Georgian Colony of Edessa
The Georgian Colony of Edessa was one of the oldest cultural centers established abroad. The city of Edessa (also known as Antioch [not to be confused with ancient Antioch in Syria] or Urha, today’s Urfa in southeastern Turkey) was an important cultural, religious, educational, and commercial center in northern Mesopotamia. Due to its strategic location at the crossroads of caravan routes, Edessa played a significant role in the cultural life of Mesopotamia and the Middle East.
Edessas market attracted merchants from distant parts of Asia and Europe, including Iberia and Lazica. By the mid-2nd century, Edessa’s population was predominantly Christian. From the 3rd century onward, classical Christian literature began to emerge in the Edessan dialect of the Aramaic language. Edessa was home to a prominent theological school founded by Ephrem the Syrian, which became well-known throughout northern Mesopotamia. Students came here to study from neighboring regions and possibly from Kartli and Egrisi as well.
The Georgian cultural center in Edessa likely was formed after the adoption of Christianity as the state religion in Georgia. Alongside Mtskheta, Edessa became one of the main locations where the Holy Scriptures were translated into Georgian. This is suggested by the Georgian translation of the Didache by Jeremiah of Urha, who is identified by some with Jeremiah the Iberian of the 4th century.
The Queen Sagdukht, the mother of Vakhtang Gorgasali, and his sister Khvarandze spent eight years (460–468) in this city. The Assyrian Fathers, who came to Kartli around 534, were likely connected to the Georgian colony in Edessa. Coptic sources refer to Peter the Iberian as "the Urhaean," indicating a connection to the city.
Even after the departure of Father Anton from Edessa, the Georgian colony continued to exist. Newcomers from Georgia and groups of the Kartvelian population of northern Mesopotamia and Pontus-Cappadocia lived here as well. However, in the 7th century, when Arab rule was established in northern Mesopotamia, the Georgian cultural center in Edessa, like much of Eastern Christian culture and scholarship there, came to an end.
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V. Goiladze
