“A Christian Country in the East”: XVIIIth Century German Periodicals as a Source for the History of Georgia

ანოტაცია

This article explores eighteenth-century German-language periodicals as sources for the history of Georgia, focusing on the formula that depicted the country as a “Christian country in the East.” It argues that this confessional label functioned as an interpretive framework through which political, religious, and cultural information about Georgia was organized and simplified in European public discourse. Drawing on examples from historical, political, and scholarly journals, the study shows how reports based on diplomatic correspondence, travellers’ accounts, and first-hand observations (including those by Güldenstädt and Reineggs) constructed a hybrid informational space combining mediated knowledge with direct experience. The analysis traces the transformation of the “Christian country” narrative from a religious-symbolic image, exemplified by biblical geography and martyrdom stories, to an increasingly politicized discourse in the context of Ottoman–Persian rivalries and Russian expansion. The article concludes that German periodicals reveal a dynamic and evolving perception of Georgia, shaped by changing confessional, intellectual, and geopolitical contexts of the eighteenth century.