Several authors have connected Meskhetians or Meskhians to
Mushki tribe or
Moschoi (Μόσχοι) in Greek sources, who were an
Iron Age people of
Anatolia. Meskhian tribes came to the fore, gradually moving northeast and forming their settlements in the very heart of
Kartli. Mtskheta, the ancient capital of Iberia (literarily means "town of Meskhs") was one such settlement, deriving its name from the ethnonym "Meskhians". According to the
Cyril Toumanoff, Moschians were the early proto-
Georgian tribe which played a leading role in the consolidation of
Iberian tribes largely inhabiting eastern and southern Georgia. Between 9th-11th centuries Mesketi, also known as
Tao-Klarjeti, was governed by the
Bagrationi dynasty and the region played a crucial role in the unification of the Georgian principalities into a single
Georgian state in 1008. Meskheti gave many prominent people to the Georgia: such as
Shota Rustaveli, who is considered to be the preeminent poet of the
Georgian Golden Age and one of the greatest contributors to
Georgian literature. Rustaveli is the author of ''
The Knight in the Panther's Skin'', which is considered to be a Georgian national
epic poem. Thereafter, the kingdom of Georgia declined and eventually
disintegrated under hegemony of various regional powers, including the
Mongols,
Timurids,
Black and
White Sheeps. After the
Mongol invasion of Georgia, Meskhetian princes gained virtual independence from the Georgian crown and established
Principality of Samtskhe under the Mongol patronage. By the
Peace of Amasya (1555), Principality of Samtskhe was divided into two, with the
Safavids keeping the eastern part and the
Ottomans gaining the western part. In 1578, the Ottomans performed
a successful invasion into additional Georgian territories not under their control, triggering the
Ottoman-Safavid War of 1578-1590. By 1582, the Turks were in possession of the eastern part of
Meskheti as well. The Georgian population of Meskheti was temporarily displaced to inner regions of Georgia such as
Imereti and
Kartli. Following the
Russo-Turkish War of 1828, much of the historic Meskheti was liberated from Turks and reunited with the Georgian mainland, this time under
Russian Imperial rule. A significant number of Georgians, including notable military figures like
Roman Bagration, participated in the campaign to reclaim these lands from the Ottomans. == Notable Meskhetians ==