Armenians in Georgia or Georgian Armenians (; ) are Armenian people living within the country of Georgia. The Armenian community is mostly concentrated in the capital Tbilisi, Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia and Samtskhe-Javakheti region. 2014 Census of Georgia puts the Armenians in Samtskhe-Javakheti at 50.5% of the population. In Abkhazia, Armenians are the third largest ethnic group in the region after the Georgians and the Abkhazian majority.
History
Medieval Armenian historians and chroniclers, such as Movses Khorenatsi, Ghazar Parpetsi, Pavstos Buzand, and others described Armenians in Georgia in large cities and historical provinces of this country. A large wave of Armenian settlers in the country's capital city of Tbilisi took place in the 12th–13th centuries, especially after 1122, in the aftermath of liberation of the Caucasus from Seljuk Turks by Georgian and Armenian forces under the leadership of King David IV and Tamar of Georgia.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Armenian merchants, including famous jewelers and oil industrialists invested heavily in business in Georgia and helped build trading houses, cultural centers, schools and churches. The number of Armenians increased progressively such that by the early 19th century, the Armenians far outnumbered Georgians in the capital city of Tbilisi. Tbilisi became a veritable cultural center for Eastern Armenians ("arevelahayer", commonly called Russian-Armenians "rusahayer") just like Istanbul in Turkey became cultural center for the Western Armenians ("arevmedahayer", commonly called Turkish-Armenians "turkahayer" at the time).
As a result of the struggles of the Russian Empire with the Ottomans and its conquest of the Caucasus over the Qajar Iran, the Russian authorities found themselves able to settle Christian Armenian and Greek refugees in the area after 1828, following the ratified Treaty of Turkmenchay with Qajar Iran of 1828, and the Treaty of Adrianople with Ottoman Turkey of 1829.
Architecture
Armenians left rich architectural imprint in Georgia, and Tbilisi has many architectural buildings constructed by Armenian architects of the last centuries. There are many mansions that were built by influential Armenians and comprise some of the most attractive historical buildings in Tbilisi.
As an example of the Armenian presence is the house of Melik-Azaryants in Tbilisi on a principal avenue in Tbilisi called Rustaveli Avenue.
Domes of Armenian churches are seen in all parts of the city center. In the beginning of the 20th century there were as many as 30 Armenian churches in Tbilisi.
Armenian Norashen Church, an architectural monument from 1701 is in ruins. The walls of Norashen, which means "new construction", had been decorated by the frescoes of Hovnatan Hovnatanian, the court painter of Georgian King Heraclius II.
Georgian–Armenian War 1918
The Georgian–Armenian War was a border war fought in December 1918 between the Democratic Republic of Georgia and the First Republic of Armenia over parts of then disputed provinces of Lori and Javakheti, largely populated by Armenians (and Azerbaijanis in the north of Lori) in the 19th century. By the end of World War I, some of these territories were occupied by the Ottoman Empire, but when they abandoned the areas both Armenians and Georgians claimed control. The hostilities continued until the United Kingdom-brokered ceasefire was signed, leaving the disputed part of Lori under the joint Armenian-Georgian administration, which lasted until the establishment of the Soviet rule in Armenia in 1920.
Armenians in Soviet Georgia
After the establishment of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, and despite the establishment of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, most Armenians decided to stay and enjoyed reasonably prosperous life, except for their religious freedoms, as the Communist government had nationalized most of the Armenian churches and cultural monuments and suppressed the religious freedoms of the general population including the Armenians.
This resulted in dozens of churches closing. By the end of the Soviet era, only two Armenian churches had remained operational.
Armenians in the Republic of Georgia
Armenians welcomed the establishment of the Republic of Georgia hoping for better living conditions after the collapse of the Soviet rule. However economic as well as social conditions have not been favorable for the community.