Religion, Language, and Ethnic Belonging in the 10th–13th Centuries Georgian Sources

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between religious and ethnic identity in medieval Georgia through an analysis of Georgian historical and hagiographical sources from the tenth to the thirteenth centuries. Drawing on modern theories of ethnicity, particularly constructivist approaches, the study argues that ethnicity should be understood not as a biological or immutable category but as a cultural and historically contingent phenomenon shaped by perceptions, selfidentification, and social interaction. The article explores how Georgian sources represented membership within the Georgian community and the extent to which religion, language, cultural affiliation, and political loyalty functioned as markers of identity. The analysis demonstrates that in earlier medieval sources religious affiliation was the principal determinant of belonging. Conversion to Christianity and participation in Christian culture enabled individuals of non-Georgian origin to be incorporated into Georgian collective identity. From the tenth century onward, however, identity was articulated through a more complex combination of markers. The Georgian language acquired increasing ideological and sacral significance. The study further investigates Georgian perceptions of neighbouring unities, showing that Byzantine identity was primarily associated with language, education, and culture, whereas Armenian identity was understood chiefly through religious affiliation. The article concludes that medieval Georgian identity was neither fixed nor exclusively based on ancestry; rather, it was a flexible and dynamic construct shaped by changing religious, linguistic, cultural, and political contexts.