During 1918–1921, and 1991–1995, its full name was theRepublic of Georgia. Since 1995, it has been Georgia, as written in itsconstitution. It was part of theRussian Empire and laterSoviet Union between 1921 and 1991, but now it is anindependentrepublic. Thecapital city isTbilisi. Almost 1.28 million people live there.[9]
The Georgians have existed as a nation sinceclassical antiquity. Their capitalTbilisi, formerly named Tiflis, was founded in the5th century, by King Vakhtang I ofIberia. Back then, western Georgia wascolonized by theRoman Empire.[10] TheArabsconquered it in 635AD. Despite centuries of Islamization, the Georgian culture flourished viatrade. In the10th century, Arab influence diminished in theCaucasus.[source?] In 1008, the Kingdom of Georgia was formed. It was a major country in the region until theMongol Empire invaded it in 1223. Georgia was part of the Mongol Empire for a century on and off until 1334, when King Giorgi V took over.[source?]
In the 1400s, Georgia dissolved into severalprincipalities. In the 1500s, the Persians invaded eastern Georgia four times from 1541 to 1544. In 1555, the Kings of Kartli ruled through the will of thePersianShahs (kings of aPersian empire).[11]
In 1783, the treaty of Georgievsk was signed betweenCatherine the Great of Russia and King Heraclius II, giving Russia the power to protect Georgia. Then, in 1798 thePersians burned Tbilisi to the ground. From 1811 to 1918, Georgia was under the Tsar of Russia. Their culture survived intact. From 1918 to 1921, Georgia wasindependent, but thenconquered by theSoviet Union (USSR) and colonized, briefly interrupted byNazioccupation inWWII, until the end of the USSR in December 1991.[11]
In 1991, mostGeorgiansvoted to restore theirsovereignty as afreenation. They then declared their independence. However, the re-establishedRepublic of Georgia saw a bloody civil War that led to the downfall of first-ever president of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia. Georgia was also involved in War in Abkhazia between 1992 and 1993. They went through a rough patch between 1994 and 1995 when the economy underperformed, despite significant improvements in final years of the20th century.[source?]
Since the 2000s, Georgia has been applying forEU andNATO membership. In 2008, Georgia was illegallyinvaded by Russia and lost 20% of her territory, with Abkhazia and South Ossetia having fallen under Russianoccupation ever since.[11][12]
Since 26 October 2024, the ruling partyGeorgian Dream (GD), beset with allegations ofcorruption and pro-Russianauthoritarianism,[13] has been accused ofrigging the Georgianparliamentaryelection run on that day. Thecrisis came to a head when the GD government announced the postponement of EU membershiptalks until 2028,[14] setting off an intense wave of pro-democracy protests[15][16] unseen since the 2003 Rose Revolution.[17] Of Georgia's 3.76 million population in 2024, over 100,000 have participated in at least eight Georgiancities.[18][19]
Georgia is located next to the countries of Russia,Turkey, Armenia andAzerbaijan. It has acoastline along theBlack Sea. It is located at the edge ofEurope andAsia. Georgia has manymountains, whose highest point is 5,193m abovesea level. The mountains running through Georgia are called theCaucasus Mountains. The highest mountain in Georgia is Mount Shkhara at 5,193m. The coastline of Georgia is 310km long. Georgia has about 25,000 rivers. The largest river is the Mtkvari.[source?]
Map of Georgia showing the occupied territories ofAbkhazia and Tskhinvali Region (South Ossetia)
Georgia is divided into 9 regions, 1 city, and 2 autonomous republics. These in turn are divided into 67 districts and 12 self-governing cities.[20]
The region ofAbkhazia declared independence in 1999.[21]South Ossetia is officially known by Georgia as the Tskhinvali Region. Georgia considers both regions as occupied by Russia.[22]
Vacca, Alison M. "Chapter 2: The Armenian Sources of al-Balādhurī's Kitāb Futūḥ al-buldān: A Study of the Islamic Incursions into Armenia, Georgia, and Albania (22–24 AH/642–645 CE)".Islam on the Margins. Brill. pp.20–46.doi:10.1163/9789004527836_003. Retrieved2 December 2024.
↑"Lari".საქართველოს ეროვნული ბანკი (National Bank of Georgia). Retrieved2 December 2024.
1.Transcontinental country/territory that is part of both Europe and Asia. 2. Territory or with territory geographically part of North America. 3. Partially recognized. 4. Not all dependent territories are listed. 5. Territory has some form of self-rule. 6. Territory or with territory geographically part of Africa. 7. Governed by theHoly See.
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