3. KINGS OF ARMENIA
Orontids
Orontes/Ervand I	Satrap, 401-344
Codomannus/ Darius III	Satrap, 344-336
	King of Persia, 336-330
Orontes/Ervand II	336-331
	King, 331-c.325
Mithranes	c.325-c.317
Orontes III	c.317-c.260
Samus	c.260
Arsames	c.260-c.230
Xerxes	c.230-c.212
Orontes IV	c.212-c.200
Artaxiads
Artaxias/Arashes	c.189-c.164
Tigranes I	?
Artavasdes/Artavasd I	159-95
Tigranes/Tigran II the Great	95-55
Roman influence, 69
Artavasdes II	55-33
Artaxes	34-20
Tigranes III	20-c.8
Tigranes IV	c.8 BC-1 AD
Artavasdes II	1-c.2
Ariobarzanes	c.2-c.4
Artavasdes III	c.4-c.6
Tigranes & Erato	?
Vonones	11-16
Artaxias/Artashes I	18-c.34
Arsaces/Arshak I	c.34-36
Mithridates	36-51
[Radamistus]	c.52-c.54
Arsacids
Tiridates/Trdat I	51-60, 63-100
Tigranes VI of Cappadocia	60-62
Axidares	c.110
Parthamasiris	113-114
Roman annexation, 114-117
Sanatruces	c.115
Vologases/Valarsh I	117-c.142
Pacorus	c.160-163
Sohaemus	c.163-c.175
Valarsh II	c.215
Tiridates II/III/ Khosrov I	217-252
Tiridates III/IV, the Great	287-330
Christianity adopted, 301
Khosrov II/Kotak, the Young	331-338
Tigranes V/Tiran	338-350
Kidnapped by Shapur II, 350
Arsaces/Arshak II	350-367
Artashes III	d.428
Persian Control, 364-428; Persian Rule, 428-633

Like the Bosporan Kingdom, the history of Armenia stretches from the Golden Age of Greece through the Hellenistic Period to protracted status as a Roman, and Persian, client. The differences are that (1) Armenia was not a Greek colony but the realm of an indigenous people of Anatolia, like the Phrygians and Cappadocians, and (2) Armenia outlived all the Greek colonies, all the other ancient kingdoms of Anatolia, and even Rome itself. Armenia was subject to a long military and diplomatic tug-or-war between Rome and Parthia, then Rome and Persia, and finally Rome and Islâm. Even today the Armenian language reflects strong Persian influence -- which has made it difficult to determine the affinities of Armenian with other Indo-European languages. Deep Roman influence is evident in the fact that Armenia converted to Christianity in 301 AD, more than a decade before Christianity had any official toleration or status in Romania itself. Armenia has thus traditionally been regarded as the first officially Christian country, though, with uncertainties in dating, Ethiopia may be able to challenge this. The conversion of Armenia, under Tiridates III, the Great, was effected by St. Gregory the Illuminator (or Enlightener), a Roman and Christian raised Armenian, who then became Armenian Patriarch (301-325, d.332) -- undoubtedly the first Armenian Patriarch, although later the line was reckoned back to the Apostles, as with most Patriarchates.

The traditional date of the conversion of Armenia, however, has now been questioned. A.E. Redgate, in The Armenians [Basil Blackwell, 1998, 2000, pp.116-117], says that it was more like c.314, after Constantine's own conversion. Backdating the event was a later fabrication, during the period of Persian rule, in order to assert that Armenian Christianity was independent of Roman, and that Chistianity therefore did not represent Roman sympathies and disloyality to the Sassanids. Redgate thinks that the conversion of Tiridates III (or IV) was precisely to display loyalty to Rome. If Redgate is right, then Ethiopia probably wins the priority debate.

The kingdom after the end of this period indeed passed for a time under Persian control, then Persian rule, Roman reconquest by Heraclius, and finally the Islâmic conquest. Later independence in the Middle Ages included the Kingdom of the Bagratids and the outlying Kingdom of Lesser Armenia in the Taurus Mountains. The Seljuk conquest ushered in many centuries of Turkish rule, and of course the history of Armenia in the 20th century is scarred by the genocide, less Islâmic than nationalistic, by the Ottoman Turks. During all this the Armenian Church was always independent -- often regarded as schismatic by the Roman Catholicism of both Constantinople and the Popes. Today the Armenian Catholicos, in a newly independent Republic of Armenia, has been able to travel and freely reestablish contact with Armenian churches around the world.

After the advent of Persian rule, St. Mesrop (Mashtots, 360-440 AD) invented an appropriate alphabet for Armenian (and another one for Georgian) at the beginning of the 5th century -- in fact possibly during the reign of Sassanid King Varahran V (421-439 AD). The alphabet is largely based on the Greek alphabet, but Mesrop had to invent some letters for sounds that didn't exist in the Greek alphabet. At least one of these was later used for the Cyrillic alphabet, which was invented by Saints Cyril and Methodius (d.885) to help convert the Slavs.

An Armenian taxidriver in Los Angeles recently told a friend of mine that the Armenian alphabet was derived from the Ethiopian alphabet (actually, syllabary). This very astonishing notion would involve both dismissal of the historical record for Armenia and remarkable abnegation of national claims that usually only expand, not retreat -- as some Ethiopians say that their alphabet was invented autochthonously rather than derived from Old South Arabian, as it was. I am very curious how this notion got started and if Armenians who pass it on even know about St. Mesrop.

This list is based on E.J. Bickerman, Chronology of the Ancient World [Cornell Univesity Press, 1968-1982, pp. 135-136], and M. Chahin, The Kingdom of Armenia [Dorset Press, New York, 1987, 1991, pp. 211-257]. Bruce R. Gordon's Regnal Chronologies displays several different names, sequences, and dates, but I have not tried to compare or reconcile them.

My knowledge of Armenian is originally from my textbook at UCLA, Modern Armenian by Hagop Andonian (Armenian General Benevolent Union of America, New York, 1966). Many recent Armenian immigrants to the United States, however, coming from the former Soviet Armenia, speak a different dialect (Eastern Armenian) from what earlier immigrants, from Turkey, spoke (Western Armenian).

The Patriarchs of Armenia

Armenia Continued

2. KINGS OF IBERIA/ GEORGIA
Guaram I	588-595
Stephen I	595-627
Adarnase I	627-639
Stephen II	639-c.650
Adarnase II	c.650-c.684
Guaram II	c.684-695
Arab Rule, 695-888
Guaram III	695-c.748
Nerse	c.748-c.760
Stephen III	c.760-779/80
Juansher	779/80-807
interregnum, 807-813
Ashot	813-830
interregnum, 830-843
Bagrat I	842/3-876
David I	876-888
independence, 888
Adarnase IV	888-912
to Abasgia, 912-923
David II	923-937
Bagrat II	937-994
Gurgen II	994-1008
Bagrat III	1008-1014
George I	1014-1027
Bagrat IV	1027-1072
Seljuk Rule
George II	1072-1089
David II	1089-1125
Demetrius I	1125-1154, 1155-1156
David III	1154-1155
George III	1156-1184
Tamar (f)	1184-1212
David Soslan	1193-1207
George IV	1212-1223
Rusudani (f)	1223-1231, d.1245
Mongol Rule, 1231-1295
David IV	1250-1258, d.1293
David V	1250-1269
Demetrius II	1273-1289
Vakhtang II	1289-1292
David VI	1292-1310
Vakhtang III	1301-1307
George V	1307-1314
George VI	1299-1346
David VII	1346-1360
Bagrat V the Great	1355-1387
George VII	1355-1405
Tumurid Rule, 1387-1405
Constantine I	1405-1412
Alexander I	1412-1442, d.1446
Vakhtang IV	1433-1446
Demetrius III	1446-1453
George VIII	1446-1465, d.1476
Bagrat VI	1465-1478
Constantine II	1465-1505
Persian rule, 1505-1516 & 1620-1683; Ottoman rule, 1516-1620 & 1683-1813; Russian conquest, 1813

 
At the west end of the Caucasus Mountains, Georgia is the home of an ancient Christian kingdom, and of a people speaking a non-Indo-European language, which has affinities with other Caucasian languages, but none elsewhere. The Roman client states of Colchis/Lazica and Iberia had long been in existence when they converted to Christianity around 330. A unique alphabet was created for their unique language about the same time that the same thing was done for Armenian -- in fact it is supposed to have been done by the same person, St. Mesrop. The modern alphabet, as seen above, is a more recent creation. Unlike Monophysite Armenia, Georgia adopted the principles of the Ecumenical Councils, the Roman Catholic Church at the time, or the Greek Orthodox Church now. Subsequently, like Armenia, Iberia was often under Persian control, while Lazica remained Roman in the ongoing Persian tug-of-war with Romania

KINGS OF ABASGIA
independence
Leon II	767-811
Theodosius II	811-837
Demetrius II	811-837
George I	872-876
John	876-880
Adarnase	880-887
Bagrat I	887-898
Constantine II	898-916
George II	916-960
Leon III	960-969
Demetrius III	969-976
Theodosius III	976-978
Bagrat III	978-1014
union with Georgia, 1008

(and another Georgian state, Abasgia, was independent). This list begins about the time Iberia came back under Roman protection. Briefly under the Persians again, a much longer period of foreign rule commenced with the Islâmic conquest. Part of Georgia, Abasgia, became independent first. When Iberia followed, it was for a time even under Abasgian rule, but then Abasgia and Iberia were unified in what might be called the first complete state of Georgia.

The Seljuk Turks only occupied part of Georgia, and were expelled from the rest by David II. Georgia was then largely unmolested until the Mongols arrived, when, like any sensible small state, it became a client. The Mongol grip loosened, but then Tamerlane arrived, intent on terrorizing the small Christian kingdom. Aftewards, Georgia was then relatively unmolested again, until it became a plaything of the new Empires, Safavid Persia, Ottoman Turkey, and Tsarist Russia. In the 18th century, there were new Georgian kings, but the Russians eventually did away with the line.

With the fall of the Soviet Union, Georgia is again independent. Its President ended up being the well known figure, formerly the foreign minister of the Soviet Union, Eduard Shevardnadze. Nevertheless life has not been easy. Abkhazia (the old Abasgia) fought a nasty civil war for independence and did gain autonomy. The Ossetians, descendants of the Alans, also have been aggitating, and fighting, for union with the other Ossetian region that remained in Russia.

Although Georgia now may be best known for Shevardnadze, the most important Georgian ever will always have a much more sinister fame: Josef Stalin, born Iosif Dzhugashvili. It is not clear that Stalin spared his homeland any of the ferocity that he consistently applied elsewhere. That would have been, in the finest Marxist-Leninist terms, "bourgeois sentimentality."

The Abkhazian language, as it happens, is not actually Georgian, but an unrelated language from another Causasian language group, of which there seem to be three. Abkhazian is related to Kabardian, better known as Circassian -- the source of famous slave troops, like the Mamlûks, in Mediaeval Islâm. The languages have extraordinarily large sets of consonsants and few vowels. The best known language in the third unique language group is probably Chechen, whose speakers have been fighting a nasty independence war against Russia. Georgian and these other related and unrelated languages of the Caucasus are the last examples of non-Indo-European and non-Semitic languages in the Middle East. They may be the remnants of once extensive ancient language families, which could have included the languages of the kingdoms of Sumer, Elam, and Urart.u, as well as of the Hurrians and the Kassites. Except for Sumerian and Elamite, however, these languages are poorly attested, and many years separate the last examples of Sumerian and Elamite from the first attested examples of the Caucasian languages. I have heard about some affinities, even with the Dravidian languages, but I do not have recent scholarly sources that express any confidence about such things. On the other hand, Georgian is an "ergative" language, like Basque, the surviving non-Indo-European language of Western Europe, which could well have been related to the known ancient non-Indo-European language, Etruscan. In ergative languages, the subject of intransitive verbs is marked in the same case ("absolutive") as the objects of transitive verbs. The subject of a transitive verb is then in the "ergative" case. This "ergative/absolutive" distinction contrasts with the "nominative/accusative" distinction of Indo-European (and Semitic) languages. That Basque could be related to Causasian languages is always possible, but nothing has been demonstrated with any certainty. All these mysteries highlight how much information was lost about human history before such things started getting preserved in historical records.

This list is based on Bruce R. Gordon's Regnal Chronologies. Some of the dates he gives seem inconsistent with other sources about Georgian history, and the numbering is a little mysterious (two David II's), but I have never seen any other list of Iberian or Georgian kings elsewhere. Good linguistic information about the Caucasus is in The Atlas of Languages (Facts On File, 1996, pp.50-52). For specifics, I have used Georgian, A Reading Grammar by Howard I. Aronson (Slavica Publishers, Inc., 1989).

Republic of Georgia, 1991-present
 

2. PRINCES OF ARMENIA
Mzhezh	628-635
Roman Rule, 633-693
David	635-638
Toros	638-643, 645-654
Varaz-Tirots	643-645
Mushegh	654-655
Hamazasp	655-658
Gregory I Mamikonean	662-684/5
Ashot II	686-690
Nerseh	690-691
Smbat VI Bagratuni	691-711
Arab Rule, 693-885
Ashot III Bagratuni	732-748
revolt, 747/8-750
Gregory II Mamikonean	748-750
Mushegh II	750-755
Sahak III	755-761
Smbat VII	761-772
interregnum, 772-780; revolt, 774-775
Tachat Andzewats'i	780-782/5
interregnum, 782/5-806

The long period of Persian rule in Armenia comes to an end with the great war of Heraclius to recover the parts of Romania recently occupied by the Persians. The defeat of the Sassanids fortuitously frees Armenia also. This was to be short lived, however, since the Armies of Islâm soon arrived. The battle surged back and forth from 653 on, until the Romans were expelled and the Armenians definitely subjugated in 693.

This list is based on Bruce R. Gordon's Regnal Chronologies. M. Chahin's The Kingdom of Armenia does not give any kings for this period. That is probably because these figures were not kings, but "presiding princes," sometimes with rivals, as some were appointed by the Caliphs, others by the Emperors. The Bagratunis (often named "Ashot"), although later to lead Armenia to independence again, tended to be the Arab candidates, while other families, like the Mamikoneans, were the pro-Roman candidates. The complexity of this is described by A.E. Redgate, in The Armenians [Basil Blackwell, 1998, 2000, pp.166-175]. Redgate provides some genealogy but, like Chahin, gives no list of succession. He dispenses with attempting to number the names. Gordon's numbering is not entirely accounted for, since I do not otherwise find an "Ashot I" on the list. This may be because the numbering is by heads of family rather than by the office.

Armenian Patriarchs of Jerusalem

Armenia Continued

5. KINGS OF ARMENIA
Bagratids
Ashot IV	Prince, 806-826
Smbat VIII	826-855
Bagarat II	830-852
revolt against Arabs, 830-855
Ashot I	856-884
	King, 884-890
Armenian independence recognized by Caliph, 885
Smbat I	890-914
captured by the Amir of Azerbaijan, 913, dies in captivity
Ashot II	915-928
restored to Armenia by Romans, 915
Abas	928-951
briefly submitted to Sayf ad-Dawla, 940
Ashot III	951-977
Smbat II	977-989
Gagik I	989-1019
Smbat III	1020-1041
Ashot IV	1020-1040
Gagik II	1042-1045
Roman Occupation, 1045-1064
Seljuk Conquest, 1064

The table at right continues the one to the left, and the following genealogy goes with it.

 
As Romania recovered against Islâm and her other enemies, Armenia recovered also and freed herself, to enjoy nearly two centuries of independence. Ashot Bagratuni was recognized as King by the Caliph in 884, and by the Emperor shortly afterwards. This restored the Armenian monarchy after a lapse of 456 years (since 428). But in time, Armenia, at first an ally of Constantinople, became a victim of the Roman recovery. The foolish later Macedonian Emperors wasted strength reducing Armenia that would have been better spent against more threatening targets. Gagik II, invited to Constantinople, was imprisoned on his arrival.

But the dominion of Rome this time lasted barely 20 years, as Armenia was left stranded in a sea of Turks and Mongols for nine centuries, until during World War I the Turks killed or expelled nearly all Armenians from Turkey, leaving only the small domain ruled by Orthodox Russia, now the independent Republic of Armenia. The next Armenian Kingdom would actually not be in Armenia at all, but in the Taurus Mountains of Cilicia:  the Kingdom of Lesser Armenia.

The list is based on M. Chahin, The Kingdom of Armenia [Dorset Press, New York, 1987, 1991, pp. 264-269]. The genealogy is from A.E. Redgate, The Armenians [Basil Blackwell, 1998, 2000, pp.198-199]. Where Redgate did not number the princely Bagratids, he does number the Kings.

Armenia Continued

4. LESSER ARMENIA
Ruben I	1080-1095
Constantine I	1095-?
	Prince, 1099; King?
First Crusade, 1096-1099
Theodore/Thoros I
Leon I	c.1129-1137
captured by John II, 1137; dies in Constantinople
Thoros II	escaped, 1145; 1148-1168
homage to Manuel I, 1158
Ruben II	1168-1175
Ruben III	1175-1185
Leon/Levon II the Great	Prince, 1185-1198
	King, 1198-1219
Isabella/Zabel	1219-1269
Constantine	regent, 1219-1205
Philip of Antioch	1205-?
son of Behemond IV of Antioch
Hethoum I the Great	1226-1269
Leon III	1270-1289
Hethoum II the One-Eyed	1289-1305
Thoros III
Leon IV of Cyprus	1305-1307
Sempad & Constantine II
Oshin	1307-1320
Leon V	1320-1342
Constantine III, Lord of Neghir
Guy Lusignan	1342-1344
son of Amalric of Tyre, King of Cyprus
Constantine IV	1344-1363
Constantine V	1363-1373
Leon VI	1373-1375, d. 1393
Kingdom falls to Mamlûks, 1375

The Kingdom of Armenia in the Taurus Mountains of Cilicia is called "Lesser" Armenia in contrast to the "Greater Armenia" of the Armenian homeland to the northeast. After Nicephorus II Phocas recovered the area from the Arabs in 965 and ordered all Moslems to leave, Christians from Syria and Armenia were encouraged to settle and garrison the area. Nicephorus himself even welcomed "schismatic," Armenian Orthodox Monophysites from Armenia, but this tolerance would not always continue and some friction was inevitable between many Armenians and the Imperial (the, strictly speaking, "Roman Catholic") Church. After the Seljuk breakthrough, more Armenians must have fled from the east as the Turks overran Anatolia. The Armenians in the Taurus found themselves on their own and began organizing their own domains. When the Crusaders passed through, they were welcomed and aided. A daughter of Constantine I was married to Joscelin I, Count of Edessa, ushering in a long history of association and intermarriage between the Armenians and the Crusader states. This made Lesser Armenia rather like a Crusader State itself, and so it is shown on the map.

This list of kings is mainly based on M. Chahin, The Kingdom of Armenia [Dorset Press, New York, 1987, 1991]. However, Steven Runciman, in his A History of the Crusades, Volume III, The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades [Cambridge, 1951, 1987], gives a more complete family tree, abstracted below. Runciman, maddeningly (but characteristically), gives not a single date; but he does give a number of figures who account for the numbering of the Constantines and Thoroses in the dynasty. According to Chahin's list, these were not reigning kings, but, even if not, they were numbered as members of the dynasty. Or they may have been co-regents unrecognized by Chahin. On the other hand, Constantine IV and V are not listed by Runciman in the dynastic tree because they were both usurpers. "Peter of Cyprus" listed by Chahin is Peter I of Cyprus. Constantine V offered him the throne but then decided to keep it for himself when Peter was assassinated. This information is supplemented by Warren Threadgold's A History of the Byzantine State and Society [Stanford, 1997]. Chahin fails to mention, for instance, the capture of Leon I and his sons (including Thoros II) by the Emperor John II Comnenus. On the other hand, while Runciman and Chahin agree that the early Rupenids were "princes," without a royal title until 1198, Threadgold says that they began calling themselves "kings" in 1099. Since none of them give the actual terms they were using, perhaps just in Armenian, it is hard to know why there is this disagreement.
 

Of greatest interest in the genealogy is when the house of Lesser Armenia makes reciprocal marriages with the Lusignan dynasty of Cyprus. This begins with the children of Leon III and Hugh III of Cyprus. Two sons and three daughters of Leon III married children of Hugh III. The result is that the succession of Lesser Armenia actually passes to to Lusignan. Such a close connection might have protected the Armenians, if Cyprus had been enough of a power to resist the Mamlûks, which, at least on land, it was not.

The Kingdom of Lesser Armenia was the last independent Armenian state until the former Soviet Republic of Armenia became independent in 1991.

As Armenians had relocated to Cilicia, so did the Patriarch of Armenia (in 1062). This line continued even after the fall of the Kingdom in 1375. In 1441, however, a new Patriarch was elected in Armenia. The Cilician line continued, as it does down to the present, as the Great House of Cilicia. It relocated to Lebanon in 1930 because of continued attacks on Armenians in Turkey.

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Copyright (c) 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Kelley L. Ross, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved

Armenian immigrants in America, initially fleeing Turkey, have been conspicuous for a century. In California, Armenian settlement in Fresno, in the San Juaquin Valley, led to Armenians being called, not always affectionately, "Fresno Jews" -- certainly because of their entrepreneurial and business traditions. Many of this early group of Armenians ended up coming by way of Lebanon, where many refugees had initially settled -- the town of Anjar was almost entirely Armenian. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, many more immigrants have come from Soviet Armenia. These immigrants speak a different dialect of Armenian, Eastern rather than Western, and are culturally rather different, suffering from some of the ills that afflict all people who lived long under Communism. Nevertheless, Eastern Armenians are also more entrepreneurial than other ethnic groups. In the Los Angeles area, the city of Glendale, with lower business taxes and a less hostile business environment than the City of Los Angeles (politically dominated by socialists), has become a center of Armenian residence and activity. Unfortunately, some violence has occasionally occurred between Armenians, some bringing a penchant for lawlessness characteristic of much of post-Soviet Russia, and the Hispanic gangs common in the area -- where Hispanic immigrants tend to be less entrepreneurial, less economically successful, and so resentful in relation to the Armenians. Hispanic gangsters, notorious for their violence, sometimes don't seem to appreciate just how violent post-Soviet culture can be.

Armenian Americans are usually conspicous by the "-ian" or "-yan" patronomic suffixes of traditional Armenian names. However, some famous Armenians don't use their Armenian names. The most important of these would be the rock icon and actress Cher, who was born Cherilyn Sarkisian. Similarly, the actor Mike Connors, who played private detective Joe Mannix on the long running television series Mannix (1967-1975), was born Krekor Ohanian (in Fresno). While actors often change their names, the derivation of other Armenians in public life is usually more obvious, for instance as with the author and playwright William Saroyan (1908-1981), who was also born (and died) in Fresno.

9. GEORGIA
Zviad Konstantines dze Gamsakhurdia	President 1990-1992
Tengiz Kalistratis dze Kitovani & Dzhaba Aleksandres dze Ioseliani	1992
Eduard Shevardnadze	1992-2003
Nino Burdzhanadze	acting, 2003-2004, 2007-2008
Mikhail Saakashvili	2004-2007, 2008-present

 
Georgia, like Armenia, a kingdom with an ancient history, is not only poorer than Armenia but has lost territory rather than gained any. The northwestern province of Abkhasia and Southern Ossetia (where the only descendants of the Iranian Alans survive) on the north central border both broke away. The fighting involved in this was beyond the resources of Georgia, and in 1993 Russia itself had to be brought back in to restore some kind of order. This is still not all settled, and meanwhile fighting spills over the border from Chechnya, with Russians in pursuit. Recently, advisors arrived from the United States to help train the Georgian army. Not long after independence Eduard Shevardnadze, who had been Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev and a familiar international figure, became President of Georgia. His tenure must have seemed a sad and humiliating business, with the scope of his purview so reduced, and his country not even able to maintain its own integrity. This must seem an especially cruel irony when in the history of the Soviet Union itself, the most powerful and dominant ruler was himself a Georgian, Josef Stalin (Iosif Dzhugashvili). In November 2003, however, Shevardnadze resigned, after massive protests, the "rose revolution," against corruption and an alleged rigged parliamentary election. He was succeeded as Acting President by the Speaker of the Parliament, a woman, Nino Burdzhanadze. In January, 2004, Mikhail Saakashvili, an American educated lawyer, has been inaugurated as President. A new flag has accompanied Mr. Saakashvili, featuring the Cross of St. George and smaller smaller crosses in each quarter. Although the former flag had long symbolized an independent Georgia, and had not been used in the Soviet era, the overtly Christian symbolism of new flag has evidently come to be prefered. Other flags, with green, orange, and burgundy colors substituted for the red, are seen. Meanwhile, in the United States, a man of Georgian heritage, Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1993 to 1997.

In 2008 the territorial integrity of Georgia is more compromised than ever. After an abortive attempt to reassert control in South Ossetia, Georgia itself experienced an open invasion by the Russians. Russian "peacekeeping" seems to have evolved into an intention to annex Ossetia and Abkhasia to Russia, under the guise of the "independence" of these hopelessly tiny states. After brutally crushing break-way Chechnya, the Russians adopted a wholly cynical concern for the oppressed minorities in the Georgian regions. Since South Ossetia and Abkhasia are recognized by the UN as sovereign possessions of Georgia, the actions of Russia are simply naked aggression, alarming to all of Europe and particularly to other small former-Soviet possessions like the Baltic States. Under only the thinnest of pretexts, Putin looks ready to recreate the Russian Empire, regardless of how blatant and threatening this is to the European Union and NATO. The mask is off. All that is lacking is now for the American Left to discover a friend and ally in the new brutal and aggressive Russia. Indeed, this cannot be far behind -- Hugo Chavez in Venezuela is already on the bandwagon. In Georgia proper, the Russians are withdrawing only slowly, if at all, despite assurances to the European Union and especially to President Sarközy of France that they had already done so. Reportedly, Putin has threatened President Saakashvili that Georgia will be reduced to a vassal of Russia. From the evidence of some public comment and my own e-mail, some ethnic Russians, even expatriots and emigrants, seem thrilled that Russia is asserting itself again, regardless of how this is being done, and by whom.

Culmen Europae

Although remote and obscure, the Caucasus nevertheless somehow became the eponym in traditional racial clasifications for the "white" race. For some time, the area was certainly a prefered source for white slaves for the Ottoman Empire, including Christian boys, typically Circassians, who were converted to Islam and impressed into the elite Janissary corps of the Turkish army. "Racial" classifications of the human race are now out of favor, but it has also become evident that the traditional division, between just "Caucasoid," "Negroid," and "Mongoloid," actually doesn't fit the facts very well. Modern genetic mapping shows that South-East Asians and Pacific Islanders form a group clearly distinct from other East Asians or American Indians. East Asians, American Indians, and "Caucasians" are all more closely related to each other than to South-East Asians and Pacific Islanders. Nevertheless, the traditional "Caucasoid" group, including people from Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and India, does form an identifiable genetic branch of humanity, with the Caucasus roughly at the crossroads. Calling this "white," however, would be a misnomer, since people in India, although with identifiable "Caucasoid" features, can have very, very dark skins. Dark skin, indeed, occurs independently in Africa, in India, in Melanesia, and in Australia.

Kartvelian	Abkhaz- Adyghean	Nakh- Dagestanian
Georgian, Laz, Svan, Chan, Mingrelian	Abaza, Abkhaz, Adyghe, Kabardian (Circassian), Ubykh	Chechen, Ingush, Avar, Chamali, Tsez, Lak, Dargwa, Lezgian, Tabasaran, Archi, Tsakhur

While there are Indo-European languages in the Caucasus, like Armenian and Ossetian, and Altaic languages, namely various dialects of Turkish, like Azeri, Karachay, Kumyk, and Kalmyk, the area is noteworthy for three entire families of languages unrelated to any others, or to each other. Georgian is the most conspicuous language, a member of the Kartvelian family. The other Kartvelain languages are historically obscure. Abkhaz is related to Kabardian, better known historically as Circassian, in the Abkhaz-Adyghean family. Languages in this family have unusually large numbers of consonants, between 60 and 80, and few vowels, as few as 2 or 3 -- or even none. This is extraordinary. Chechen belongs to the Nakh-Daghestanian family, which also has the largest number of surviving languages.

Confined to the Caucasus, these languages appear like islands in a sea of extensive and more familiar language groups -- as Basque is isolated in the Pyrenees. The Middle East, however, has a past with many more such unrelated languages. In a broad swath from the south, we have the ancient Elamites, Sumerians, Kassites, Guti, Hurrians, and Urartuans, all of whose languages are distinct from the Semitic, Indo-European, and Altaic languages that later dominate. They have all disappeared utterly. Since the Caucasian languages, except for Georgian, are poorly attested before the modern era, there are obstacles to comparing them with the ancient languages, however much we might suspect affinities. Speculation links Sumerian to the Dravidian languages in India, but this may have more to do with Indian nationalism than with the evidence, which is as thin for ancient antecedents of the Dravidian languages as it is for the Caucasian. The surviving Caucasian language families, if nothing else, testify to the linguistic complexity of the ancient Middle East and remind us how much information is lost in the march of history.

The list and discription of the language families in the Caucasus is mainly from The Atlas of Languages (Facts On File, 1996, pp.50-52).

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