Dodo Chumburidze
PhD in History
The University of Georgia
Professor
Tamaz Beradze Institute of Georgian Studies
Chief Research Fellow
Tbilisi, Georgia
Dodo Chumburidze
PhD in History
The University of Georgia
Professor
Tamaz Beradze Institute of Georgian Studies
Chief Research Fellow
Tbilisi, Georgia
Activating History: The National Project 'Tergdaleuli' and
Ilia Chkonia's Historiographic Contributions
Georgian lawyer, historian, translator and publicist-publisher Alessandre Chkonia (1855-1907) was an interesting figure. He wrote under the pseudonym "Machakhelidze". He was a comrade of the chairman of the society for spreading literacy among Georgians and a member of the society board. Alessandre Chkonia had a personal relationship with Ilia Chavchavadze. After graduating from the Faculty of Law at St. Petersburg University, he went to Paris to study historical sciences. During his studies, due to financial difficulties, he informed the greatest authority and venerable person about his situation and his desire to study in a personal letter, and the great writer benevolently provided him with support through his friends.
On June 14, 1876, with the first monetary aid sent by Ilia, Alessandre Chkonia was allowed to succeed in his studies of history and the achievements of modern European historiography. He contributed his knowledge to the thorough research of Georgian historiographical thinking during this period, he translated foreign sources about Georgia, which was of great importance for the establishment of the field of history as a science and its Europeanization.
The close, business and friendly relationship between Alessandre Chkonia and Ilia Chavchavadze started with his return from Paris. The writer needed a historian with knowledge of European languages to answer the slanderous allegations written by chauvinist Russian scientists about Georgia's historical past. To better argue his scientific ideas, Ilya used the works of famous German and French historians, to which Alexsander Chkhonia had access and deep knowledge.
In 1890, Chkonia published "Historical Essay" (Historical Chrestomathy) at his own expense. He was the first to introduce Georgian readers to the reports of European travelers and missionaries about Georgia ("Pietro Della Valle's Report on Georgia – 1627", Iveria, 1871. №111; "Italian Travelers in Georgia in the 15th Century: Iosafa Barbaro and Ambrozio Konratini", Moambe, 1894, №XI; "From Tavernier's travels in the 17th century", Moambe", 1898, VI; "Arcangelo Lambert – description of Samegrelo" and others.
The "Historical Essay" published by a historian and publicist in 1890 contributed to the expansion of Georgian historical thought. This is a comprehensive collection of works by Georgian and foreign scientists on the Caucasus and Georgian ethnic groups, their resettlement, ancient civilizational ties, participation of Georgians in the world-historical processes, etc.
The unique importance of the book is created by the fact that all the letters belong to well-known scientists and they were researched and translated from European languages by the author of the collection, Alessander Chkhonia. The authors of the scientific publications included in the collection are: Herodotus, Strabo, Procopius of Caesarea, Agatha, Menandre of Byzantium, Kedrene, European scientists: François Lenormand, Marie Brosse, Vivien de Saint Martin, Gaterias, Charles Louis de Montesquieu, Carl Ritter, Dubois de Montperre, Theodore Momzeni, Russian scientist Petre Uslar; Georgian scientists: Vakhushti and Teimuraz Bagrationi, Platon Ioseliani, Sulkhan Baratashvili, Dimitri Bakradze, Alessandre Tsagareli, Giorgi Tsereteli and others.
At that time, the texts of a large part of these authors were difficult to access not only for interested Georgians but also for professional historians. The introductory letter, apart from a few paragraphs written by him, informs us about the goals and attitude of the compiler of the collection about the development of history as a field of science, the need to bring it to the people. The historian expressed his hope that the book would help all the interested parties in the study of Georgian history, especially school students and teachers, "all Georgians who do not have the opportunity and ability to research and re-read what was written in Georgian and in foreign languages about our history".
Search words: Georgian historiography, European historians, foreign sources, Alessandre