The culture of Georgia has evolved over the country's long history, providing it with a unique national identity and a strong literary tradition based on the Georgian language and alphabet. This strong sense of national identity has helped to preserve Georgian distinctiveness despite repeated periods of foreign occupation.
The Georgian alphabet is traditionally said to have been invented in the 3rd century BC and reformed by King Parnavaz I of Iberia in 284 BC. Most modern scholarship puts its origin date at some time in the 5th century AD, when the earliest examples can be found.
A page from a 12th-century Gelati Gospel, an example of Georgian illuminated manuscripts from the Middle AgesCeremonial crown of the Georgian high nobility, an example of metalwork from the early modern period
Well-known monuments of Georgian Christian architecture include:
This long history has provided a national narrative which encompasses the successful preservation of unique culture and identity in a consistent territory, despite powerful external pressures from different directions. Christianity and the Georgian language are particularly important national identifiers.[9]
The first Georgian-language printing house was established in the 1620s in Italy, and the first one in Georgia itself was founded in 1709 in Tbilisi.
Georgian theatre has a long history; its oldest national form was the "Sakhioba" (extant from the 3rd century BC to the 17th century AD). The Georgian National Theatre was founded in 1791 in Tbilisi, by the writer, dramatist, and diplomat Giorgi Avalishvili (1769–1850). Its leading actors were Dimitri Aleksi-Meskhishvili, David Machabeli, David Bagrationi, Dimitri Cholokashvili, and others.
The first cinema in Georgia was established in Tbilisi on November 16, 1896. The first Georgian cinema documentary ("Journey of Akaki Tsereteli in Racha-Lechkhumi") was shot in 1912 by Vasil Amashukeli (1886–1977), while the first Georgian feature film ("Kristine") was shot in 1916 by Alexandre Tsutsunava (1881–1955).
Georgian culture suffered under the rule of the Soviet Union during the 20th century, during which a policy of Russification was imposed but was strongly resisted by many Georgians. Since the independence of Georgia in 1991, a cultural resurgence has taken place, albeit somewhat hampered by the country's economic and political difficulties in the post-Soviet era.
Georgian cuisine is the result of the broad interplay of culinary ideas carried along the Silk Road Trade route by merchants and travelers alike.[10] The importance of both food and drink to Georgian culture is best observed during a feast called supra, when a huge assortment of dishes are prepared, always accompanied by large amounts of local wine, known to be one of the world's oldest wines, produced in ancient authentic Georgian underground kvevri clay pots (dating 8 century BC). In a Georgian feast, the role of the tamada (toastmaster) is an important and honoured position.
^Kennan, Hans Dieter; et al. (2013). Vagabond Life: The Caucasus Journals of George Kennan. University of Washington Press. p. 32. (...) Iranian power and cultural influence dominated eastern Georgia until the coming of the Russians
^Jones, Stephen (1 September 2003). "The role of cultural paradigms in Georgian foreign policy". Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics. 19 (3): 83–110. doi:10.1080/13523270300660019. ISSN1352-3279. S2CID154183255.
^Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Ken Albala, p. 125
^Chkheidze, Levan. "Georgian Art Portal | Artists". Art.Gov.Ge (in English and Georgian). Didistudia llc. Archived from the original on 17 November 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
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