Matiane Kartlisa

Matiane Kartlisa (Chronicle of Kartli) is an integral part of the kartlis tskhovreba (The History of Georgia). The anonymous chronicle, titled as Matiane Kartlisa by professor Ivane Javakhishvili, covers history of Georgia between 8th and 11th century. Created between 1072-1073, it consists of two main parts – the history of Georgia from the end of the 8th century to the end of 10th century, until the rule of Bagrat III, and the history of the united Georgia to the first years of the reign of George II, until 1072. The first part of the chronicle is very short, the second – relatively long. According to the author of this testimony in the 8th century Georgia was a united country, ruled by king Archil. Following the king’s dath, his descendants did not stay united and the country fell apart. The main concept of this work is the fight for the unification of the country and defending it from external enemies. The author used both Georgian and foreign sources. He knew very well the history of the neighbouring countries, their intentions towards Georgia and the international situation in the Middle East at that time. His work is filled with a patriotic spirit, written in a sophisticated style. Most of the information contained in this work is reliable. The author tried to present the historical events in a cause-and effect-sequence. The regnal dates and other records are listed according to the Georgian Calendar (chronikon). The piece was translated into Old Armenian (12th c.), French (19th c.), Russian as well as into English. This translation is based on the Old Georgian edition of the text kartlis tskhovreba. While translating the text, we took into account all previous editions of the Chronicle.