Georgia (country): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 21:13, 10 January 2006

Revision as of 10:18, 11 January 2006

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==Origin of the name==

Georgians call themselves ''Kartvelebi'' (ქართველები), their land ''Sakartvelo'' (საქართველო), and their language ''Kartuli'' (ქართული). These names are derived from a [[Paganism in Georgia|pagan chief]] called [[Kartlos]], said to be the father of all Georgians. The foreign name ''Georgia'', used throughoutin many languages of the world, is derived from [[Persian language|Persian]] گرجی ''Gurji'' via the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] ''Jurj''. Because the spelling was influenced by the [[Greek language|Greek]] root ''geōrg-'' (γεωργ-, indicating farming; see also [[List of traditional Greek place names]]), the word has been mistakenly supposed to have come from a [[cognate]] such as ''[[St. George]]'' (the country's patron saint), or ''γεωργία'' (''geōrgía'', farming).

[[Image:St George (15th cent, Georgia).jpg|thumb|Plaque portraying St George slaying the Dragon. 15th century cloisonné enamel on gold. 15X11,5 cm (National Art Museum of Georgia)]]

However in [[Chinese language|Chinese]], the official transliteration 格魯吉亞 (pinyin: gélǔjīà; cantonese: gaak3 lu3 gat1 a3) comes closer to the native pronunciation than most translations.

The ancient world knew the inhabitants of eastern Georgia as ''Iberians'', from the Caucasian kingdom of [[Caucasian Iberia|Iberia]] — thus confusing the geographers of antiquity, who thought this name applied only to the inhabitants of the [[Iberian Peninsula]] ([[Spain]], [[Portugal]], [[Andorra]] and [[Gibraltar]]).