Antiquity {{multiple image Most historians, as well as anthropologists, archaeologists, and linguists, agree that the ancestors of modern Georgians inhabited the
southern Caucasus and northern
Anatolia since the
Neolithic period. These peoples are usually referred to as Proto-Kartvelian tribes, including early groups such as Colchians and Iberians. In antiquity, the
ancient Greeks and
Romans knew the Georgian peoples as
Colchians and
Iberians. Eastern Georgian tribes (Tibarenians/Iberians) formed their kingdom in the 7th century
BCE, while western Georgian tribes (Colchians) established the kingdom of
Colchis (), predating the foundation of
Kingdom of Iberia in the east. The formation of these early kingdoms contributed to the consolidation of the Georgian nation. The Jewish historian
Josephus mentions Georgians as
Iberes, also called
Thobel (Tubal).
David Marshall Lang argued that the root
Tibar gave rise to
Iber, leading the Greeks to use the term
Iberian for eastern Georgians. Tribes such as
Diauehi (in
Assyria) and
Taochi (in Greek sources) lived in northeastern
Anatolia and are considered ancestors of the Georgians. Modern Georgians still refer to this region as
Tao-Klarjeti, part of present-day Turkey, where some Georgian-speaking communities persist. Colchians, first mentioned in the annals of
Tiglath-Pileser I and
Urartian king
Sarduri II, included western Georgian tribes such as the
Meskhetians, while Iberians (or Tiberians/Tiberanians) lived in eastern Georgia. Both played a crucial role in the ethnic and cultural formation of the Georgian nation. According to the scholar of the Caucasian studies
Cyril Toumanoff: In eastern Georgia, during the 6th–4th centuries BCE, Kartlian tribes consolidated power around Mtskheta, founding the Kingdom of Kartli (Iberia) under
Pharnavaz I and establishing the
Parnavazid dynasty. Colchis later became the Roman province of
Lazicum under Roman
legati, while Iberia accepted Roman protection. By the 3rd century CE, the
Laz people established the kingdom of
Lazica (Egrisi), lasting until 562 CE. The Kingdom of Iberia adopted
Christianity under
King Mirian III (traditionally 324), with
St. Nino credited for the conversion. By the mid-4th century, both Lazica and Iberia were officially Christian, aligning with
Byzantine Empire culture. Persian rule later introduced
Zoroastrianism alongside Christianity in some regions. King
Vakhtang I Gorgasali restored Iberian statehood and promoted independence, though subsequent rulers were sometimes Persian vassals, and the kingdom was occasionally governed by
Marzban. By the late 7th century, Byzantine-Persian rivalry declined, paving the way for
Arab conquest.
Middle Ages .
The Skylitzes Chronicle. In 645, Arabs invaded southeastern Georgia, initiating an
extended period of Muslim domination that led to the emergence of semi-independent feudal states such as the
Emirate of Tbilisi and the
Principality of Kakheti. In contrast, western Georgia largely remained under the protection of the Byzantine Empire following the
Lazic War. The decline of centralized authority created conditions for the rise of the
Bagrationi dynasty in the 9th century.
Ashot I (r. 813–830) consolidated power in
Tao-Klarjeti and extended his influence over Iberia, earning recognition from both the
Abbasid Caliphate and the Byzantine Empire. Later,
Adarnase IV succeeded in unifying most Georgian territories and was crowned
King of the Iberians in
888. In western Georgia, the
Kingdom of Abkhazia gradually unified local tribes during the 8th century and expanded into
Iberia in the 9th–10th centuries. However, persistent dynastic disputes, rival noble factions, and internal instability gradually weakened the Abkhazian monarchy. Meanwhile, in southern Georgia,
David III of Tao emerged as a dominant regional ruler, advocating for the political unification of Georgian territories. Recognizing the potential for consolidation, he supported the young
Bagrat III, who held hereditary claims to multiple Georgian thrones. Through a combination of military campaigns, diplomatic alliances, and dynastic legitimacy, Bagrat III successfully unified the principal Georgian polities. In 1008, he was crowned as the first king of a
unified Georgia, marking the establishment of a consolidated Georgian state that would later achieve significant cultural and political prominence. During the 11th century, Georgia faced internal noble conflicts and Byzantine interference, but both the Georgian and Byzantine states opposed the expansion of the
Seljuk Empire. After the
Battle of Manzikert in 1071, Georgia assumed control over eastern Anatolia and led military campaigns against Turkish forces throughout the 1080s. Georgia reached its political and cultural zenith in the 12th and early 13th centuries under the reigns of
David IV (r. 1089–1125) and
Tamar (r. 1184–1213), a period commonly referred to as the
Georgian Golden Age. David IV centralized royal authority, defeated Turkish forces at the
Battle of Didgori in 1121, and abolished the
Emirate of Tbilisi. Tamar further strengthened the Georgian state, earning the title of "king of kings". She neutralized internal opposition, expanded Georgian territories into present-day Azerbaijan, Armenia, eastern Turkey, and northern Iran, and established the
Empire of Trebizond as a vassal state. The decline of the Georgian kingdom began after
Jalal ad-Din captured Tbilisi in 1226, followed by the
Mongol invasions.
George V the Brilliant (r. 1314–1346) later restored political unity and revitalized Christian culture. However, subsequent
Timurid invasions and persistent
internal conflicts hindered full consolidation of the kingdom, ultimately contributing to its fragmentation in the 15th century.
Early modern history {{multiple image|total_width=400 The Kingdom of Georgia
collapsed into anarchy by 1466 and fragmented into three independent kingdoms and five semi-independent
principalities. Neighboring empires exploited this division, and from the 16th century, Ottoman and Iranian forces dominated western and eastern Georgia, respectively. Georgian rulers sought ties with Russia: in 1649, the
Kingdom of Imereti sent ambassadors, and
Alexander III of Imereti swore allegiance to Tsar
Alexis of Russia. Subsequent rulers also sought assistance from Pope
Innocent XII but without success. Vassal Georgian states occasionally rebelled. Continuous
Ottoman–Persian Wars and deportations reduced Georgia’s population to 784,700 by the late 18th century.
Eastern Georgia, under Iranian
suzerainty since the
Peace of Amasya, regained independence after
Nader Shah’s death in 1747 and was reunited under
Heraclius II. In 1783, the
Treaty of Georgievsk made Eastern Georgia a Russian protectorate, guaranteeing the Bagrationi dynasty’s rule in exchange for Russian control over foreign affairs. Russia failed to defend Georgia in 1795 when
Iran sacked Tbilisi. Although Russia launched a
punitive campaign, it later annexed Eastern Georgia in 1801, abolished the Bagrationi dynasty, and ended the
autocephaly of the
Georgian Orthodox Church.
Pyotr Bagration, a Bagrationi descendant, later became a prominent Russian general in the Napoleonic wars.
Modern history Russian authorities sought to integrate Georgia into their empire, but early rule was arbitrary and insensitive to local laws and customs, provoking a
conspiracy by Georgian nobles in 1832 and the
1841 Gurian revolt by peasants and nobles. Many Georgians were upset by the loss of independence of the
Georgian Orthodox Church. The Russian clergy took control of Georgian churches and monasteries, prohibiting use of the Georgian liturgy and desecrating medieval Georgian frescoes on various churches all across Georgia. holding a
traditional dagger, historically one of the key accessories of Georgian male attire. From 1855 to 1907, Prince
Ilia Chavchavadze led a Georgian patriotic movement, funding schools, supporting the national theatre, and founding the newspaper
Iveria. His efforts, backed by intellectuals such as
Giorgi Tsereteli,
Ivane Machabeli,
Akaki Tsereteli,
Niko Nikoladze,
Alexander Kazbegi, and
Iakob Gogebashvili, revived national consciousness. The late 19th century saw a Georgian literary revival. Chavchavadze excelled in poetry, novels, short stories, and essays.
Akaki Tsereteli became known as "the immortal nightingale of the Georgian people." Alongside Niko Nikoladze and Iakob Gogebashvili, these figures were central to the modern Georgian cultural renaissance. The
Russian Revolution of October 1917 plunged Russia into a bloody
civil war during which several outlying Russian territories declared independence. Georgia was one of them, proclaiming the establishment of the independent
Democratic Republic of Georgia (DRG) on 26 May 1918. The new country was governed by the
Social Democratic Party of Georgia, which established a
multi-party system, in sharp contrast to the "
dictatorship of the proletariat" established by the
Bolsheviks in Russia. In February 1921, the
Red Army invaded Georgia and after a
short war occupied the country. After
Gorbachev’s perestroika, mass pro-independence protests began to emerge in Georgia from 1988 onward, led by prominent
Georgian nationalist figures such as
Merab Kostava and
Zviad Gamsakhurdia. The following year, the
brutal suppression by Soviet forces of a large, peaceful demonstration in Tbilisi on 4–9 April 1989 became a pivotal moment, severely undermining the legitimacy of continued Soviet rule in the country. In October 1990, the first multi-party
elections were held in Soviet Georgia, which were the first multi-party elections in the entire Soviet Union in which the opposition groups were registered as formal political parties. The
Round Table—Free Georgia coalition, led by Zviad Gamsakhurdia, secured victory in this election and formed a new government. On 9 April 1991, shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the
Supreme Council of Georgia after a
referendum held on 31 March. ==Genetics==