Edvard Vasilevich Rtveladze ( ka, ედუარდ ბასილის ძე რთველაძე; ; May 14, 1942 – February 10, 2022) was a Soviet, Georgian, and Uzbek scientist. He was a member of the Senate of the

Oliy Majlis The Oliy Majlis (, /) is the parliament of Uzbekistan. It succeeded the Supreme Council of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 1995, and was unicameral until a reform implemented in January 2005 created a second chamber. The legislative chamber ha ...

, Doctor of Historical Sciences, academician from the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and a tenured professor.

Biography

Rtveladze was born on May 14, 1942, in

Borjomi Borjomi ( ka, ბორჯომი ) is a resort town in south-central Georgia with a population of 11,173 (as of 2024). Located 165 km from Tbilisi, it is one of the six municipalities of the Samtskhe–Javakheti region and is situated in the ...

Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Georgia, the Georgian SSR, or simply Georgia, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union from its second occupation (by the Red Army) in 1921 to its independence in 1991. Cotermin ...

. He obtained his degree in history and archaeology from the National University of Uzbekistan in 1967. From 1967 to 1969, he served as a laboratory assistant and junior research fellow at the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan Institute of Art Studies. He taught at the Tashkent Institute of Theatre and Fine Arts from 1970 to 1973. In 1975, he defended his Ph.D. thesis titled "From the History of urban culture in Northern Caucasia and its Connections with Central Asia" in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

(now

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

). From 1973 to 1976, he worked as a junior research fellow at the Institute of Art Studies of the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan. From 1976 to 1985, he held the position of senior research fellow at the Institute of Art Studies within the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan. He subsequently served as the department chairman at the Institute of Art Studies within the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan from 1985 to 2009.

Scientific work

Rtveladze has participated in over 80 archaeological expeditions in regions including

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

, the Caucasus,

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Leading the Tocharistan Expedition, he directed excavations at Kampir Tepe, and under his guidance, collaborative commemorative

monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

s were produced, shedding light on historical cities in Uzbekistan and figures from the past. In recognition of his contributions, Rtveladze was honored with the State Hamza Prize in 1985. He achieved the academic title of "Doctor of Historical Sciences" in 1989 and became a professor in 1992. In 1995, he joined the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan. In 2016, Rtveladze and Firdavs Abdukhalikov initiated the "Cultural Heritage of Uzbekistan in World Collections" project, aiming to document and gather historical artifacts, manuscripts, and monuments from Uzbekistan's ancient history, housed in museum collections across the globe. These resources were made accessible to scholars and the general public, with findings compiled into books and encyclopedia articles and discussions held at academic conferences and media forums. The inaugural conference in

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

and

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

in 2017, marked the establishment of the World Scientific Society for the Study, Preservation, and Popularization of Uzbekistan's Cultural Heritage. In 2019, Rtveladze made an announcement regarding the possible discovery of the lost Greco-Bactrian city of Alexandria Oxiana, unveiling significant scientific findings at the ancient site of Kampir Tepe. Rtveladze died in

, Uzbekistan on 10 February 2022.

Family

Rtveladze was married Lydia Lvovna (19412020), the granddaughter of D.D. Bukinich, an archaeologist and archivist who served as the director of the archives in the State Administration for the Preservation and Use of Cultural Heritage Objects in Uzbekistan. Throughout their 50-year marriage, Rtveladze and Lvovna had three children: Anna, Grigory, Nelli.

Awards

* State Prize of the Uzbek SSR (1985) * Golden Medal and Diploma from the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan "For Outstanding Contribution to the Study of Culture" (1999) *

Order of Outstanding Merit The Order of Outstanding Merit ( Uzbek: ''Buyuk xizmatlari uchun'') is an order that is currently awarded by the Republic of Uzbekistan. Design The Order of Outstanding Merit is made from 925 probe silver alloy plated with 0.25 micron thick gol ...

(2001) * Order for Labor Glory (2003) * State Prize of Uzbekistan in Science and Technology, 2nd Degree (2007) * Order "El-yurt hurmati" (Honored for Services to the Homeland) (2017)

Foreign

* Georgia Order of Honor (2001)

References