Georgia (country)

Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region on the east coast of the Black Sea. It is located at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia and is generally regarded as part of Europe. It is bordered to the north and northeast by Russia; to the west by the Black Sea, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. It has a population of 3.9 million, of which over a third live in Tbilisi, the capital and largest city. Georgians, who are native to the region and constitute the majority of the population, are ethno-linguistically distinct from their neighboring nations and primarily speak Georgian, a Kartvelian language that has no relation to any other language family in the world.

Georgia has been inhabited since prehistory and is known for hosting the world's earliest known sites of winemaking. The classical era saw the emergence of several kingdoms, such as Colchis and Iberia, that formed the nucleus of the modern Georgian state. In the early 4th century, Georgians officially adopted Christianity, which contributed to their unification under the Kingdom of Georgia. Georgia reached its Golden Age during the High Middle Ages under the reigns of King David IV and his great-granddaughter Tamar. Beginning in the 15th century, the kingdom declined and disintegrated under relentless attacks from hostile empires like the Mongols, the Ottoman Empire, and Persia.