''The Georgian Chronicles'' is a conventional

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

name for the principal compendium of medieval

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

historical texts, natively known as ''Kartlis Tskhovreba'' ( ka, ქართლის ცხოვრება), literally "Life of Kartli",

Kartli Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...

being a core region of ancient and medieval Georgia, known to the Classical and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

authors as

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

. The chronicles are also known as ''The Georgian Royal Annals'', for they were essentially the official corpus of history of the

Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic ...

.Rapp, Stephen H. (2003),
Studies in Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts
', ''passim''. Peeters Publishers, . Retrieved on 26 April 2009.

Toumanoff, Cyril Cyril Leo Toumanoff (russian: Кирилл Львович Туманов; 13 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Russian-born Georgian historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armenia, ...

(1963). ''Studies in Christian Caucasian History''. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, ''passim''.

Chronicles

The Chronicles consist of a series of distinct texts dating from the 9th to the 14th century. The dating of these works as well as the identification of their authors (e.g.,

Leonti Mroveli Leonti Mroveli ( ka, ლეონტი მროველი) was the 11th-century Georgian chronicler, presumably an ecclesiastic. ''Mroveli'' is not his last name, but the adjective for the diocese of Ruisi, whose bishop he probably was. Rayfi ...

and

Juansheriani Juansher Juansheriani ( ka, ჯუანშერ ჯუანშერიანი) (fl. c. 790–800Toumanoff, Cyril (1963). ''Studies in Christian Caucasian History'', pp. 24, 25, 254. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press. or 11th century) ...

) have been a subject of scholarly debates. Although many scholars in Georgia still propose an 11th-century dating for the first redaction of the corpus, the increasing number of modern experts has accepted Professor

Cyril Toumanoff Cyril Leo Toumanoff (russian: Кирилл Львович Туманов; 13 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Russian-born Georgian historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armenia, ...

's hypothesis that the earliest texts of ''Kartlis Tskhovreba'' were composed c. 800. The latest texts were added in the 14th century. A "canonized" version was edited by a special commission appointed and chaired by King

Vakhtang VI of Kartli Vakhtang VI ( ka, ვახტანგ VI), also known as Vakhtang the Scholar, Vakhtang the Lawgiver and Ḥosaynqolī Khan ( fa, حسین‌قلی خان, translit=Hoseyn-Qoli Xān) (September 15, 1675 – March 26, 1737), was a Georgian ...

early in the 18th century. During the 11th century, the first three works – the "History of the Kings and Patriarchs of the Georgians", the "History of King Vakhtang Gorgasali", and the "Martyrdom of Saint Archil" – already made up a first corpus which covered the Georgian history from the earliest times through the reign of

Vakhtang I Gorgasali Vakhtang I Gorgasali ( ka, ვახტანგ I გორგასალი, tr; or 443 – 502 or 522), of the Chosroid dynasty, was a king of Iberia, natively known as Kartli (eastern Georgia) in the second half of the 5th and first quarter o ...

(r. 452–502/22) down to the death of Vakhtang's descendant Archil (786). In the middle of the 12th century, two texts were added: the "Chronicle of Kartli" – which records the Georgian history from the late 8th century through the reign of the first all-Georgian king Bagrat III (r. 1008-1014) to the early regnal years of

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) ...

(r. 1072-1089) – and the "History of the King of Kings David" – which continues the story and focuses on the reign of

David IV David IV, also known as David the Builder ( ka, დავით აღმაშენებელი, ') (1073–1125), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the 5th king of United Georgia from 1089 until his death in 1125. Popularly considered to be ...

(r. 1089-1125).

Manuscripts

The extant Georgian manuscripts of ''Kartlis Tskhovreba'' are relatively late, with the earliest, the so-called ''Anaseuli'' or " Queen Anna" codex, dating from the period of 1479-1495. Another major variant, ''Mariamiseuli'' or " Queen Mariam" codex, was copied in the years 1633-1645/1646. However, the surviving Georgian manuscripts are predated by the Chronicles' abridged

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

adaptation known as "The History of Georgians" (''Patmut'iwn Vrats), most probably made in the 12th century, with its earliest extant manuscript being copied in the period of 1279-1311. A number of translations are available in French, Russian, English and German, but each one covers only a selected number of these texts.

Authenticity

Some modern scholars, such as

Ivane Javakhishvili Ivane Alexandres dze Javakhishvili ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილი; 23 April 1876 – 18 November 1940) was a Georgian historian and linguist whose voluminous works heavily influenced the modern scholarship of the history ...

, have questioned the authenticity of the early components of "The Georgian Chronicles" and have called for extreme caution when working with them. Indeed, strict historical facts are frequently intermingled with mythical ones, making it sometimes difficult to discern true historiography and mythology. However, critical analyses against other sources, including the Classical authors, and a series of recent archaeological studies have proved the trustworthiness of many of the Chronicles' accounts. These texts relate evidence not only for the history of Georgia, but also

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

and the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

in general,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, Syria,

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

, the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

, the

Khazars The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...

, and the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

Components

References

External links