Georgia (country)

**Georgia** is a country in the Caucasus region of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is situated on the coast of the Black Sea and borders Russia to the north, Turkey and Armenia to the south, and Azerbaijan to the southeast. It is largely encircled by the Greater and Lesser Caucasus mountain ranges. 

During 1918–1921, and 1991–1995, its full name was the **Republic of Georgia**. Since 1995, it has been Georgia, as written in its constitution. It was part of the Russian Empire and later Soviet Union between 1921 and 1991, but now it is an independent republic. The capital city is **Tbilisi**. Almost 1.28 million people live there. 

## History
### Before 15th century
The Georgians have existed as a nation since classical antiquity. Their capital **Tbilisi**, formerly named Tiflis, was founded in the 5th century, by King Vakhtang I of Iberia. Back then, western Georgia was colonized by the Roman Empire. The Arabs conquered it in 635&nbsp;AD. Despite centuries of Islamization, the Georgian culture flourished via trade. In the 10th century, Arab influence diminished in the Caucasus. In 1008, the Kingdom of Georgia was formed. It was a major country in the region until the Mongol 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.

### Early modern period
In the 1400s, Georgia dissolved into several principalities. 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 the Persian Shahs (kings of a Persian empire).

### Modern period
In 1783, the treaty of Georgievsk was signed between Catherine the Great of Russia and King Heraclius II, giving Russia the power to protect Georgia. Then, in 1798 the Persians 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 was independent, but then conquered by the Soviet Union (USSR) and colonized, briefly interrupted by Nazi occupation in WWII, until the end of the USSR in December 1991.
#### 2024 – present
Since 26 October 2024, the ruling party *Georgian Dream* (GD), beset with allegations of corruption and pro-Russian authoritarianism, has been accused of rigging the Georgian parliamentary election run on that day. The crisis came to a head when the GD government announced the postponement of EU membership talks until 2028, setting off an intense wave of pro-democracy protests unseen since the 2003 Rose Revolution. Of Georgia's 3.76 million population in 2024, over 100,000 have participated in at least eight Georgian cities.

## Geography
Georgia is located next to the countries of Russia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan. It has a coastline along the Black Sea. It is located at the edge of Europe and Asia. Georgia has many mountains, whose highest point is 5,193&nbsp;m above sea level. The mountains running through Georgia are called the Caucasus Mountains. The highest mountain in Georgia is Mount Shkhara at 5,193&nbsp;m. The coastline of Georgia is 310&nbsp;km long. Georgia has about 25,000 rivers. The largest river is the Mtkvari.

## Divisions
 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.

The region of Abkhazia declared independence in 1999. South Ossetia is officially known by Georgia as the Tskhinvali Region. Georgia considers both regions as occupied by Russia.

## Culture
About 4 million people live in Georgia. About 1.2&nbsp;million live in Tbilisi. People from Georgia are called **Georgians**, most of whom speak **Georgian** as their first language, though some speak Azerbaijani, Armenian, Russian or other languages as well. Georgians use three alphabets, namely the Asomtavruli, Nuskhuri and Mkhedruli, with Asomtavruli being the very first Georgian alphabet, which was said to be invented by King Pharnavaz I of Iberia. The most famous person to have come from Georgia is Josef Stalin, Soviet Union's totalitarian communist dictator between 1922 and 1953. Most Georgians are Orthodox Christians, but there are Jews and Muslims as well due to partial Arab colonization in the Middle Ages.
The currency of Georgia is the lari.

## Related pages
* Roman Empire
* Eastern Europe
* Ottoman Empire
* Safavid Dynasty
* Iranic languages
* Sassanid Empire
* Caucasian Albania
* Kingdom of Armenia
* Indo-Iranian peoples
* Indo-Iranian languages
* List of rivers of Georgia
* Georgia at the Olympics
* Indo-European languages
* Georgia national football team

## References