The Wellspring of Georgian Historiography: The Early Medieval Historical Chronicle ‘The Conversion of Kartli’ and ‘The Life of St. Nino’

PAPERBACK
HARDBACK 189894864X / 45.00

SKU: ISBN 1898948658 Category:

£18.99

Description

A new study and translation of The Conversion of Kartli – a remarkable account of how Christianity came to Eastern Georgia and how it was adopted by King Mirian as the state religion around 337 AD. Included is a separate history within the Chronicle: The Life of St. Nino, an intimate portrait of the woman whose beliefs converted a kingdom.

– 240 pages, Illustrated with maps

Published by Bennett and Bloom, 2004

THE WELLSPRING OF GEORGIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY

Contents

Preface

PART I
Introduction
1.Description of the two recensions and a bibliographical survey
—On the origin of the Chelishi Collection
2. Structure of the manuscrip0t and its place in Georgian historiography
3. Textual differences between the two recensions
—Lexical and stylistic differences
—The baptism of Queen Soji
4. Chronological layers in The Life of St Nino
—Kinship with the Patriarch of Jerusalem
—Sara Miapor
—The probable origin of St Nino
—Parentage of St Nino
—A plausible reconstruction of the layers
—Absolute dating of the ancient layer in The Life of St Nino
5. Historical survey of the Jewish community in Mtskheta
—Waves of migration
—Intellectual life of the community
6. Plausible authorship of the ancient layer and formation of the entire composition
7. The problem of the substrate language of the ancient layer
8. The social status of St Nino in Mtskheta
9. Etymology of the name of the ancient Georgian capital Mtskheta
10. An Old Hebrew Romance of Alexander as one of the sources for The Chronicle
—Alexander’s invasion of Kartli
—Pompey’s invasion of Iberia/Afriqi
—Cartinia/Kartli
—K(a)cia/Kcia
—Azo/Ason
—Arik/Artag
—The battle with the ‘Wild Beasts’
—The march to the ‘Land of Hagar’
—The last stage of Pompey’s campaign
—Feasible basis for confusion
—Legend of the city of Tbilisi

PART II
Translation of The Conversion of Kartli

Bibliography
Index of personal names
Commentary on the index of personal names
Index of ethnic and geographic names
Commentary on the index of ethnic and geographic names
Index