Short History
The first tribal unions can be traced back to the 11th century BC on the territory of Georgia. In eastern Georgia there was Diaochi, in western Georgia - Colchis. The two fought among themselves and against other neighboring tribal unions such as Urartu and Asyria. This can be read about in Urartian and Asyrian cuneiform writings. Weakened by these battles, Diaochi and Colchis ceased to exist in the 4th century BC, and new kingdoms formed in their place: the Kartlic (Greek: Iberian) Kingdom in eastern Georgia and the Egrisi in western Georgia. During this period, the first diplomatic relations between these Georgian kingdoms were established, with the two helping each other during hostile raids by Parthians (Persia) or Romans.
In 337, East Georgian King Mirian III introduced Christianity as the state religion of the country.
From the 5th century under King Vakhtang, the Georgian Church gained independence and the new capital Tbilisi was built.
In 608, the Georgian Church decided to embrace Orthodoxy.
Between the 7th and 11th centuries, the Georgian capital Tbilisi was under Arab rule.
In the 12th century, the Georgian King David IV liberated parts of the country occupied by Arab and Turkish conquerors and reunited Georgia. Under him, Georgia experienced economic and cultural prosperity and political stability. For his services, he was given the title "the Builder" by his people. He started the Golden Age in Georgia's history, which ended with the reign of his great-granddaughter Queen Tamar.
Due to Mongol invasions in the 13th and 14th centuries, Georgia was again fragmented and could hardly defend itself against various conquerors.
In 1783, Georgian King Erekle II concluded a partnership agreement with Christian Russia on mutual military assistance, which barely came into force. After Erekle II's death, Russian Tsar Alexander I introduced his army into Georgia, occupied the country, abolished the 900-year-old monarchy of the Georgian Bagrationis and declared Georgia a governorate of the Russian Empire.
Between 1918 and 1922, Georgia briefly managed to regain freedom from Russia, but in February 1922 the country was occupied by Lenin's Red Army and this time introduced into the Soviet Union as the Soviet Republic of Georgia.
In 1990, Georgia seceded from the USSR and has since developed independently as the Democratic Republic of Georgia.
