Ketevan Kutateladze
PhD in History
Ivane Javakhishvili Institute of History and Ethnology
Senior Researcher
Tbilisi, Georgia
Ketevan Kutateladze
PhD in History
Ivane Javakhishvili Institute of History and Ethnology
Senior Researcher
Tbilisi, Georgia
Regarding the Ongoing Restoration of the Kumurdo Cathedral
Abstract
The independence of the Georgian state and its territorial integrity was determined and regulated by the protection of the state border, its status, and the extent to which the king of the country controlled it, as an independent leader or as a subordinate authority to the great empires. The state border changed as a result of various historical processes. Border dissensions took place not only with the incoming enemy but also the clash of interests of the great empires was sometimes the cause of the collision, which violated the border space and posed a threat to Georgian statehood. In addition to physical-geographic features, infrastructural provision was necessary for border protection. The definition and names "border-arranging", "valid border", "marked border", "Saman" (boundary mark) indicate how much importance was attached to the protection of the border.
In Georgian sources, the border is considered in two meanings: land, territory, space, or area, as well as a boundary, adjacent part of the border, border zone, or border line. To mark the boundaries of the state land was used the name "Royal Border". Illegal crossing of the border meant violation of the border, which required an appropriate response. The territory of the border strip was the property of the state on which the dividing line passed. The political affiliation of the border was determined by the name of the country that controlled the adjacent territory. That is why the adjacent bordering regions are called "Kartli border ", which means the territory of Kartli.
In the Middle Ages, to avoid border dissensions with neighboring states, various social and political relations were established (negotiations, dynastic marriages, serving gifts, paying tribute), and in extreme cases military clashes, when border dissensions sometimes resulted in the possession of adjacent border territory.
Georgia, from a geo-strategic point of view, was attractive to any empire trying to dominate the area. Their military actions and truce agreements were directly or indirectly related to the historical borders of Georgia, within which sometimes hostilities took place. The empires in the south of Georgia were always interested in the northern crossings, from where the threat of nomadic attacks came, and it was also attractive for them to march towards the rich southern empires. The maintenance of Georgian statehood or its destruction was directly related to the border dissensions that took place around Georgia and which determined the fate of the country's statehood.
The protection of the state border and border space ensured both territorial security and control of migration processes, preventing the danger of entry of other ethnic groups.
The protection of the border in the adjacent border area was ensured by the eristavas of the border. To secure the border, the information was collected by spies. In that part of the border, which was adjacent to the invisible mountain system and valleys of the Caucasus, the protection of the border was entrusted to the local population.
In the era of Georgia's strength, all its borders were protected. This was determined not only by the provision of border protection but also by the creation of a buffer zone, the vassalage obedience of the political entities around Georgia or gaining an advantage over them or occupying the territory directly. In addition to repelling the attacks of the nomads from the border areas of the country, the eristavas of the border were also responsible for raiding the neighboring countries to instill fear.
The struggle for the protection of the border regions was particularly severe in the 16th and 17th centuries. According to the Treaty of Amasia in 1555, the Ottoman Empire and Kizilbash Iran divided Georgia in half, which harmed Georgian statehood. The adjacent territory of the southwestern border fell under the jurisdiction of the Ottoman Empire, and the process of settlement of nomadic Turkmen was intensively carried out by Kizilbash Iran to establish control over the territories of the southern border.
Keywords: Border, Territory, State, Border Zone, Border Protection