Armenia and Georgia: Crossroads of Empires and Battlegrounds of History

23rd August 2025

armenian-history, byzantine-and-ottoman-influence, caucasus-crossroads, christian-kingdoms, crusades-in-the-caucasus, georgian-history, medieval-empires

Introduction: The Twin Crusaders

Armenia and Georgia are two countries located in the Caucasus region, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Armenia is a landlocked country surrounded by Turkiye to the west, Georgia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and Azerbaijani enclave Nakhchivan to the south. On the other hand, Georgia borders Russia to the north and northeast, Turkiye and Armenia to the south, Azerbaijan to the southeast, and the Black Sea to the west. Both the nations have histories of nearly 3000 years when they stood at the crossroads of gigantic empires, civilizations and continents. This blog describes how these two nations survived through a long timeline being the neighbours of some of the major powers and even the super powers of the ancient, medieval and modern world. This blog tries to give tribute to the two warrior nations who stood among giants for millennia.

Chapter 1: Rise of Early Kingdoms- Urartu, Colchis and Iberia

The continuous history of Armenia can be traced back to the kingdom of Urartu around 9th century BCE. It means high place in Assyrian. Urartu started as an independent kingdom but became a vassal of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 7th century BCE. The kingdom was finally destroyed by either the Scythians or the Medians around the early 6th century BCE. Then the Achaemenid Emperor Kurush also known as Cyrus the Great established the Orontid Dynasty in Armenian land as the Satrapy of Armenia. During that time Armenia witnessed many Zoroastrian influences with many practicing the religion there. The dynasty was replaced by the Artaxiad dynasty ( named after its king Artaxius I) under Seleucid Emperor Antiochus III. Emperor Tigranes II (95 to 56 BCE) also called Tigranes the Great was the greatest ruler of the dynasty. Under his rule Armenia became The Armenian Empire stretching up to Western Anatolia, Syria and Western Persia. The empire later collapsed and came under Roman and Parthian rule interchangeably. It was replaced by the Arsacid Dynasty in 12 CE and became a vassal of the Parthians. After the Parthians, the Sasanians became their indirect masters. It was in 301 CE when Armenia became the first official christian state of the world due to efforts by Saint Gregory the Illuminator. It was also during the Arsacid rule that the Armenian alphabet developed. One big event during that time was the Battle of Avarayr in 451 CE when 6000 Armenians led by Saint Vardan Mamikonian fought against Sasanian imposition of zoroastrianism in their kingdom. Although the Sasanian Empire won, and Saint Mamikonian was killed, the empire stopped imposing their religions. Thus in the Ancient era, Armenia evolved from Urartu and survived through the super powers like the Achaemenids, Romans and Sasanians and continued their journey to the medieval age.

The story of Georgia is even older than Armenia. The first genuine kingdom of Georgia was in its western part as the kingdom of Colchis around the 12th century BCE. The kingdom was mentioned in the Greek myth of Jason and the Agronauts where Jason and his partners came to Colchis for the Golden Fleece. It was conquered by the Achaemenids around 550 BCE and only became independent again after the conquests of Alexander the Great around 330 BCE. Around the 4th century BCE a second Georgian kingdom rose on the eastern side known as the kingdom of Iberia also known as Kartli. King Pharnavaz I of the Pharnavazid dynasty was the one responsible for the unification of Iberia. It came under Roman influence around the 1st century BCE to counter Armenia who was a subordinate to Parthians. Around the same time Colchis was conquered by the Black Sea Empire of Pontus before falling under Roman rule. In the 2nd century CE Colchis transformed into the kingdom of Lazica, which had a semi autonomy under Rome. Around the 4th century CE Iberia converted to christianity under Saint Nina by setting up the Georgian Orthodox Church, and is celebrated as the enlightener of Georgia today. During those times Iberia shifted alliances between the Sasanian and the Roman Empires. Thus the kingdoms of eastern and western Georgia struggled and survived the same way as Armenia among the continental giants.

Chapter 2: The Bagratids and Bagrationis- Kingdoms Reborn

In the middle ages Armenia became an important centre in the Silk Road. After the collapse of the Sasanian Empire, Armenia was conquered by the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates in the mid 7th century. In 884 CE the Bagratid Dynasty restored Armenia as a sovereign state and King Ashot I the Great was recognized as the king of Armenia by both the Caliph and the Byzantine Emperor. King Gagik I built the Ani Cathedral in the Armenian capital thus creating an important centre for Armenian culture. The kingdom was invaded by the Great Seljuk Empire and Ani was sacked. Around the mid 11th century many Armenians migrated to southern Anatolia thus forming the Armenian Cilician kingdom in 1080. King Levon I strengthened Cilicia and participated alongside Richard the Lionheart in the conquest of Cyprus during the Crusades in 1191. The kingdom was later raided by the Mongols and Mamluks until its end in 1375. After that Eastern Armenia came under Persian Safavid rule and Western Armenia came under Ottoman Rule.

In the early parts of the medieval ages, Iberia was under Arab rule, but Lazica and Iberia teamed up and defeated Arab Caliphates in the 8th century. In 770, the principality of Abasgia united with the kingdom of Lazica through marriage alliances and formed the kingdom of Abkhazia. Meanwhile Iberia was raided by Arabs and its capital Tbilisi was sacked. In the 9th century, Iberia was rebuilt by the Bagrationi Dynasty and under King Bagrat III, the kingdoms of Abkhazia and Iberia united to form the kingdom of Georgia in the early 11th century. King Davit IV Aghmashenebeli popularly known as David IV the Builder made Georgia a large kingdom by regaining territories from Seljuk Turks. Georgia saw its Golden Age under Queen Tamar between 1184 to 1213 when it became an Empire. Georgia became a cultural and economic hub. The empire collapsed after her death and was raided and conquered by Mongols. Later Tamerlane invaded Georgia in the 14th century causing devastating damage leading to heavy loss of life, culture and economy. Georgia, like Armenia, was split into two between Safavids and Ottomans.

Thus both Armenia and Georgia faced the same road, from being conquered by Arabs, to becoming sovereign to being looted by Turks, to being divided between Safavids and Ottomans in the medieval age.

Chapter 3: Soviet Rule and Independence

Eastern Armenia continued to be a Persian vassal till the Qajar Dynasty of Iran when it became part of the Russian Empire in early 19th century. Western Armenia continued to be under Ottoman rule till World War I when the infamous Armenian Genocide was performed by the Young Turk government. More than 1.5 million Armenians were killed. Armenia became a Soviet Constituent Republic between 1922 to 1991. Armenia became independent as the Republic of Armenia in 1991. Conflicts continue even today with Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with predominantly Armenian population. It declared self independence which is not recognized internationally.

Georgia became a protectorate of the Russian Empire through the Treaty of Georgievsk in 1783 signed between the Empire and the king of Kartli-Karkheti (Eastern Georgia) for protection against the Persians and the Ottomans. Georgia became a part of the Russian Empire completely in 1801. Brief independence occurred after World War I as Democratic Republic of Georgia from 1918 to 1921 when it became a Soviet Constituent Republic. After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, civil war took place between two Georgian factions, and finally Georgia became an independent country in 1993. The Georgian Orthodox Church regained National Identity in the early 2000s.

Conclusion: Legacies of the Two Nations

The histories of Armenia and Georgia are very inspirational which depicts two heroes’ journeys who struggled for existence, collapsed and reincarnated in various new forms when empires and super powers around them came and went. The sagas from Urartu, Colchis and Iberia to modern Armenia and Georgia within such a crucial geopolitical location in the middle of the old world are something to be learned and remembered. This blog tries to uphold the legacies that these two ancient civilizations created through millennia. Feel free to comment on what you think about the stories of these two fascinating nations.