Simon Kaukhchishvili ( ka, სიმონ ყაუხჩიშვილი) (October 1, 1895 in

Kutaisi Kutaisi ( ; ka, ქუთაისი ) is a city in the Imereti region of the Georgia (country), Republic of Georgia. One of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, it is the List o ...

– May 11, 1981 in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

) was a Georgian historian and philologist known for his critical editions of old Georgian chronicles; Doctor of Historical Sciences (1927), Professor (1930),

Academician An academician is a full member of an artistic, literary, engineering, or scientific academy. In many countries, it is an honorific title used to denote a full member of an academy that has a strong influence on national scientific life. Accor ...

of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences (1968). He was born to a Georgian Catholic family in

, western Georgia (then part of

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

). In 1917, he graduated from the Saint Petersburg University and returned to Georgia where he was assigned to the recently established

Tbilisi State University Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილის სახელობის თბილისის სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი, tr; often shorten ...

where he attained to the title of Professor in 1930 and chaired the departments of the

Byzantine studies Byzantine studies is an interdisciplinary branch of the humanities that addresses the history, culture, demography, dress, religion/theology, art, literature/epigraphy, music, science, economy, coinage and politics of the Eastern Roman Empire. ...

(1927–38) and of the Classical Philology (1940-1954). From 1960 until his death, he headed the Department of the Byzantine Studies at the Institute for Oriental Studies in

. Under

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

, he was persecuted by the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

authorities, being sacked twice, in 1938 and 1953, but survived the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

. Having left a diverse literary and scholarly legacy and commonly regarded as the founder of the Byzantine studies in Georgia, his crowning achievements are the critical editions of the Georgian Chronicles (" Kartlis Tskhovreba") and Prince Vakhushti’s historical-geographical treatise.Rapp, Stephen H. (2003), ''Studies In Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts'', p. 16. Peeters Bvba He also translated and critically edited a collection of Byzantine sources on Georgia and Georgians published as ''Georgica'' in eight volumes from 1934 to 1970.

References

1895 births 1981 deaths People from Kutaisi Byzantinists from Georgia (country) Philologists from Georgia (country) Translators from Georgia (country) Soviet historians Soviet philologists Soviet translators Scholars of Byzantine history Members of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences Academic staff of Tbilisi State University Honoured Scientists of Georgia (country) Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Roman Catholics from Georgia (country) Soviet Catholics 20th-century historians from Georgia (country) {{Georgia-historian-stub