Javakheti
Encyclopedia
Javakheti is a historical region of the nation of Georgia
, in the southeastern part of the country's Samtskhe-Javakheti province. Today it comprises the Akhalkalaki
and Ninotsminda
municipal territories. It was historically bordered in the west with both sides of the Mtkvari (Kur) river, in the north, south and east with the Shavvasheti, Samsari and Nialiskuri mountains. Principal economic activities in this region are subsistence agriculture (potato
in common) and raising livestock
.
.
According to Georgian historians, Javakheti was one of the major places of the Kingdom of Kartli from ancient times and was in between of both East Georgian and West Georgian cultural and historical elements (Javakheti, as the whole south-western typonomic of Georgia has elements of Zani Language).
Historical Javakheti was divided as Upper Javakheti (Akhalkalaki
plateau) and Lowland Javakheti (with the canyon on the left side of the Mtkvari River).
. From the 10th century, the center of lowland Javakheti was Tmogvi. In the centuries of rise of the Georgian kingdom (11th-13th centuries), Javakheti was also in the uprising period: bridges, churches, monasteries, and royal residences (Lgivi, Ghrtila, Bozhano, Vardzia
) were built. From the 12th century, the domain was ruled by representatives of the feudal family of Toreli
.
From the 13th century, the administrative borders of the region combined in addition Palakatsio (modern Turkey) and part of Samtskhe. In the 15th century, Javakheti was part of the Samtskhe-Saabatago feudal head. In the 16th century, the region, as other territories of southern Georgia, was occupied by the Ottoman Empire
. The Georgian population of Javakheti was displaced to inner regions of Georgia - part to the Imereti
, and another to the Kartli
. Those who remained in the place became Muslims
.
. In 1828, because of luck, the Russian army in battle with the Turks made the decision real to move people to Samtskhe-Javakheti. Trialeti
and Javakheti was filled with Christian Armenians and Greeks. In the early 20th century, a large number of Armenian
refugees from the Armenian genocide
in the Ottoman Empire
, and Doukhobor
sect members of Russian Empire
, settled the region.
On December 3, 1829, General Ivan Paskevich
created a special committee for relocation with chairmanship of governor Piotr Zaveleisky . The committee was created for the act for relocation. Аccording to preliminary calculations, the committee planned to displace 8,000 families from Kars
, Erzurum
and Doğubeyazıt
, but after a short time, the number was increased to 14,000.
The political target of Tsarist Russia was to get ethnical colours in Georgia, while the king-loving Georgian people were not very happy with Russian rule. Because of this, some people refused to move Meskhetians
from Imereti
back to their homes in freed places of Javakheti and other southern regions.
After an offensive on Akhaltsikhe
, the sons of Mesketian families of the 16th-17th centuries (Tsitsishvili, Avalishvili, Muskhelishvili and others) got to Ivan Paskevich
and requested the return of legitimate lands on according to conservated sigheles issued by Georgian kings. Paskevich refused their request with some regrets.
The earliest mention of the name was found in Urartu
sources, in the notes of king Argishti I of Urartu, 785 BC, as Zaabakha. There is an opinion that name was derived from the Tao
kh region. Taokhs were the major population of Diaokhi (Tao
) and were populating today's north-east Turkey
and south Georgia
, also in the territory of Javakheti. According to this, the middle name between Taokh and Javakh should be Chaokh.
Millennium Challenge Account) to more effectively link the region with the rest of Georgia. Also, a railroad is planned to run from Kars
, Turkey
to Baku
, Azerbaijan
via the area (see: Kars Baku Tbilisi railway line), but the Armenian population of Javakheti are opposed to this rail link because it excludes and isolates Armenia
. There is already another railroad linking Armenia, Georgia and Turkey, which is the Kars-Gyumri-Akhalkalaki railroad line
. The existing line is in working condition and could be operational within weeks, but due to the Turkish blockade of Armenia since 1993, the railroad is not operational.
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, in the southeastern part of the country's Samtskhe-Javakheti province. Today it comprises the Akhalkalaki
Akhalkalaki
Akhalkalaki is a small city in Georgia's southern region of Samtskhe-Javakheti with a population of 60,975. Akhalkalaki lies on the edge of the Javakheti Volcanic Plateau. The city is located about 30 km from the border with Turkey. 90 percent of the city's population are ethnic Armenians...
and Ninotsminda
Ninotsminda
Ninotsminda is a town and a rayon located in Georgia's southern district of Samtskhe-Javakheti. The rayon has a population of 34,305 according to 2002 Census. The Armenians number 32,856, Georgians 476 and Russians 943...
municipal territories. It was historically bordered in the west with both sides of the Mtkvari (Kur) river, in the north, south and east with the Shavvasheti, Samsari and Nialiskuri mountains. Principal economic activities in this region are subsistence agriculture (potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
in common) and raising livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
.
Antiquity
In the sources, the region was recorded as Zabakha in 785 BC, by the king Argishti I of UrartuUrartu
Urartu , corresponding to Ararat or Kingdom of Van was an Iron Age kingdom centered around Lake Van in the Armenian Highland....
.
According to Georgian historians, Javakheti was one of the major places of the Kingdom of Kartli from ancient times and was in between of both East Georgian and West Georgian cultural and historical elements (Javakheti, as the whole south-western typonomic of Georgia has elements of Zani Language).
Historical Javakheti was divided as Upper Javakheti (Akhalkalaki
Akhalkalaki
Akhalkalaki is a small city in Georgia's southern region of Samtskhe-Javakheti with a population of 60,975. Akhalkalaki lies on the edge of the Javakheti Volcanic Plateau. The city is located about 30 km from the border with Turkey. 90 percent of the city's population are ethnic Armenians...
plateau) and Lowland Javakheti (with the canyon on the left side of the Mtkvari River).
Middle Ages
From the 11th century, the center of upper Javakheti became AkhalkalakiAkhalkalaki
Akhalkalaki is a small city in Georgia's southern region of Samtskhe-Javakheti with a population of 60,975. Akhalkalaki lies on the edge of the Javakheti Volcanic Plateau. The city is located about 30 km from the border with Turkey. 90 percent of the city's population are ethnic Armenians...
. From the 10th century, the center of lowland Javakheti was Tmogvi. In the centuries of rise of the Georgian kingdom (11th-13th centuries), Javakheti was also in the uprising period: bridges, churches, monasteries, and royal residences (Lgivi, Ghrtila, Bozhano, Vardzia
Vardzia
The cave city of Vardzia is a cave monastery dug into the side of the Erusheli mountain in southern Georgia near Aspindza on the left bank of the Mtkvari River. It was founded by Queen Tamar in 1185....
) were built. From the 12th century, the domain was ruled by representatives of the feudal family of Toreli
Toreli
The Toreli , earlier known as the Gamrekeli , were a noble family in medieval Georgia, known from the 10th century and prominent into the 14th...
.
From the 13th century, the administrative borders of the region combined in addition Palakatsio (modern Turkey) and part of Samtskhe. In the 15th century, Javakheti was part of the Samtskhe-Saabatago feudal head. In the 16th century, the region, as other territories of southern Georgia, was occupied by the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. The Georgian population of Javakheti was displaced to inner regions of Georgia - part to the Imereti
Imereti
Imereti is a province in Georgia situated along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni river. It consists of the following Georgian administrative-territorial units:#Kutaisi #Baghdati region#Vani region#Zestafoni region...
, and another to the Kartli
Kartli
Kartli is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari , on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial role in ethnic and political consolidation of the Georgians in the Middle Ages...
. Those who remained in the place became Muslims
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
.
Russian Empire
In the first third of the 19th century, Russia conquered the Southern Caucasus, and the whole of Georgia, along with the rest of the Caucasus, was incorporated within the Russian EmpireRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. In 1828, because of luck, the Russian army in battle with the Turks made the decision real to move people to Samtskhe-Javakheti. Trialeti
Trialeti
Trialeti is a mountainous area in central Georgia. In Georgian its name means "a place of wandering". The Trialeti Range is a part of the greater Trialeti Region....
and Javakheti was filled with Christian Armenians and Greeks. In the early 20th century, a large number of Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
refugees from the Armenian genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, and Doukhobor
Doukhobor
The Doukhobors or Dukhobors , earlierDukhobortsy are a group of Russian origin.The Doukhobors were one of the sects - later defined as a religious philosophy, ethnic group, social movement, or simply a "way of life" - known generically as Spiritual Christianity. The origin of the Doukhobors is...
sect members of Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, settled the region.
On December 3, 1829, General Ivan Paskevich
Ivan Paskevich
Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich was a Ukrainian-born military leader. For his victories, he was made Count of Erivan in 1828 and Namestnik of the Kingdom of Poland in 1831...
created a special committee for relocation with chairmanship of governor Piotr Zaveleisky . The committee was created for the act for relocation. Аccording to preliminary calculations, the committee planned to displace 8,000 families from Kars
Kars Province, Ottoman Empire
Eyalet of Kars was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. Its reported area in the 19th century was .The town of Kars, which had been levelled to the ground by the Timur in 1368, was rebuilt as an Ottoman fortress in 1579 by Lala Mustafa Pasha, and became capital of an eyalet of six sanjaks and also a...
, Erzurum
Erzurum
Erzurum is a city in Turkey. It is the largest city, the capital of Erzurum Province. The city is situated 1757 meters above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 361,235 in the 2000 census. .Erzurum, known as "The Rock" in NATO code, served as NATO's southeastern-most air force post during the...
and Doğubeyazıt
Dogubeyazit
Doğubeyazıt is a city and district of Ağrı Province of Turkey, and is Turkey's most eastern district, the border crossing to Iran. Elevation 1625 m. Area 2.383 km². Population 115.354 of which 69.447 live in the town of Doğubeyazıt, the remainder in the surrounding countryside...
, but after a short time, the number was increased to 14,000.
The political target of Tsarist Russia was to get ethnical colours in Georgia, while the king-loving Georgian people were not very happy with Russian rule. Because of this, some people refused to move Meskhetians
Meskhetians
Meskhetian Turks, also known as Ahıska Turks are the former Turkish inhabitants of Meskheti , along the border with Turkey. They were deported to Central Asia during November 15–25, 1944 by Joseph Stalin and settled within Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Of the 120,000 forcibly deported...
from Imereti
Imereti
Imereti is a province in Georgia situated along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni river. It consists of the following Georgian administrative-territorial units:#Kutaisi #Baghdati region#Vani region#Zestafoni region...
back to their homes in freed places of Javakheti and other southern regions.
After an offensive on Akhaltsikhe
Akhaltsikhe
Akhaltsikhe is a small city in Georgia's southwestern region of Samtskhe-Javakheti. It is situated on the both banks of a small river Potskhovi, which separates the city to the old city in the north and new in the south. The name of the city translates from Georgian as "new fortress".- History...
, the sons of Mesketian families of the 16th-17th centuries (Tsitsishvili, Avalishvili, Muskhelishvili and others) got to Ivan Paskevich
Ivan Paskevich
Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich was a Ukrainian-born military leader. For his victories, he was made Count of Erivan in 1828 and Namestnik of the Kingdom of Poland in 1831...
and requested the return of legitimate lands on according to conservated sigheles issued by Georgian kings. Paskevich refused their request with some regrets.
Name
In terminology, the name "Javakheti" is taken from javakh core with traditional Georgian –eti suffix; commonly, Javakheti means the home of Javakhs, as for example, the word "Ossetia" is taken from Georgian Osi plus -eti.The earliest mention of the name was found in Urartu
Urartu
Urartu , corresponding to Ararat or Kingdom of Van was an Iron Age kingdom centered around Lake Van in the Armenian Highland....
sources, in the notes of king Argishti I of Urartu, 785 BC, as Zaabakha. There is an opinion that name was derived from the Tao
Tao (historical region)
Tao is a historical region in the territory of modern Turkey roughly corresponding to the Taochi of Greeks and Tayk of Armenians. It was a province within various Georgian Bagratid states from the 8th to the 16th century, when the region was conquered by the Ottoman Empire.-External references:*...
kh region. Taokhs were the major population of Diaokhi (Tao
Tao (historical region)
Tao is a historical region in the territory of modern Turkey roughly corresponding to the Taochi of Greeks and Tayk of Armenians. It was a province within various Georgian Bagratid states from the 8th to the 16th century, when the region was conquered by the Ottoman Empire.-External references:*...
) and were populating today's north-east Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and south Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, also in the territory of Javakheti. According to this, the middle name between Taokh and Javakh should be Chaokh.
Current situation
An expected improvement is the planned construction of the highway (financed by the USUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Millennium Challenge Account) to more effectively link the region with the rest of Georgia. Also, a railroad is planned to run from Kars
Kars
Kars is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. The population of the city is 73,826 as of 2010.-Etymology:As Chorzene, the town appears in Roman historiography as part of ancient Armenia...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
to Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
via the area (see: Kars Baku Tbilisi railway line), but the Armenian population of Javakheti are opposed to this rail link because it excludes and isolates Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
. There is already another railroad linking Armenia, Georgia and Turkey, which is the Kars-Gyumri-Akhalkalaki railroad line
Kars Gyumri Akhalkalaki railway line
The Kars–Gyumri–Tbilisi railway line is a railway line that runs from the city of Kars in Turkey to the Armenian city of Gyumri, then from there on to Tbilisi, Georgia....
. The existing line is in working condition and could be operational within weeks, but due to the Turkish blockade of Armenia since 1993, the railroad is not operational.