Sights of Georgia, the alphabet - the history of the emergence and development of the Georgian alphabet.

At the moment, among all the inscriptions found in Georgia, the most ancient is the engraving dated 430 in Bir el-Kut. This is one of the Georgian texts of Palestine, which are kept in the Franciscan Museum in Jerusalem.

At the moment, research is continuing in Nekresi settlement. During the excavations, archaeologists found previously unknown plates with engravings. The process of studying them is still underway, but there are already well-founded theories that they date back to the pre-Christian period.

It is worth noting the fact that not all writing is identical. Historically, 3 types have been formed in Georgia:

• asomtavruli – the most ancient,
• nushuri,
• mkhedruli – modern writing.

The main difference is a special graphic style of writing. Examining the process of changing the style of letters, it becomes clear that nushuri appeared as a result of the development of asomtavruli, and mkhedruli as a consequence of the development of nushuri.

The found samples of the Nushuri script begin to date back to the 9th century, but full-fledged manuscripts executed in this style appear only in the 12th century.

Asomtavruli did not disappear once and for all with the advent of a new style. It continued to be used in epigraphic inscriptions and when writing titles and capital letters. Nushuri is also used today in church books.

Mkhedruli is considered a modern writing, and cases of its use begin to occur since the 11th century.

There are 33 letters in the current Georgian alphabet, instead of the previous 38. The disappeared 5 letters stopped writing after the transformations Ilya Chavchavadze (a well-known Georgian fiction writer, poet, publicist, public figure).

The reason for excluding these letters is simple. They have ceased to be used in a living language. Nevertheless, the sounds that were designated by these letters are now used in Kartvelian languages and dialects: Khevsuruli, Pshauri, Svanuri.

The year 1728 went down in history by the fact that Nikoloz Tbileli made his contribution to the development of the written language of Georgia. He became the creator of the letters "from mkhedruli mtavruli". It is they who are used when writing headings or in cases of underlining weighty information.

It is important to note that it is unacceptable to use different letters from different styles when writing one word. And up to the 18th century in Georgia, numbers were written in letters.

The main contradiction of scientists about the origin of the Georgian alphabet concerns its inspiration, the Greek and Semitic alphabets, in particular Aramaic, are considered as the basis. Modern historians agree that the order of the Georgian alphabet is focused on the Greek alphabet, with the exception of exceptional Georgian sounds.

By learning the Georgian language the simplest part is that the words are both written and read. It may seem difficult to write words, but the beauty of the letters, and the way they are diligently displayed, cannot but fascinate.

Aesthetically, this writing is worthy of attention. It is worth paying attention to the use of red ink in ancient Georgian scripts. Thus, the main idea stood out in what was written, and at the same time it gave decorative effect to the written text.

For example, in the Renaissance poem "The Knight in the Tiger Skin", the first word of each new stanza is written in red ink, and the first alphabet sign of each verse is created in reddish ink.

The first printed book, The Georgian Alphabet with Prayers, was published in Rome in 1629. And the style of writing letters was created specifically for this edition by Nikoloz Cholokashvili, who served as Teimuraz I's ambassador to Italy.

The first printing house, which existed in 1708-1709, was named after Vakhtang VI, since the years of its existence fell precisely during his term of rule.

The Madloba catalog is pleased to introduce you to the history of delightful Georgia and its people. Write in the comments what facts about writing in this country surprised you, as well as what else you would like to know. We are happy to study the reviews of our readers and form new articles for you!