HDGeorgiaOFFLITH.qxd 3/2/07 10:34 AM Page 1 EUROPE HISTORY M HISTORICAL DICTIONARIES OF EUROPE, NO. 50 I K A B “Dr. Mikaberidze’s Historical Dictionary of Georgiacontains nearly 800 inter- E R disciplinary entries on a variety of subjects from remote antiquity to the I D present.This remarkable achievement will surely become a standard reference Z not only for specialists of Georgia and Caucasia, but of the broader Russian, E Soviet and post-Soviet, Middle Eastern, Black Sea and Inner Eurasian worlds. Highly recommended!” H —Steven Rapp, professor of history, Georgia State University, Atlanta i s Situated in the breathtaking Caucasus Mountains between the Black and the t Caspian seas, the country of Georgia lies at the crossroads between Europe o and Asia. It has gone through more upheaval and change in the last 15 years— r the casting off of the Soviet regime, a civil war, two ethnoterritorial conflicts, gi economic collapse, corruption, government inefficiency, and massive emigra- c tion—than most countries go through in 150 years. However, despite all its ea hardships, this resilient and ancient country, with thousands of years of wine- l making, 3,000 years of statehood, and almost two millennia of Christianity, o continues to survive. And with the current government reforms, life in Georgia D promises to improve. r i c g Alexander Mikaberidze has created an invaluable source that details the long t georgia and turbulent history of Georgia. Historical Dictionary of Georgia, through its i io chronology, glossary, introduction, appendixes, maps, bibliography, and a hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on important people, places, n events, and institutions, traces Georgia’s history and provides a compass for a the direction the country is heading. r y Alexander Mikaberidze, who is of Georgian descent, has taught history at Florida State University and Mississippi State University and lectured on o strategy and policy for the U.S. Naval War College. f For orders and information please contact the publisher SCARECROW PRESS, INC. A wholly owned subsidiary of ALEXANDER MIKABERIDZE The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-5580-9 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200 ISBN-10: 0-8108-5580-1 Lanham, Maryland 20706 90000 1-800-462-6420 • fax 717-794-3803 9 780810 855809 www.scarecrowpress.com 06-583_01Front.qxd 2/28/07 11:37 AM Page i HISTORICALDICTIONARIES OFEUROPE Edited by Jon Woronoff 1. Portugal, byDouglas L. Wheeler. 1993. Out of print. See No. 40. 2. Turkey, by Metin Heper. 1994. Out of print. See No. 38. 3. Poland, by George Sanford and Adriana Gozdecka-Sanford. 1994. Out of print. See No. 41. 4. Germany, by Wayne C. Thompson, Susan L. Thompson, and Juliet S. Thompson. 1994 5. Greece, by Thanos M. Veremis and Mark Dragoumis. 1995 6. Cyprus, by Stavros Panteli. 1995 7. Sweden, by Irene Scobbie. 1995. Out of print. See No. 48. 8. Finland, by George Maude. 1995. Out of print. See No. 49. 9. Croatia, by Robert Stallaerts and Jeannine Laurens. 1995. Out of print. See No. 39. 10. Malta, by Warren G. Berg. 1995 11. Spain, by Angel Smith. 1996 12. Albania, by Raymond Hutchings. 1996. Out of print. See No. 42. 13. Slovenia, by Leopoldina Plut-Pregelj and Carole Rogel. 1996 14. Luxembourg, by Harry C. Barteau. 1996 15. Romania, by Kurt W. Treptow and Marcel Popa. 1996 16. Bulgaria, by Raymond Detrez. 1997. Out of print. See No. 46. 17. United Kingdom:Volume 1,England and the United Kingdom; Volume 2,Scotland,Wales,and Northern Ireland,by Kenneth J. Panton and Keith A. Cowlard. 1997; 1998 18. Hungary, by Steven Béla Várdy. 1997 19. Latvia, by Andrejs Plakans. 1997 20. Ireland, by Colin Thomas and Avril Thomas. 1997 21. Lithuania, by Saulius Suziedelis. 1997 22. Macedonia, by Valentina Georgieva and Sasha Konechni. 1998 23. The Czech State, by Jiri Hochman. 1998 24. Iceland, by Gu∂mundur Hálfdanarson. 1997 25. Bosnia and Herzegovina, by Ante Cuvalo. 1997 26. Russia, by Boris Raymond and Paul Duffy. 1998 27. Gypsies (Romanies), by Donald Kenrick. 1998 28. Belarus, by Jan Zaprudnik. 1998 29. Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, by Zeljan Suster. 1999 30. France, by Gino Raymond. 1998 06-583_01Front.qxd 2/28/07 11:37 AM Page ii 31. Slovakia, by Stanislav J. Kirschbaum. 1998. Out of print. See No. 47. 32. Netherlands, by Arend H. Huussen Jr. 1998 33. Denmark, by Alastair H. Thomas and Stewart P. Oakley. 1998 34. Modern Italy, by Mark F. Gilbert and K. Robert Nilsson. 1998 35. Belgium, by Robert Stallaerts. 1999 36. Austria, by Paula Sutter Fichtner. 1999 37. Republic of Moldova, by Andrei Brezianu. 2000 38. Turkey,2nd edition, by Metin Heper. 2002 39. Republic of Croatia, 2nd edition,by Robert Stallaerts. 2003 40. Portugal,2nd edition, by Douglas L. Wheeler. 2002 41. Poland,2nd edition, by George Sanford. 2003 42. Albania,New edition, by Robert Elsie. 2004 43. Estonia, by Toivo Miljan. 2004 44. Kosova, by Robert Elsie. 2004 45. Ukraine, by Zenon E. Kohut, Bohdan Y. Nebesio, and Myroslav Yurkevich. 2005 46. Bulgaria, 2nd edition, by Raymond Detrez. 2006 47. Slovakia, 2nd edition, by Stanislav J. Kirschbaum. 2006 48. Sweden, 2nd edition, by Irene Scobbie. 2006 49. Finland, 2nd edition, by George Maude. 2007 50. Georgia, by Alexander Mikaberidze. 2007 51. Belgium, 2nd edition,by Robert Stallaerts. 2007 06-583_01Front.qxd 2/28/07 11:37 AM Page iii Historical Dictionary of Georgia Alexander Mikaberidze Historical Dictionaries of Europe, No. 50 The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lanham, Maryland • Toronto • Plymouth, UK 2007 06-583_01Front.qxd 2/28/07 11:37 AM Page iv SCARECROWPRESS, INC. Published in the United States of America by Scarecrow Press, Inc. Awholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.scarecrowpress.com Estover Road Plymouth PL6 7PY United Kingdom Copyright ©2007 by Alexander Mikaberidze All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mikaberidze, Alexander. Historical dictionary of Georgia / Alexander Mikaberidze. p. cm. — (Historical dictionaries of Europe ; no. 50) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN-13: 978-0-8108-5580-9 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8108-5580-1 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Georgia (Republic)–History–Dictionaries. I. Title. DK675.4.M55 2007 947.58003–dc22 2006025051 (cid:2)™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Manufactured in the United States of America. 06-583_01Front.qxd 2/28/07 11:37 AM Page v To my fellow countrymen Patrie fumus igne alieno luculentior 06-583_01Front.qxd 2/28/07 11:37 AM Page vi 06-583_01Front.qxd 2/28/07 11:37 AM Page vii Contents Editor’s Foreword (Jon Woronoff) ix Preface xi Reader’s Note xv Acronyms and Abbreviations xvii Maps xix Chronology xxvii Introduction 1 THE DICTIONARY 55 Appendix A Sovereigns and Governments of Georgia 671 Appendix B Population 685 Appendix C Economic Activity 687 Appendix D Regions of Georgia 691 Glossary 695 Bibliography 699 About the Author 733 vii 06-583_01Front.qxd 2/28/07 11:37 AM Page viii 06-583_01Front.qxd 2/28/07 11:37 AM Page ix Editor’s Foreword Few countries have fought so long and so hard to affirm their right to statehood as Georgia—a tiny republic squeezed between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea and in the vicinity of great empires. Its emerging principalities and kingdoms have had to struggle to achieve a semblance of unity and then fight even harder to maintain independence from— among others—the Greeks and Romans, the Byzantines and Persians, the Mongols and Turks, and then the Russians, in the guise of an em- pire, a soviet republic, and at present a state. That there is an indepen- dent Georgia today—even one shorn of regions that once belonged to it—is a bit of a miracle. And it is hardly surprising that even within its borders there are regions that have broken away or might seek to do so. This helps to explain why present-day Georgia has so many political, economic, and social problems. But it has overcome even more serious challenges in the past and just may do so again. Georgia is not a big country, and its population is not particularly numerous, but it has an amazingly complicated history and rich cul- ture. Thus, to do it justice, a somewhat larger volume than normal was necessary. This historical dictionary starts with an extensive chronol- ogy that follows the many twists and turns of a very long history and one that keeps generating events at an astounding pace. This is fol- lowed by an introduction that presents the country and its people and summarizes its history. Then comes the dictionary section—an unusu- ally large one, containing about 780 entries on important persons, places, and events, and on politics, the economy, society, religion, and culture. The appendixes provide lists of dynasties and rulers—kings, presidents, and prime ministers—and pertinent demographic and eco- nomic details. Given the dearth of literature (especially in English), the bibliography is particularly important to help readers follow up on aspects of particular interest. ix