner can last for hours. In a Georgian feast, the role of the tamada (toastmaster) is an important and honoured position.
In countries of the former Soviet Union, Georgian food is popular due to the immigration of Georgians to other Soviet republics, in particular Russia. In Russia all major cities have many Georgian restaurants and Russian restaurants often feature Georgian food items on their menu.[65]
Geographic subdivisions and subethnic groups
Geographical subdivisions
The Georgians have historically been classified into various subgroups based on the geographic region which their ancestors traditionally inhabited.
Even if a member of any of these subgroups moves to a different region, they will still be known by the name of their ancestral region. For example, if a Gurian moves to Tbilisi (part of the Kartli region) he will not automatically identify himself as Kartlian despite actually living in Kartli. This may, however, change if substantial amount of time passes. For example, there are some Mingrelians who have lived in the Imereti region for centuries and are now identified as Imeretian or Imeretian-Mingrelians.
Last names from mountainous eastern Georgian provinces (such as Kakheti, etc.) can be distinguished by the suffix –uri (ური), or –uli (ული). Most Svan last names typically end in –ani (ანი), Mingrelian in –ia (ია), -ua (უა), or -ava (ავა), and Laz in –shi (ში).
Name | Name in Georgian | Geographical region | Dialect or Language |
---|---|---|---|
Adjarians | აჭარელი achareli | Adjara | Adjarian dialect
|
Gurians
|
გურული guruli | Guria | Gurian dialect |
Imeretians
|
იმერელი imereli | Imereti | Imeretian dialect |
Javakhians | ჯავახი javakhi | Javakheti | Javakhian dialect |
Kakhetians | კახელი kakheli | Kakheti | Kakhetian dialect |
Kartlians
|
ქართლელი kartleli | Kartli | Kartlian dialect |
Khevsurians | ხევსური khevsuri | Khevsureti | Khevsurian dialect |
Lechkhumians
|
ლეჩხუმელი lechkhumeli | Lechkhumi | Lechkhumian dialect |
Mingrelians | მეგრელი megreli | Samegrelo
|
Mingrelian language |
Meskhetians | მესხი meskhi | Meskheti (Samtskhe) | Meskhian dialect |
Mokhevians
|
მოხევე mokheve | Khevi | Mokhevian dialect |
Pshavians
|
ფშაველი pshaveli | Pshavi | Pshavian dialect |
Rachians
|
რაჭველი rachveli | Racha | Rachian dialect |
Svans
|
სვანი svani | Svaneti | Svan language |
Tushs | თუში tushi | Tusheti | Tushetian dialect |
The
Outside modern Georgia
Laz people also may be considered Georgian based on their geographic location and religion. According to the London School of Economics' anthropologist Mathijs Pelkmans,[68] Lazs residing in Georgia frequently identify themselves as "first-class Georgians" to show pride, while considering their Muslim counterparts in Turkey as "Turkified Lazs".[69]
Subethnic groups | Georgian name | Settlement area | Language (dialect) |
Number | Difference(s) from mainstream Georgians (other than location) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laz people | ლაზი lazi | Chaneti (Turkey) | Laz language | 1 million | Religion: Muslim majority, Orthodox Minority |
Fereydani | ფერეიდნელი pereidneli | Fereydan (Iran) | Pereidnuli dialect | 100,000 +[6] | Religion: Muslim[6] |
Chveneburi
|
ჩვენებური chveneburi | Black Sea Region (Turkey) | Georgian language | 91,000[70]–1,000,000[71] | Religion: Muslim[70] |
Ingiloy people | ინგილო ingilo | Zaqatala District (Azerbaijan)
|
Ingiloan dialect | 12,000 | Religion: Muslim majority,[72] Orthodox minority[73] |
Imerkhevians
(Shavshians) |
შავში shavshi | Shavsheti (Turkey)
|
Imerkhevian dialect | Religion: Muslim majority. | |
Klarjians | კლარჯი klarji | Klarjeti (Turkey) | Imerkhevian dialect |
Extinct Georgian subdivisions
Throughout history Georgia also has extinct Georgian subdivisions
Name | Name in Georgian | Geographical location | Dialect or language |
---|---|---|---|
Dvals | დვალი dvali | Georgia ( North Ossetia )
|
Dval dialect
|
See also
- List of Georgians
- Demographics of Georgia (country)
- Georgian American
- Peoples of the Caucasus
Notes
- ^ The fresco was a demonstration of the ambitious imperial[1] example on which the Georgian monarchs modeled themselves and competed in magnificence with those of Byzantine Empire.[2]
- ^ The total figure is merely an estimation; sum of all the referenced populations only.
- Russian-occupied territories of Georgia.
- ^ Georgian unification, the term would come to signify all-Georgian enterprise, becoming absolute and universal.[29]
References
- ^ Rapp (2016), location: 8958
- ^ Eastmond, pp. 26-61-62
- ^ Eastmond, pp. 60-28
- ^ Census data of National Statistics Office of Georgia
- ^ "საქართველოს მოსახლეობის საყოველთაო აღწერის საბოლოო შედეგები" (PDF). National Statistics Office of Georgia. 28 April 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
- ^ .
- ^ Rayfield, pp. 18—19
- ^ Suny, p. 21
- ^ Rayfield, p. 39
- ^ Suny, p. 32
- ^ Rayfield, p. 71
- ^ Eastmond, p. 39
- ^ Rapp (2016), location: 453
- ^ W.E.D. Allen, location: 1157
- ^ W.E.D. Allen, location: 337
- ^ W.E.D. Allen, location: 1612
- ^ W.E.D. Allen, location: 344
- ^ Suny, pp. 63-65-88
- ^ Rayfield, p. 259
- ^ Suny, p. 59
- ^ Suny, pp. 64-66
- ^ Suny, pp. 71-72
- ^ Statistics Archived 13 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine 22.04.2015
- ^ Rayfield, p. 12
- ISBN 5-511-00775-7
- ISBN 978-88-6240-274-3
- ^ Rapp & Crego, 2, pp. 1-2
- ^ Rapp & Crego, I, pp. 1-3
- ^ Rapp & Crego, 12-I, pp. 4-5
- ^ Suny, p. 3
- ^ Rapp (2016), location: 656
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4422-4146-6.
- ^ Rayfield, p. 13
- ^ Braund, David. Georgia in Antiquity: A History of Colchis and Transcaucasian Iberia, 550 BC-AD 562, pp. 17–18
- ^ Peradze, Gregory. "The Pilgrims' derivation of the name Georgia". Georgica, Autumn, 1937, nos. 4 & 5, 208–209
- ISBN 978-3-11-012884-0.
- ISBN 978-1-4422-4146-6.
However, such explanations are rejected by the scholarly community, who point to the Persian gurğ/gurğān as the root of the word (...)
- ISBN 978-0-8204-5991-2.
The Russian designation of Georgia (Gruziya) also derives from the Persian gurg.
- ^ Rapp (2016), location: 1086
- PMID 27874171.
- ^ Blumenbach, De generis humani varietate nativa (3rd ed. 1795), trans. Thomas Bendyshe (1865). Quoted e.g. in Arthur Keith, '"Blumenbach's Centenary", Man (journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland), v. 40, pp. 82–85 (1940).
- ^ Lang, p. 19
- ^ Lang, p. 66
- ^ Georgia A Sovereign Country of the Caucasus, Roger Rosen, p 18
- ^ Suny, p. 4
- ^ Rayfield, pp. 13-14
- ^ a b c d Toumanoff, p. 80
- ^ Toumanoff, p. 58
- ^ The Complete Works, Jewish Antiquities, Josephus, Book 1, p 57
- ^ Suny, p. 11
- ^ Suny, p. 6
- ^ Lang, p. 58
- ^ Lang, p. 59
- ^ Charles Burney and David Marshal Lang, The Peoples of the Hills: Ancient Ararat and Caucasus, p. 38
- ^ Toumanoff, p. 57
- ^ Toumanoff, pp. 69—84
- ^ "FamilyTreeDNA - Georgian DNA Project". www.familytreedna.com. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
- ^ Toumanoff, Cyril, "Iberia between Chosroid and Bagratid Rule", in Studies in Christian Caucasian History, Georgetown, 1963, pp. 374–377. Accessible online at "Iberia between Chosroid and Bagratid Rule by Cyril Toumanoff. Eastern Asia Minor, Georgia, Georgian History, Armenia, Armenian History". Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
- ISBN 978-1-4443-3361-9. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
- ^ "GEORGIA iii. Iranian elements in Georgian art and archeology". Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ISBN 0-253-20915-3. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- ^ "2002 census results – p. 132" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 October 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
- ^ Thomas Liles, "Islam and religious transformation in Adjara", ECMI Working Paper, February 2012, [1] Archived 5 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 4 June 2012
- ^ Caucasus Analytical Digest No.20, Heinrich Böll Stiftung, 11 October 2010
- ISBN 0-313-32773-4.
- ^ (in Russian) Первая всеобщая перепись населения Российской Империи 1897 г.
- ^ (in Russian) ССР ГРУЗИЯ (1926 г.)
- ^ "Dr Mathijs Pelkmans". Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- ^ Pelkmans, Mathijs. Defending the border: identity, religion, and modernity in the Republic of Georgia. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 2006, pg. 80
- ^ ISBN 978-1-85359-509-7. Retrieved 26 May 2014.)
About 91,000 Muslim Georgians living in Turkey.
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ignored (help - ^ "Türkiye'deki Yaşayan Etnik Gruplar Araştırıldı". Milliyet (in Turkish). 6 June 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2008.
- ISBN 978-0-8223-0891-1.
- ISBN 978-0-8161-1810-6.
A part of the Ingilo population still retains the (Orthodox) Christian faith, but another, larger segment adheres to the Sunni sect of Islam.
Bibliography
- ISBN 9781351923262
- ISBN 978-1-4094-4599-9(hbk)
- Eastmond, Anthony (2010), Royal Imagery in Medieval Georgia, Penn State Press
- ISBN 978-0253209153
- Lang, D. M. (1966), The Georgians, Thames & Hudson
- ISBN 978-1789140590
- Rapp, S. H. Jr. (2016) The Sasanian World Through Georgian Eyes, Caucasia and the Iranian Commonwealth in Late Antique Georgian Literature, Sam Houston State University, USA, Routledge
- Toumanoff, C. (1963) Studies in Christian Caucasian History, Georgetown University Press