From the history of Georgian tolerance

Abstract

"We" and "they " have been living on the territory of Georgia since early times, and the relations between them were of different nature. "Foreigners" came and settled here in different ways and at different times. Some of them maintained a compact settlement for centuries, some of them mixed with the rank of merchants and craftsmen of the city, some of them experienced assimilation in the Georgian cultural –  political world.

 Negative attitude towards foreigners is revealed only if the country is in   danger   of them. In case of their loyalty to the state, the attitude towards "foreigner" becomes positive.

As a result of tolerance in feudal Georgia, it is common to turn a "foreigner" into a   native, "their own" and a loyal servent  to the state.

 In the situation of   "religious   tolerance", "The knight in the panther's   skin "  was born, which is based on the principles of freedom, love, friendship and tolerance.

Georgian kings and rulers themselves promoted  resettling   groups of the  people of  non-Georgian ethnic origin    and created normal living conditions for them.

David the  Builder, Erekle II, Levan II Dadiani, the chief   of Samegrelo, used to resettle   Jews, Kipchaks, Armenians and others in their territories.

 The tolerance of Georgians led to many facts of loyalty of non-Georgians: on the advice of Muslims, the Georgians took Tbilisi again in 1227, Gori was saved   from the sudden invasion of the enemy  by Armenian Tertera  Saakashvili  and others.

David the builder   preserved the Qadis’ Institution   for the Muslims of   Tbilisi,   he generally pursued a tolerant policy towards people of other nationalities and faiths.

The tolerant policy of the Georgian royal court ensured peaceful coexistence of   the people of different nationalities and service to the state.

The tolerant nature of Georgian ethnopsychology was well reflected in poetic and prose folklore.

The Georgian society of the feudal age declared the idea of broad  religious tolerance and brotherhood of the peoples of the Caucasus as the basis of its tolerant policy. It was a policy resulting from  the  real situation, conditioned by domestic and foreign factors, which reality turned into the most important factor of vitality of the Georgian feudal society.

This phenomenon of the historical life of feudal Georgia found its reflection in the psyche of the people, which significantly determined the tolerant nature of the ethnopsychology of the Georgians.