GEORGIA, a country of Asia, bounded on the north by Circassia, on the east by Daghestan and Shirvan, on the south by Armenia, and on the west by the Euxine or Black sea; comprehending the greatest part of the ancient Colchis, Iberia, and Albania. About the etymon of the name of this country, authors are not agreed. The most probable opinion is, that it is a corruption by softening of Kurgia, from the river Kur; whence also it is supposed that the inhabitants are called by the Persians indifferently Gurgi and Kurgi; and the country Kurgistan and Gurgistan: It is divided by a ridge of mountains into eastern and western; the former of which is again subdivided into the kingdoms of Caket, Carduel or Carthuel, and Goguetia; and the latter into the provinces of Abcassia, Mireta or Imeretia, and Guriel. Another division is into Georgia Proper, Abcassia, and Mingrelia. A third division will be afterwards mentioned.
"Georgia (says Sir George Chardin) is as fertile a country as can be seen; the bread is as good here as in any part of the world; the fruit of an exquisite flavour, and of different sorts: no place in Europe yields better pears and apples, and no place in Asia better pomegranates. The country abounds with cattle, venison, and wild fowl, of all sorts; the river Kur is well stocked with fish; and the wine is so rich, that the king of Persia has always some of it for his own table. The inhabitants are robust, valiant and of a jovial temper; great lovers of wine, and esteemed very trusty and faithful; endowed with good natural parts, but, for want of education, very vicious. The women are generally so fair and comely, that the wives and concubines of the king of Persia and his court are for the most part Georgian women. Nature has adorned them with graces nowhere else to be met with: it is impossible to see them without loving them; they are of a good size, clean limbed, and well shaped. Another traveller, however, of no mean character, thus expresses himself with respect to the women: "As to the Georgian women, they did not at all surprise us; for we
expected to find them perfect beauties. They are, indeed no way disagreeable; and may be counted beauties, if compared with the Curdes. They have an air of health that is pleasing enough; but, after all, they are neither so handsome nor so well shaped as is reported. Those who live in the towns have nothing extraordinary more than the others; so that I may, I think, venture to contradict the accounts that have been given of them by most travellers."
This country formerly abounded with great cities, as appears not only from its history, but from the ruins of many of them still visible, which show that they must have been very large, opulent, and magnificently built. These were all destroyed by the inundations of northern barbarians from Mount Caucasus, as the Alans, Huns, Suevi, and some others, so much noted in history for their strength, courage, and conquests.
The latest division of this country is into nine provinces; five of which are subject to the famous prince Heraclius, forming what is commonly called the kingdom of Georgia; and four are under the dominion of David, composing the kingdom or principality of Imeretia. See IMERETIA.
This whole country is so extremely beautiful, that some fanciful travellers have imagined they had here found the situation of the original garden of Eden. The hills are covered with forests of oak, ash, beech, chestnuts, walnuts, and elms, encircled with vines, growing perfectly wild, but producing vast quantities of grapes. From these is annually made as much wine as is necessary for the yearly consumption; the remainder is left to rot on the vines. Cotton grows spontaneously, as well as the finest European fruit trees. Rice, wheat, millet, hemp, and flax, are raised on the plains, almost without culture. The valleys afford the finest pasturage in the world; the rivers are full of fish; the mountains abound in minerals, and the climate is delicious; so that nature appears to have lavished on this favourite country every production that can contribute to the happiness of its inhabitants.
On the other hand, the rivers of Georgia, being fed by mountain torrents, are at all seasons either too rapid or too shallow for the purposes of navigation: the Black sea, by which commerce and civilization might be introduced from Europe, has been till very lately in the exclusive possession of the Turks: the trade of Georgia by land is greatly obstructed by the high mountains of Caucasus; and this obstacle is still increased by the swarms of predatory nations, by which those mountains are inhabited.
It is said, that in the 15th century, a king of Georgia divided among his five sons the provinces of Carduel and Caket, Imeretia, Mingrelia, Guriel, and Abcassia. These petty princes were too jealous to unite for their common defence, and too weak singly to resist a foreign enemy, or even to check the encroachments of their great vassals, who soon became independent. By forming a party among these nobles, the Turks gradually gained possession of all the western provinces, while the Persians occupied the governments of Carduel and Caket. Since that period the many unsuccessful attempts of the Georgians to recover their liberty have repeatedly produced the devaluation of their country. Abbas the Great is said to have carried off in one expedition from the provinces of
Georgia. of Carduel and Caket no less than 80,000 families; a number which, probably, exceeds the whole actual population of those provinces. The most horrible cruelties were again exercised on the unhappy people, at the beginning of the present century, by the merciless Nadir; but these were trifling evils, compared with those arising from the internal dissensions of the great barons. This numerous body of men, idle, arrogant, and ferocious, possessed of an unlimited power over the lives and properties of their vassals, having no employment but that of arms, and no hopes of aggrandizing themselves but by the plunder of their rivals, were constantly in a state of warfare; and as their success was various, and the peasants of the vanquished were constantly carried off and sold to the Turks or Persians, every expedition increased the depopulation of the country. At length they invited the neighbouring mountaineers, by the hopes of plunder, to take part in their quarrels; and these dangerous allies, becoming acquainted with the country, and being spectators of the weakness of its inhabitants, soon completed its desolation. A few squabid wretches, half naked, half starved, and driven to despair by the merciless exactions of their landlords, are thinly dispersed over the most beautiful provinces of Georgia. The revolutions of Persia, and the weakness of the Turks, have indeed enabled the princes of the country to recover their independence; but the smallness of their revenue has hitherto disabled them from repressing effectually the tyranny of the nobles, and relieving the burdens of the peasants.
The capital of Georgia is Teflis, where Prince Heraclius resides (See TEFLIS.) Of this prince, so celebrated for his exploits and success in shaking off the Ottoman yoke, we have the following account by the late Professor Guldenstaedt when he travelled into these parts in 1770. "Heraclius, or, as he is called, the Tzar Irachi, is above 60 years old, of a middle size, with a long countenance, a dark complexion, large eyes, and a small beard. He passed his youth at the court and in the army of the celebrated Nadir Shah, where he contracted a fondness for Persian customs and manners, which he has introduced into his kingdom. He has seven sons and six daughters. He is much revered and dreaded by the Persian khans his neighbours; and is usually chosen to mediate between them in their disputes with each other. When they are at war, he supports one of the parties with a few troops, who diffuse a spirit and courage among the rest, because the Georgian soldiers are esteemed the bravest of those parts; and Prince Heraclius himself is renowned for his courage and military skill. When on horseback he has always a pair of loaded pistols at his girdle, and, if the enemy is near, a musket slung over his shoulder. In all engagements he is the foremost to give examples of personal bravery; and frequently charges the enemy at the head of his troops with the sabre in his hand. He loves pomp and expense; he has adopted the dress of Persia; and regulates his court after the manner of that country. From the example of the Russian troops, who were quartered in Georgia during the last Turkish war, he has learnt the use of plates, knives, and forks, dishes and household furniture, &c."
The subjects of Heraclius are estimated at about
60,000 families; but this, notwithstanding the present desolated state of the country, is probably an under valuation. The peasants belonging to the queen, and those of the patriarch, pay no tax to the prince, and therefore do not appear on the books of the revenue officers. Many similar exemptions have likewise been granted by the prince to his sons-in-law, and his favourites. Besides, as the impost on the peasants is not a poll-tax, but a tax on hearths, the inhabitants of a village, on the approach of the collectors, frequently carry the furniture of several huts into one, and destroy the remainder, which are afterwards very easily replaced. It is probable, therefore, that the population of Georgia does not fall short of 350,000 souls. The revenues may be estimated at about 150,000 rubles, or 26,250l. They consist of, 1. The customs, farmed at 175l.—2. Rent paid by the farmers of the mint, at Teflis, 175l.—3. The tribute paid by the khans of Erivan and Gansha, 700l.—and, 4. The hearth money levied on the peasants, amounting to 15,750l. The common coins here are the abaffies, of about 15d. value, and a small copper coin, stamped at the mint at Teflis. Besides these, a large quantity of gold and silver money is brought into the country from Persia and Turkey, in exchange for honey, butter, cattle, and blue linens.
The government of Georgia is despotic; but, were it not for the assistance of the Russian troops, the prince would be frequently unable to carry his decrees into execution. The punishments in criminal cases are shockingly cruel; fortunately they are not frequent, because it is seldom difficult to escape into some of the neighbouring countries, and because the prince is more enriched by confiscating the property of the criminal, than by putting him to torture. Judicial combats are considered as the privilege of nobility, and take place when the cause is extremely intricate, or when the power and interest of two claimants are so equal, that neither can force a decision of the court in his favour. This mode of trial is called an appeal to the judgment of God.
The dress of the Georgians nearly resembles that of the Cossacks; but men of rank frequently wear the habit of Persia. They usually dye their hair, beard, and nails with red. The Georgian women employ the same colour to stain the palms of their hands. On their heads they wear a cap or fillet, under which their black hair falls on their forehead: behind, it is braided into several tresses. Their eyebrows are painted with black, in such a manner as to form one entire line, and their faces are perfectly coated with white and red. Their robe is open to the girdle, so that they are reduced to conceal their breasts with their hands. Their air and manner are extremely voluptuous. Being generally educated in convents, they can all read and write; a qualification which is very unusual among the men, even of the highest rank. Girls are betrothed as soon as possible, often at three or four years of age. In the streets the women of rank are always veiled, and then it is indecent in any man to accost them. It is likewise uncivil in conversation to inquire after the wives of any of the company. These, however, are not ancient customs, but are a consequence of the violences committed by the Persians, under Shah Nadir.
Georgia. Travellers accuse the Georgians of drunkenness, superstitiousness, cruelty, sloth, avarice, and cowardice; vices which are everywhere common to slaves and tyrants, and are by no means peculiar to the natives of this country. The descendants of the colonists, carried off by Shah Abbas, and settled at Peria, near Isfahan, and in Malanderan, have changed their character with their government; and the Georgian troops, employed in Persia against the Afghans, were advantageously distinguished by their docility, their discipline, and their courage.
The other inhabitants of Georgia are Tartars, Ossians, and Armenians, called in the Georgian language Somakhi. These last are found all over Georgia, sometimes mixed with the natives, and sometimes in villages of their own. They speak among themselves their own language, but all understand and can talk the Georgian. Their religion is partly the Armenian, and partly the Roman Catholic. They are the most oppressed of the inhabitants, but are still distinguished by that instinctive industry which everywhere characterizes the nation.
Besides these, there are in Georgia considerable numbers of Jews, called, in the language of the country, Uria. Some have villages of their own; and others are mixed with the Georgian, Armenian, and Tartar inhabitants, but never with the Ossians. They pay a small tribute above that of the natives.