What is "georgians"

Georgians are a nation and ethnic group who constitute a majority of the population in Georgia. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, Greece, Iran, Ukraine, United States, and to a lesser extent throughout the European Union.

Georgians arose from the ancient Colchian and Iberian civilizations. They embraced Christianity in the early 4th century and now the majority of Georgians are Eastern Orthodox Christians and most follow their national autocephalous Georgian Orthodox Church. There are also small Georgian Catholic and Muslim communities in Tbilisi and Adjara, as well as a significant number of irreligious Georgians.

A complex process of nation formation has resulted in a diverse set of geographic subgroups of Georgians, each with its characteristic traditions, manners, dialects and, in the case of Svans and Mingrelians, own regional languages. The Georgian language, with its own unique writing system and extensive written tradition, which goes back to the 5th century, is the official language of Georgia as well as the language of education of all Georgians living in the country.

Located on the crossroads of predominantly Christian Europe and Muslim Western Asia, Georgian people have maintained their Christian identity in the face of great pressure from neighboring Muslim empires. By the early 11th century they formed a unified Kingdom of Georgia and inaugurated the Georgian Golden Age, a height of political and cultural power of the nation. This lasted until being weakened by Mongol invasions, as well as internal divisions following the death of George V the Brilliant, the last of the great kings of Georgia. Thereafter and throughout the early modern period Georgians became politically fractured and fell into decline due to the onslaught of various hostile empires, including the Ottoman Empire and successive dynasties of Persia. To ensure Georgia's survival, in 1783 Heraclius II of Georgia forged an alliance with the Russian Empire, which Georgians viewed as a replacement for their fallen traditional ally — Byzantine Empire. The Russo-Georgian alliance, however, backfired as Russia was unwilling to fulfill the terms of the treaty, proceeding to annex the troubled kingdom in 1801. Georgians briefly reasserted their independence from Russia under the First Georgian Republic from 1918-1921, and finally, in 1991 from the Soviet Union.