Arian Kartli
According to the Conversion of Kartli, Arian Kartli was the original homeland of the Georgian people. As stated in this source, Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) appointed one of his commanders, Azo, the son of the king of Arian Kartli, as the ruler of Mtskheta. Azo went to his father's homeland — “Arian Kartli” and brought 1000 households of his own (i.e., those of his family name) and 10 houses of his guardians, took the statues of Gatsi and Gaim, the gods of Arian Georgians, and settled in Mtskheta. In this legend, echoes of various legends can be observed, and the story of the migration of Georgians to the land of the present Kartli corresponds to the resettlement of the Georgians by Alexander the Great and under the command of Mithridates, satrap of Darius, the last king of the Persian Empire.
It seems that the arrival of one part of Georgians, different from others, in the region of Mtskheta in the late antiquity – early Hellenistic period must be close to the truth. The original location of these people (Arian Kartli, according to Georgian sources) should have been in the southwestern part of historical Georgia, which the Georgian population living further north called Arian Kartli, which means “Iranian Kartli”. This region was part of Iran of the Achaemenid period.
According to some ancient authors (Plutarch), the Georgian countries located further north escaped such a fate and preserved their political independence. In the sources about this migration of Georgians, some see similarity to the movement of one part of the Georgian tribe of Meskhetians (Mushki), settled in the eastern part of Asia Minor, from the southwest to the north, first in the direction of Meskheti and then in the central regions of Kartli. They played an active role in the formation of the ancient Kingdom of Kartli (Iberia).
Literature: მ ე ლ ი ქ ი შ ვ ი ლ ი გ., საქართველოს, კავკასიისა და მახლობელი აღმოსავლეთის უძველესი მოსახლეობის საკითხისათვის, თბ., 1965; მისივე, ქართველები, მათი წარმომავლობის საკითხი, წგ.: საქართველოს ისტორიის ნარკვევები, ტ. 1, თბ., 1970; მისივე, ქართლი (იბერია) ძვ. წ. VI – IV საუკუნეებში. ქართლის სამეფოს წარმოქმნა. იქვე.
G. Melikishvili
