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Heritage of Arabic Language in South Caucasus: Arabic Inscriptions From Trialeti



Author(s)

George Narimanishvili, Ph.D. student and lecturer of Arabic Language at Institute of Asia and Africa, Free University of Tbilisi, Tbilisi, Georgia.

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DOI:10.17265/2159-550X/2016.03.004

In this article the author would like to discuss the usage of Arabic language in South Georgia as language of religious and ethnical minority in circumstances of Russian rule. The best examples of this are Arabic inscriptions on gravestones. In this article the author describes several inscriptions from Trialeri, South Georgia, which, because of unknown reasons, have never been studied by scientists before. Another important reason why the author has paid importance to those inscriptions is their recent condition and danger to lose them forever. The author has studied inscriptions from three main cemeteries: Beshtasheni, Tikma-Dash, and Minayasar. As a result of his research the author can say that Arabic language have been used by Muslims of Turk origins in Trialeti till Soviet time. They were using this language to preserve their identity, but it used to work only about a century. Soviet rule tried to destroy all identities and religions and especially after WWII they have reached more or less success. Today the Muslim population of Trialtei does not understand Arabic, they just know that their religion is Islam and in the graves with Arabic inscriptions lay their predecessors.

Arabic inscription, history of South Caucasus, Arabic language in South Caucasus