History

Ivane Javakhishvili Institute of History and Ethnology is one of the oldest scientific institutions in Georgia, which originates from the Caucasus Historical-Archaeological Institute founded on July 1, 1917 in Tbilisi. The mentioned institute was founded under the leadership of academician Niko Mari. The institute, right after its foundation, collected historical material, carried out extremely important expeditions, and carried out cultural and educational activities. Ekvtime Takaishvili and Giorgi Chubinashvili were elected as the first real members of the institute. At the same time, since 1918, they were elected as professors of the university, and the deputy director of the institute - Ekvtime Takaishvili, one of the founders of Tbilisi University and the first head of the Department of Archaeology. In 1931, the institute was named the Institute of Caucasian Studies, and in 1936, after another reorganization, it became the Acad. N. It received the name of Mari Institute of Language, History and Material Culture. Great Georgian scientists worked here: Ekvtime Takaishvili, Simon Janashia, Giorgi Akhvlediani, Niko Berdzenishvili, Akaki Shanidze, Varlam Topuria, Arnold Chikobava, Simon Kaukhchishvili and others. Ivane Javakhishvili was invited as a permanent consultant. Institute united the departments of Georgian languages, Caucasian languages, lexicology and scientific terminology, Near Eastern languages, archaeology, ethnography and anthropology, history, philology, general linguistics, phonetics and N. Marie's cabinets. On May 8, 1941, it was divided and two institutes were created on its basis: 1 Institute of History; 2 - Acad. N. Mari Language (later Linguistics) Institute. There was a new stage in the history of the Javakhishvili Institute of History and Ethnology. The newly created Institute of History at that time became the main center for studying the history of Georgia, the existence and culture of the Georgian people. Due to the expansion of archaeological and ethnographic works, in 1964 the Institute of History was named the Ivane Javakhishvili Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnography, and in 1977 it was separated from the Institute and the Archaeological Research Center was established as a separate scientific center. Since 2006, the institute has become a legal entity under public law, the Ivane Javakhishvili Institute of History and Ethnology; Since 2011 - it is an independent scientific structural unit of Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University.