07.11.2013

“GLOBUS” ANALYTICAL JOURNAL, #10, 2013

The 10th (special) issue of “Globus” bulletin for 2013 was published. It featured extensive “Armenians in Gori Province and Neighboring Regions” article by Vahe Sargsyan (in Armenian).

It is known that the Armenians constituted considerable part of Georgia’s population from long ago. The number of the Armenians especially grew over the period of the Arab rule (VII-IX centuries) and later in consequence of the Seljuk Turks’ invasions and particularly during the rule of king David the Constructor (1089-1125) and queen Tamara (1184-1209). Many Armenians found shelter in Georgia which became mighty in consequence of kind David’s and queen Tamara’s eager activity. The Georgian king David the Constructor accepted Armenian merchants and craftsmen with love. The court settled them in big cities in order to catalyze the northern trade routes and develop the crafts in the cities. In their turn the Georgia landowners were also interested in populating the suburbs of Tbilisi with laborious Armenian farmers.

But the Armenians in Georgia, like any other ethnic community living outside their motherland, have always been threatened by the loss of their national identity. The history proves that the gradual disappearance of Georgia’s Armeniancy has been taking place through the language assimilation. The local Armenians, repudiating their mother tongue, has gradually passed to the Georgian language and in consequence lost their national identity. The processes of Georgification acquired fast pace in the 20th century and the number of the Armenians considerably decreased. If in 1926 the Armenians in Georgian SSR constituted 11.5% of population, in 1959 it decreased to 10.9%, in 1989 to 8% and in 2002 it constituted only 5.7%.

There have been no comprehensive studies on the assimilated Armenians in Georgia yet. So “Armenians in Gori Province and Neighboring Regions” by Dr. Vahe Sargsyan is a serious contribution to the study of the aforementioned issue. On the basis of the valuable source studies materials the author managed to present many issues of historical, ethnological and political importance. He presented ethnographic picture, social and political and cultural life. There are also valuable conclusions, based on the historical experience of assimilation of the Armenians in Gori, which can be useful in the aspect of the present threats to the national identity to the Armenians in Javakhq. Nevertheless, the Armenians in Javakhq live in their historical motherland and this pivotal factor still remains the main source of opposing potential to the mighty processes of ethnic assimilation.