THE POPULATION OF THE SAMTSKHE-JAVAKHETI REGION FROM ANCIENT TIMES TO THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Abstract

The present study examines the quantitative, ethnic, and confessional dynamics of the population of Samtskhe-Javakheti from ancient times to the end of the nineteenth century. The research is based on a comparative analysis of archaeological, historical, fiscal, and statistical sources. Particular attention is devoted to the methodological challenges of estimating population size, especially for periods in which direct census data are unavailable. Special emphasis is placed on the Ottoman Great Defter of the Gurjistan Vilayet, the cameral censuses of the Russian Empire, and the materials of the 1897 General Census.

The study demonstrates that the population of Samtskhe-Javakheti underwent significant changes during different historical periods under the influence of political, military, religious, and migratory processes. Ethnodemographic transformations intensified particularly during the sixteenth–nineteenth centuries and were closely associated with Ottoman rule, the Muhajir migration process, the imperial policies of Russia, and the administrative-statistical classification of the population. The research further reveals that the official censuses of the nineteenth century often failed to reflect the actual ethnic composition of the region, as population identification was largely based on linguistic and religious criteria.

Keywords: Samtskhe-Javakheti; demography; population census; ethnic composition; confessional structure; 1897 Census; population studies.