Timeline

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• Zezva and Mzia, earliest humans at DmanisiThe Dmanisi hominins, the earliest human presence outside Africa; in Georgia they are called Zezva and Mzia.
• Shulaveri-Shomu cultureEarly farmers of the South Caucasus; the world's earliest evidence of winemaking.
• Trialeti cultureA Middle Bronze Age culture with rich kurgans; the famous Trialeti gold goblet.
• Kura-Araxes cultureAn Early Bronze Age South Caucasian culture with developed metallurgy.
• Diauehi and KolkhaEarly proto-Georgian polities mentioned in Assyrian and Urartian sources.
• Kingdom of ColchisA kingdom in western Georgia, with Greek colonies (Phasis, Dioscurias) on the coast.
• Pharnavaz I and the Kingdom of IberiaBy the Georgian Chronicles, the founder of the Kingdom of Iberia (Kartli); tradition links him to the Georgian script.
• Pompey's campaignThe Roman general Pompey invades Iberia and Colchis during the wars against Mithridates VI.
• Iberia under Pharasmanes IIThe Kingdom of Iberia flourishes and strengthens its ties with Rome in the 2nd century.
• Christianisation of KartliUnder King Mirian III and the preaching of St Nino, Christianity becomes the state religion of Kartli (Iberia).
• Vakhtang GorgasaliKing of Kartli who strengthened the realm against the Sasanians; tradition links him to the rise of Tbilisi.
• Abolition of kingship in KartliThe Sasanians abolish the monarchy; the country is governed by presiding princes (erismtavari).
• Arab invasion; Emirate of TbilisiThe campaign of Marwan the Deaf; Tbilisi becomes the seat of an Arab emirate in the South Caucasus.
• Ashot I Kuropalates and Tao-KlarjetiFounder of the Bagrationi royal house in Tao-Klarjeti; the dynasty's rise begins.
• Restoration of the royal titleAdarnase assumes the title «King of the Georgians», for the first time in three centuries.
• David III Kuropalates of TaoThe powerful ruler of Tao and patron of culture, pivotal in uniting the Georgian lands.
• Bagrat III, the unified Kingdom of GeorgiaBagrat III unites the western and eastern Georgian lands into a single kingdom.
• David IV the BuilderAscends the throne in 1089; reforms of army, church and state open the Golden Age.
• Ruisi-Urbnisi CouncilThe church council of 1103: reform of the church and consolidation of royal power.
• Foundation of GelatiDavid IV founds Gelati Monastery and Academy, a centre of learning and culture.
• Battle of DidgoriOn 12 August 1121 David IV crushes the Seljuk coalition, the «Didgori miracle».
• Liberation of TbilisiIn 1122 Tbilisi is freed from Arab rule and becomes the capital of the unified kingdom.
• Reign of Queen TamarTamar's reign (1184–1213) marks the peak of the Georgian Golden Age.
• Victories at Shamkor and BasianiGeorgia defeats the Seljuks at Shamkor (1195) and Basiani (1203), expanding its reach.
• Rustaveli and «The Knight in the Panther's Skin»At the turn of the 12th–13th centuries Shota Rustaveli composes the masterpiece of Georgian poetry.
• George IV LashaTamar's son; the first news of the Mongol threat arrives during his reign.
• Jalal ad-Din sacks TbilisiThe Khwarazmian shah Jalal ad-Din captures and devastates Tbilisi, the beginning of the kingdom's ordeal.
• Mongol invasionThe Mongols subjugate eastern Georgia; the country becomes a tributary divided into governorships.
• David VI Narin and the split of the kingdomA revolt against the Mongols; a separate kingdom of Imereti emerges in the west.
• George V the BrilliantExpels the Mongols, restores the unity of the country and mints his own coinage, a brief revival.
• Timur's invasionsBetween 1386 and 1403 Timur invades Georgia eight times, devastating the land.
• Breakup of the unified kingdomBy the late 15th century Georgia splits into the kingdoms of Kartli, Kakheti and Imereti and several principalities.
• Peace of AmasyaThe Ottomans and Safavids divide Georgia into spheres of influence: the west to the Ottomans, the east to Iran.
• Giorgi Saakadze and the Battle of MartqopiIn 1625 Georgians led by Saakadze defeat a Persian army at Martqopi.
• Bakhtrioni uprisingThe people of Kakheti rise against the settlement of Turkic nomadic tribes on their lands.
• Vakhtang VI: printing press and law codeAround 1709 the first Georgian printing press opens in Tbilisi; a code of laws is compiled.
• Erekle II unites Kartli and KakhetiIn 1762 Erekle II becomes king of the united kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti.
• Treaty of GeorgievskThe kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti accepts the protectorate of the Russian Empire.
• Battle of KrtsanisiAgha Mohammad Khan Qajar defeats Erekle II's army and burns Tbilisi.
• Annexation by the Russian EmpireThe kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti is abolished and incorporated into Russia; Imereti follows in 1810.
• Conspiracy of 1832Georgian nobles plot to restore independence; the conspiracy is uncovered.
• Ilia Chavchavadze and the national revivalThe «Tergdaleulebi», led by Ilia Chavchavadze, drive a cultural and national awakening.
• Abolition of serfdomIn the 1860s serfdom is abolished in the Georgian provinces.
• Democratic Republic of GeorgiaOn 26 May 1918 independence is proclaimed; the First Georgian Republic is established.
• Sovietisation of GeorgiaIn February–March 1921 the Red Army occupies Georgia; the Georgian SSR is proclaimed.
• August Uprising of 1924An anti-Soviet uprising is crushed amid mass repression.
• Tbilisi events of 1956Demonstrations in Tbilisi are suppressed after the denunciation of Stalin's cult.
• Defence of the Georgian language, 1978Mass protests keep Georgian as the state language in the constitution.
• Tragedy of 9 April 1989The violent dispersal of a peaceful rally in Tbilisi, with loss of life, hastens the drive to independence.
• Restoration of independenceThe Supreme Council adopts the Act of Restoration of the State Independence of Georgia.
• Rose RevolutionIn November 2003 a peaceful revolution brings a change of government in Georgia.
• War in AbkhaziaThe armed conflict of 1992–1993 between Georgia and Abkhaz separatists backed from outside; it ended with the loss of Ab
• Conflict in Samachablo (South Ossetia)The conflict over the Tskhinvali region (Samachablo): the war of 1991–1992 and the Russo-Georgian War of August 2008, af
• The August 2008 warThe five-day Russo-Georgian war, after which Russia recognised the independence of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region.