The culture of Georgia has evolved over the country's long history, providing it with a unique national identity and a strong literary tradition based on the Georgian language and alphabet. This strong sense of national identity has helped to preserve Georgian distinctiveness despite repeated periods of foreign occupation.
The Kingdom of the Iberians was a medieval Georgian monarchy under the Bagrationi dynasty which emerged circa 888 AD, succeeding the Principality of Iberia, in historical region of Tao-Klarjeti, or upper Iberia in north-eastern Turkey as well parts of modern southwestern Georgia, that stretched from the Iberian gates in the south and to the Lesser Caucasus in the north.
Artvin Province is a province in Turkey, on the Black Sea coast in the northeastern corner of the country, on the border with Georgia. Artvin also borders the Turkish provinces of Erzurum, Ardahan and Rize. Its area is 7,393 km2, and its population is 169,403 (2022). The provincial capital is the city of Artvin.
Klarjeti was a province of ancient and medieval Georgia, which is now part of Turkey's Artvin Province. Klarjeti, the neighboring province of Tao and several other smaller districts, constituted a larger region with shared history and culture conventionally known as Tao-Klarjeti.
Ashot I the Great was a presiding prince of Iberia, first of the Bagratid family to have attained to this office c. 813. From his base in Tao-Klarjeti, he fought to enlarge the Bagratid territories and sought the Byzantine protectorate against the Arab Muslim encroachment until being murdered c. 826. Ashot is also known as Ashot I Kouropalates for the Byzantine title of kouropalates that he bore. A patron of Christian culture and a friend of the church, he has been canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church.
Adarnase II, sometimes known as Adarnase I, was a Georgian Bagratid prince and a co-ruler of Tao-Klarjeti with his brothers — Bagrat I Kuropalates and Guaram Mampali — with the title of eristavt-eristavi.
Ashot II was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti with the Byzantine title of curopalates.
Sumbat I was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti and hereditary ruler of Klarjeti from c. 870 until his death.
Javakheti or Javakhk is a historical province in southern Georgia, corresponding to the modern municipalities of Akhalkalaki, Aspindza (partly), Ninotsminda, and partly to the Turkey's Ardahan Province. Historically, Javakheti's borders were defined by the Kura River (Mtkvari) to the west, and the Shavsheti, Samsari and Nialiskuri mountains to the north, south and east, respectively. The principal economic activities in this region are subsistence agriculture, particularly potatoes and raising livestock.
Şavşat is a town in Artvin Province in the Black Sea region, between the cities of Artvin and Kars on the border with Georgia at the far eastern end of Turkey. It is the seat of Şavşat District. Its population is 6,048 (2021).
Tao is a historical Georgian district and part of historic Tao-Klarjeti region, today part of the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. Its name derives from the ancient proto-Georgian inhabitants of this area, known as Taochi.
Adarnase was a late 8th-century nobleman of Iberia and the founder of the Georgian Bagratid dynasty. He established himself in Tao-Klarjeti as a vassal of the Chosroid dynasty of Iberia and, as a matter of inheritance, acquired more lands, setting stage for the elevation of the Bagratids—in the person of his son Ashot I—to the principate of Iberia.
Oshki is a Georgian Eastern Orthodox monastery from the second half of the 10th century located in the historic province of Tao, now part of the territory of Turkey. The main church, dedicated to St John the Baptist, was built between 963 and 973. The monastery is located in the village of Çamlıyamaç, in northeastern Erzurum Province, bordering Artvin Province.
Adarnase IV was a member of the Georgian Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti and prince of Iberia, responsible for the restoration of the Iberian kingship, which had been in abeyance since it had been abolished by Sasanian Empire in the 6th century, in 888.
Sumbat I was a Georgian prince of the Bagrationi dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti, hereditary ruler of Lower Tao and the titular king (mepe) of Iberia from 937 until his death.
Sumbat II was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti and ruler of Klarjeti from 943 until his death.
Parekhi is a Georgian medieval Orthodox monastery in historical Medieval Georgian Kingdom of Klarjeti.
A legend that the Georgian royal Bagrationi dynasty were of a Hebrew origin and descended from David dates back to the family's appearance on the Georgian soil in the latter half of the eight century. As the Bagratid power grew, this claim morphed into an officially endorsed paradigm, enshrined in medieval historical literature such as the early 11th-century chronicle of Sumbat Davitis-dze, and formed the basis of the dynasty's political ideology for the duration of their millennium-long ascendancy in Georgia. The proposed Davidic descent allowed the Bagrationi to claim kinship with Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary and rest their legitimacy on a biblical archetype of the God-anointed royalty.
The Doliskana inscriptions are the Georgian language inscriptions written in the Georgian Asomtavruli script on the Doliskana Monastery, located in the historical medieval Georgian Kingdom of Tao-Klarjeti. The inscriptions mention Georgian prince and titular king Sumbat I of Iberia. The inscriptions are dated to the first half of the 10th century.
Tao-Klarjeti is a Georgian historical and cultural region in north-eastern Turkey. The region is based around two river basins - Chorokhi and Kura (Mtkvari), and also partially includes the upper source of the Aras river. In modern usage it most often denotes the territory that was administered or claimed by Georgian Democratic Republic but is nowadays part of Turkey due to the Soviet-Turkish deal in 1921.
