ETUDES FROM TRUSSO’S  PAST

NINO SHIOLASHVILI; TAMAR PKHALADZE; LIA AKHALADZE; GVANTSA BURDULI; GELA KISTAURI

NINO SHIOLASHVILI Doctor of History, Associate Professor of St. Andrew the First-Called University of Georgian Patriarchate Chavchavadze No. 53 a, Tbilisi, Georgia http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3527-5920
TAMAR PKHALADZE Doctor of History, Associate Professor of Sukhumi State University Politkovskaya st. 61, Tbilisi, Georgia http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7512-177X
LIA AKHALADZE Doctor of History, Associate Professor of Sokhumi State University Politkovskaya st. 61, Tbilisi, Georgia http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4478-4989
GVANTSA BURDULI Doctor of History, St. Andrew the First-Called University of Georgian Patriarchate Chavchavadze No. 53 a, Tbilisi, Georgia http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8657-3683
GELA KISTAURI Doctor of History St. Andrew the First-Called University of Georgian Patriarchate Chavchavadze No. 53 a, Tbilisi, Georgia http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6643-9740

Abstract

The historical-geographical and geopolitical location of Georgia determined the frequency of migration processes in the territory of our country from the early period. For centuries, ethnic groups from the Middle East and the North were settling here. Over time, some of the migrants merged with the local population or other ethnic groups, while others retained their cultural identity until the end. An objective study of the history of the state of Georgia and the ethno-cultural features of its population is impossible without comparing the way of life of the Georgian people and the ethnic groups living in Georgia, observing the differences and similarities of the elements of traditional cultures.

The article examines the cultural identity factors of the population of the highland Trusso located in the Central Caucasus. For centuries, the gorge played a strategic role in the border defense system of the northern gate of the Kingdom of Georgia, and even today it has not lost its importance in the northern border zone of Georgia with the Russian Federation. Due to the migration processes mentioned above, from the 18th century, the Trusso Gorge became an area of Georgian-Ossetian cultural relations. Nevertheless, the analysis of existing and newly discovered historical sources and field expedition materials reveals that Trusso and Mna Gorge have preserved the main characteristics and cultural values of the ethno-cultural identity created by the ancestors of Georgians.

Keywords: Trusso; population; culture; values; identity factors; studies of the past.