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GEORGIA. 



GEORGIA. 



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Sea is defended by a chain of Russian forts, but the garrisons have 

 for the most part been recently driven from them by the allied fleet. 



The intercourse between the countries south and north of the 

 Caucasus is carried on by the two roads described under CAUCASUS 

 (vol. ii. col. 391). Almost the only roads available for^raffic in the 

 interior are those constructed by the Russian government for military 

 purposes. But great improvement has been made by the govern- 

 ment in this respect within the last few years. " The hills and 

 valleys, which were formerly passable only on mules or horses, and in 

 a few parts in waggons drawn by oxen, are now everywhere traversed 

 by tolerable roads ; the post service is under the best regulation for 

 travelling, and intercourse is facilitated by a regular postal communi- 

 cation, which has been carried to the most distant communes." 

 (Haxthausen, ' Transcaucasia,' p. 81.) 



The climate though very varied is in general genial. The southern 

 latitude of these regions and the high mountains by which they are 

 surrounded and intersected, produce that variety of climate which 

 adapts them to the production of various plants and animals proper 

 both to warm and cold climates. But the heat and the equal tempera- 

 ture as well as the small quantity of rain which falls in Georgia 

 Proper and Armenia and over a considerable portion of the east of 

 the country, render artificial irrigation necessary as well for arable as 

 for meadow land ; and where, as below Kakhetia, the canals and 

 sluices have been destroyed or suffered to go to ruin, the country has 

 become a desert. 



Of wild animals there are the panther, the jackal, the tiger, the 

 bei<r, the wolf, &c. Besides the domestic animals common to the 

 rii countries, there is a great number of camels and asses. A 

 great variety of birds is found in these regions, of which the most 

 remarkable is the pheasant, which is indigenous on the banks of the 

 Rion, or Phasis, from which river it has derived its name. The slopes 

 of the mountains are covered with large forests, which produce beech 

 and other timber of the best description. 



Agriculture is in a backward state, and the instruments employed 

 are of a very rude kind. Among other efforts which have been made 

 by the Russian government for the improvement of agriculture, has 

 been that of establishing a number of German agricultural colonies, 

 but though the colonists have prospered, the natives have shown little 

 inclination to profit by their superior skill. In Georgia Proper, the 

 mountains of Imiretria and part of Mingrelia, the land is mostly 

 cultivated in detached farms, without intercommunication by direct 

 roads ; in other districts there are villages occasionally of considerable 

 size, but generally small. All over the country the larger farm-houses, 

 at least the older ones, are fortified buildings ; some are surrounded 

 by walls, and a great many of them have strong and lofty stone towers 

 or keeps. The agricultural products embrace a wide variety. Wheat 

 and barley are grown largely, especially in Georgia Proper. Maize 

 and a remarkable species of millet called ' khomi,' are the chief grains 

 raised in Mingrelia, Imiretria, Gooria, &c. The vine, which is indige- 

 nous, grows abundantly in a wild state. The vineyards produce a 

 great variety of grapes, and a large quantity of wine and brandy is 

 made in the country. The wine made by the natives is far from 

 agreeable to European palates, but the German colonists make an 

 excellent wine. Silk is cultivated in several provinces, but this branch 

 of industry is in a very low state, owing to the unskilful preparation 

 of that valuable commodity. Cotton is grown in the southern provinces, 

 but it is of very inferior quality, and insufficient in quantity for the 

 requirements of the small manufactures of the country. It is how- 

 ever said that by an improved management the cotton might be 

 brought to the greatest perfection, and its quantity increased to an 

 unlimited amount. Tobacco is grown in Gooria. In the circle of 

 Syknak sugar and indigo are successfully cultivated. Madder grows 

 spontaneously in several parts of the country, but is cultivated 

 chiefly in the provinces bordering on the Caspian. The inhabitants of 

 the district of Derbend are almost exclusively occupied with the culti- 

 vation of it. Rice grows almost everywhere except in the highlands ; 

 and saffron is produced in great quantities in ths eastern provinces. 



It is believed that great mineral wealth is concealed in the moun- 

 tains, but hitherto nothing of any importance has been made available. 

 The country is very rich in salt. The manufactures are confined to 

 the articles required for home consumption. 



This country is the seat of a great variety of tribes, or as they are 

 sometimes termed races, of men differing in speech, habits, and many 

 physical characters, yet bearing a certain general resemblance. From 

 a very early time this appears to have been the case ; for a Greek 

 historian, Timosthenes, quoted by Pliny, affirms that 300 dissimilar 

 tribes occupied the country ; while Pliny adds that in his time 130 

 interpreters were required in the market of Dioscurias, a town of 

 Colchis. These numbers are doubtless great exaggerations, but the 

 latest and one of the best-informed travellers in Georgia, Baron von 

 Haxthausen, says there exist at the present time more than 70 tribes, 

 each having a distinct dialect ; but then some of these languages or 

 dialects is frequently spoken only in a district composed of a few 

 villages. The study of these tribes is of singular interest to the 

 ethnologist, and of scarcely inferior interest to those who are more 

 attracted by moral and antiquarian peculiarities. Here are first the 

 Georgians, the purest members of the Caucasian type, assigned by the 

 older ethnologists as the highest class of the human race ; here also 



are Circassians, who are found on the south as well as north of the 

 Terek ; the Assetes, or Iron, hardly inferior m interest even to the 

 Georgians, and in whose habits and customs recent writers have 

 seemed to find so marked an affinity with those of the ancient Ger- 

 mans ; the wide-sprsad Armenians, from their intellect and energy, 

 as well as from their close bond of nationality and religion, evidently 

 destined to play an important part in the future history of this part 

 of the globe ; the Yezidis, with their worship of the evil spirit ; the 

 fire-worshippers of Buku ; the Tatars, Suanians, Abasians, &c. And 

 each of these and of the remaining tribes has " its historical traditions, 

 its own language and usages, and in many cases its peculiar religious 

 rites; for although in the same village Armenians, Georgians, and 

 Tartars are found living together, they scarcely ever intermix ; each 

 people preserving its own religion, customs, dress, manners, tribunals, 

 and police." Moreover, as the writer just quoted (Baron von Hax- 

 thausen) elsewhere observes, " All the races who have passed through 

 this country have left memorials behind them : in fact, there exist 

 here monuments of every period of the world's history. We find the 

 dwellings of Troglodytes, entire cities cut out of the rock ; the colossal 

 ruins of aqueducts and canals dating from the times of the great 

 Babylonish, Assyrian, and Persian monarchies ; with Greek and Roman 

 edifices, and rock-castles of the middle ages." 



It would plainly occupy too much space to attempt to give a general 

 account of the Georgian tribes : under the several divisions we may 

 notice some of the more marked features of the principal ones ; but 

 here it must suffice to observe that the general characteristics of the 

 Caucasian highlanders, although there are differences among them in 

 origin, language, and many other respects, are a strong love of inde- 

 pendence united with predatory habits. The men are generally 

 indolent ; much of the most laborious work is devolved on the females. 

 Their chief indulgence is in the possession of costly weapons. Hos- 

 pitality is a sacred duty among all these highlanders. Whenever a 

 Caucasian has received a person into his house he will protect him 

 against all his enemies, even at the risk of his own life. The law of 

 retaliation is more strictly enforced among the Caucasians than among 

 the Beduin Arabs : to avenge the death of a relation becomes a sacred 

 obligation which descends from father to son, unless the quarrel is 

 settled by a compensation accepted by the aggrieved party. Although 

 many Caucasian tribes have been converted to Mohammedanism, the 

 most part of them may be called idolaters, as they frequently worship 

 some inanimate objects. It is very remarkable that the prophet Elijah 

 is a particular object of adoration among almost all the Caucasian 

 tribes, both Mohammedan and Pagan. There are several caverns in 

 different parts of the Caucasus consecrated to the prophet, where the 

 inhabitants assemble on certain days to offer sacrifices to him. If a 

 person is killed by thunder, the highlanders say that he was killed by 

 the prophet Elijah, and consider it a great blessing for him. The burial 

 of such a person is accompanied with the songs and dances of his rela- 

 tions, who rejoice in his death instead of mourning at the event. They are 

 much attached to their ancient superstitions and traditions, and there 

 is little doubt that in these and many of their peculiar religious obser- 

 vances many vestiges of their primitive faith and habits are retained. 



The attempts made by the Russian government to civilise the 

 Caucasian highlanders for a long time proved abortive. Within the 

 last few years however, according to the statement of a somewhat 

 partial authority, more success appears to have attended the efforts of 

 the Russian government to introduce European education. " In Tiflis, 

 Noukka, and Chamaka institutions have been established to promote 

 the cultivation of corn, silk, and wine ; and in the government depart- 

 ment artisans and labourers are trained for this wide field of agricul- 

 tural enterprise. Free instruction is provided in the excellent mili- 

 tary schools for the sons of the numerous and poor nobles. Every 

 chief town of Georgia contains a school, amply endowed, for the 

 education of the sons of nobles, merchants, and the upper classes of 

 citizens. The gymnasium, and the institute for daughters of men of 

 rank, are supported in a manner corresponding to the education 

 requirtd. The pupils who distinguish themselves at these institutions 

 have free admission to the imperial universities and the polytechnic 

 schools of St. Petersburg and Moscow. The sons of meritorious native 

 inhabitants are received into these schools, and entire corps have been 

 formed, principally of the sons of Mohammedans of rank, who never 

 before passed the limits of their own country. Many of the Asiatics 

 have made remarkable progress in science and civilisation in the 

 schools opened expressly for them at St. Petersburg. . . The 

 emperor's care is extended likewise to the religious and spiritual wants 

 of the inhabitants. The neglected state of the dominant Greek Church, 

 of the Armenian, the Lutheran (consisting of the colonists from 

 Wiirtemburg), and the Roman Catholic churches, as well as the two 

 Mohammedan sects, was exchanged for discipline and order, with the 

 aid and co-operation of the respective clergy of these religious bodies. 

 Churches and chapels were restored or rebuilt, whilst education and a 

 provision for the clergy of every faith were secured." (Haxthausen.) 



The ecclesiastical affairs of the Armenian Church are directed by 

 their patriarch, who resides at Echmiadzin ; and those of the Georgian 

 Church by the catholicos, or metropolitan of Georgia. The religious 

 concerns of the Mohammedans are directed by a mooshtend, who ia 

 acknowledged by the Russian government as the religious chief of 

 the Mohammedan inhabitants of the country. 



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