Georgia (/ˈdʒɔːrdʒə/ ⓘJOR-jə) is theWesternexonym forthe country in theCaucasus natively known asSakartvelo (Georgian:საქართველო[sakʰaɾtʰʷelo]ⓘ). The Armenian exonym isVrastan (Armenian:Վրաստան[vəɾɑsˈtɑn]); predominantlyMuslim nations refer to it asGurjistan or its many similar variations; while in mostlySlavic languages it isGruziya (orGruzia).
The first mention of the namespelled as "Georgia" was recorded inItalian on themappa mundi ofPietro Vesconte dated AD 1320.[1] In early appearances in the Latin world, the name was not always written in the same transliteration, the first consonant originally being spelt withJ, asJorgia.[2]
Bothendonym and exonym for the country are derived from the samestate-forming core and central Georgian region ofKartli (known asIberia to theClassical andByzantine sources) around which the early medieval cultural and political unity of theGeorgians was formed.
All exonyms are likely derived fromgorğān (گرگان), thePersian designation of the Georgians, evolving fromParthianwurğān (𐭅𐭓𐭊𐭍) andMiddle Persianwiručān (𐭥𐭫𐭥𐭰𐭠𐭭), rooting out fromOld Persianvrkān (𐎺𐎼𐎣𐎠𐎴) meaning "the land of thewolves". This is also reflected inOld Armenianvirk (վիրք), it being a source ofAncient Greekibēríā (Ἰβηρία), that enteredLatin asHiberia. The transformation ofvrkān intogorğān and alteration ofv intog was a phonetic phenomenon in theword formation ofProto-Aryan and ancientIranian languages. All exonyms are simply phonetic variations of the same rootvrk/varka (𐎺𐎼𐎣) meaningwolf.[3]
The full, official name of the country is simply "Georgia", as specified in theGeorgian constitution which reads "Georgia is the name of the state of Georgia."[4] Before the 1995 constitution came into force the country's name was theRepublic of Georgia. Since 2005[5] theGeorgian Government has worked actively to remove the Russian-derived exonymGruziya from usage around the world.[6]
The native Georgian name for the country isSakartvelo (საქართველო). The word consists of two parts. Its root,kartvel-i (ქართველ-ი), first attested in theOld Georgianinscription of Umm Leisun inJerusalem, originally referred to an inhabitant of the core central Georgian region ofKartli –Iberia of theClassical andByzantine sources. By the early 9th century, the meaning of "Kartli" was expanded to other areas of medieval Georgia held together by religion, culture, and language. The Georgiancircumfixsa-X-o is a standard geographic construction designating "the area where X dwell", where X is anethnonym.[7]
The earliest reference to "Sakartvelo" occurs in thec. 800Georgian chronicle byJuansher Juansheriani.
— Life of King of KingsVakhtang Gorgasali
Within the next 200 years, this designation was reconfigured so that it came to signify the all-Georgian realm which came into existence with the politicalunification of Kartli and Apkhazeti underBagrat III in 1008. However, it was not until the early 13th century that the term fully entered regular official usage.[7]
The memory and dream of a united Georgia – Sakartvelo – persisted even after the political catastrophe of the 15th century when theKingdom of Georgiafell apart to form three separate kingdoms:Kartli,Kakheti, andImereti, and five principalities:Samtskhe-Saatabago,Mingrelia,Guria,Svaneti, andAbkhazia. Thus, the later kings did not relinquish the titles of the all-Georgian monarchs whose legitimate successors they claimed to be. The idea of all-Georgian unity also dominated history-writing of the early 18th-century Georgian scholar and a member of theroyal family, PrinceVakhushti, whoseDescription of the Kingdom of Georgia (agtsera sameposa sakartvelosa) had a noticeable influence on the latter-day conception of Sakartvelo. Although Georgia was politically divided among competing kingdoms and principalities during Vakhushti's lifetime, the scholar viewed the past and present of these breakaway polities as parts of the history of a single nation.[7]
Georgia fell under successiveOttoman,Iranian (Safavid,Afsharids,Qajars), andRussian rule during the 15th to 19th centuries. It was re-united as the short-livedDemocratic Republic of Georgia (საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკაsakartvelos demokratiuli respublika) on May 26, 1918, transformed into theGeorgian Soviet Socialist Republic (საქართველოს საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკაsakartvelos sabchota socialisturi respublika) in 1921, and eventually gaining independence as the Republic of Georgia (საქართველოს რესპუბლიკაsakartvelos respublika) on November 14, 1990. According to the 1995constitution, the nation's official name isსაქართველოsakartvelo.[9]
In otherKartvelian languages, likeMingrelian, Georgia is referred asსაქორთუოsakortuo, inLaz it'sოქორთურაokortura, when inSvan it uses the same name as Georgian does,საქართველოsakartvelo. This same root is also adopted inAbkhaz and Georgia is referred asҚырҭтәылаKyrţtwyla (i.e. Sakartvelo).
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One theory on the etymology of the name Iberia, proposed byGiorgi Melikishvili, was that it was derived from the contemporaryArmenian designation for Georgia,Virkʿ (Վիրք, andIvirkʿԻվիրք andIverkʿԻվերք), which itself was connected to the word Sver (or Svir), theKartvelian designation for Georgians.[10] The letter "s" in this instance served as a prefix for the root word "Ver" (or "Vir"). Accordingly, in followingIvane Javakhishvili's theory, the ethnic designation of "Sber", a variant of Sver, was derived the word "Hber" ("Hver") (and thus Iberia) and the Armenian variants, Veria and Viria.[10]
TheArmenian name of Georgia isՎրաստանVrastan,ՎիրքVirk (i.e.Iberia). EthnicGeorgians are referred in Armenian asՎրացիներ (Vratsiner) literally meaningIberians.
The European "Georgia" probably stems from thePersian designation of the Georgians –gurğ (گرج),ğurğ – which reached theWestern European crusaders and pilgrims in theHoly Land who rendered the name asGeorgia (alsoJorgania,Giorginia, etc.) and, erroneously,[11] explained its origin by the popularity ofSt. George (Tetri Giorgi) among the Georgians. This explanation is offered, among others, byJacques de Vitry and Franz Ferdinand von Troilo.[12] Another theory, popularized by the likes ofJean Chardin, semantically linked "Georgia" to Greekγεωργός ("tiller of the land"). The supporters of this explanation sometimes referred to classical authors, in particularPliny andPomponius Mela. The "Georgi" mentioned by these authors (Pliny, IV.26, VI.14; Mela,De Sita Orb. i.2, & 50; ii.1, & 44, 102.) were merely agricultural tribes, so named to distinguish them from their unsettled and pastoral neighbors on the other side of the riverPanticapea (inTaurica).[13]In the 19th century,Marie-Félicité Brosset favored the derivation of the name Georgia from that of the riverMtkvari via Kuros-Cyrus-Kura-Djurzan.[14]
According to several modern scholars, "Georgia" seems to have been borrowed in the 11th or 12th century from theSyriacgurz-ān/gurz-iyān andArabicĵurĵan/ĵurzan, derived from theNew Persiangurğ/gurğān, itself stemming from theMiddle Persianwaručān of unclear origin, but resembling the eastern trans-Caspian toponymGorgan, which comes from theOld Persianvarkâna-, "land of the wolves". This might have been of the same etymology as theArmenianVirk' (Վիրք) and a source of the Greco-Roman renditionIberi (Ἴβηρες), the ethnonym already known to them as a designation of theIberian peoples of theIberian Peninsula.[15][16]
TheRussian exonym Gruziya (Russian:Грузия,IPA:[ˈɡruzʲɪjə]ⓘ) is also of Persian origin, fromPersianگرجستانGorjestân (TurkishGürcistan,Ossetian:ГуырдзыстонGwyrdzyston, MongolianГүржGürj).
The Russian name first occurs in the travel records of Ignatiy Smolnyanin asgurzi (гурзи) (1389).
—Travels in Jerusalem
Afanasy Nikitin calls Georgia asgurzynskaya zemlya (Гурзыньская земля, "Gurzin land") (1466–72).[17]
As a result of permutation of sounds "Gurz" transformed into "Gruz" and eventually "Gruz-iya". The Russian name was brought into severalSlavic languages (Belarusian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Polish, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Ukrainian) as well as other languages historically in contact with theRussian Empire and/or theSoviet Union (such as Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian, Hungarian, Yiddish, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Uyghur, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese).[18]
In August 2005, the Georgian ambassador to IsraelLasha Zhvania asked that the Hebrew speakers refer to his country asGeorgiaגאורגיה and abandon the nameGruzia. The name entered the contemporaryHebrew asגרוזיה (Gruz-ia). It coexisted with the namesגאורגיה (Gheorghia with two hardg's) andגורג'יה (Gurjia), whenGruzia took over in the 1970s, probably due to amassive immigration of bilingual Georgian-Russian Jews to Israel at that time. Georgia's request was approved and now Israel refers to the country asGheorghia.[19][20]
In June 2011, theMinistry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia saidSouth Korea had agreed to refer to the country as조지아 (Jojia) instead of the Russian-influenced그루지야 (Geurujiya) and the government of Georgia was continuing talks with other countries on the issue. AlthoughNorth Korea still uses그루지야 as of 2024.[21]
In April 2015, Japan changed the official Japanese name for Georgia fromGurujia (グルジア), which derives from the Russian termGruziya, toJōjia (ジョージア), which derives from the English term "Georgia".[22]
In May 2018, Lithuania switched toSakartvelas, which is derived from Georgia's original native nameSakartvelo. The new name would be an alternative for Georgia alongside the long-establishedGruzija.[23][24] Georgia had initially asked for a change in December 2009 to be calledGeorgija instead ofGruzija; the request was forwarded to theCommission of the Lithuanian Language and was declined at that time.[25] In 2010, then-Minister of Foreign Affairs of GeorgiaGrigol Vashadze during his official visit to Lithuania promised to "destroy the name Gruziya" and asked the Lithuanian authorities for a name switch.[26] Lithuanian authorities made the switch forIndependence Day of Georgia and described it as a "great gift to theGeorgian people" when Georgia celebrated the 100th anniversary of the declaration of independence of theFirst Republic of Georgia.[27] As a gesture of appreciation, Georgia also changed Lithuania's Russian-derived name ofLitva (Russian:Литва) to its nativeLietuva.[28] Accordingly, the Embassy of Georgia in Lithuania changed its name fromGruzijos Ambasada toSakartvelo Ambasada.[29] However, as of 2019, the traditional nameGruzija was still more popular than the new name in media and on social networks.[30] On December 21, 2020, the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language (VLKK) decided that the nameSakartvelas should be used in all official Lithuanian-language documents.[31]
In June 2019, during the2019 Georgian protests, former Ukrainian presidentPetro Poroshenko called upon theMinistry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to changeGruziya toSakartvelo.[32]
'Georgia' is the name of the state of Georgia.
