მრავალსახელიანი სვანურენოვანი მოსახლეობის განსახლების საკითხისათვის/ For the settlement of the multi-named Svan language population

Abstract

A number of opinions have been expressed about the issue of resettlement of the Svan-speaking population of the Georgian ethnic stream. In ancient times, the Svans were settled in a much larger area than later, which is shown by both historical sources and the toponymy analysis of Western Georgia, which reveals Svan names in both the mountainous and plain parts of Kolkheti (G. Melikishvili). Greco-Roman, Byzantine authors (Herodotus, Xenophon, Apollonius of Rhodes, Strabo, Dionysius, Stephen of Byzantium, Pliny, Pompey the Fox, Claudius Ptolemy, Hippolytus of Rome, Procopius of Caesarea and others) provide us with interesting information about the Georgian-Svani tribes: Makroni-Svani, Mosiniki. On issues of settlement of Suani-Kolkhs, Heniokhs- Svani-Sanigs. According to these sources, the people of the Svan tribe seem to be settled both in North-West Kolkheti and in the whole South-Eastern Black Sea region. In general, traces of Svan tribes can be seen from Trebizond to Nikofsia. One thing is clear, according to the ancient sources, the Svani Kartvelian tribes occupied a larger area of settlement than they are represented today. Probably, the name Heniokh should have been a collective, general character in that period, which meant the union of other Svan-speaking tribes (Svans, Sanigs, Misimians, Svano-Kolkhs, Makhelon-Macrons, Mosinikis). It is enough to take a look at the population of Bari in Western Georgia and we will see an amazing picture: a large part of this population is of Svan origin (N. Berdzenishvili). Based on the glottochronological method, which involves the absolute dating of the process of splitting the base language into related languages (lexicon, statistics, etc.), it is assumed that Svanuri was separated from the common Georgian language in BC. At the end of III-II millennia, or BC. At the beginning of the II millennium. They think that BC At the end of the 3rd millennium, the separation of Svanuri from the Georgian language, their arrival and settlement in the coastal strip of Western Georgia took place at the same time. Their traces are noticed as deposited by toponyms with ancient roots, the assumption is based on onomastic data, in particular, toponymic, i.e. On the data of geographical names, which are considered to belong to the Svan language world, starting from N. Maridan I. Javakhishvili, S. Janashia, A. Chikobava, K. Lomtatidze, S. Kaukhchishvili and others. A. According to Inaishvili, in the coastal area of South-West Georgia, i.e. The Svan language onomastics in Achara and Guria is original and, thus, the information from an older, old Georgian source that St. Andrew the Apostle River After crossing Chorokhi, he entered the country of Svaneti, that Western Georgia was called Svaneti - it becomes more understandable. Archaeologists also agree with the spread of Svan toponyms in the Batumi area, because it is believed that Svans lived in the south in early times (T. Mikeladze, L. Jiblaze and others). It is worth noting whether the archaeological data agree with the dating obtained by the glottochronological method and how they correspond with each other. It seems that the carrier of the proto-Colkhuri culture spread in the territory of the Kolkheti plain should have been the Kartevian ethnic stream, the Svan-speaking population.