George Ellis (1753-1815) was an occasional poet, historian, diplomat, member of parliament, and co-founder of the Anti-Jacobin, who published several popular books, including Specimens of Early English Metrical Romances and History of the Dutch Revolution. Born in Jamaica, he was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. While serving with a legation attached to the British ambassador Sir James Harris in St. Petersburg in 1782-1783, he wrote "Memoir of a Map of the Countries... between the Black Sea and the Caspian" which was published in London in 1788. Ellis never visited Caucasus and instead relied on existing travelogues and other literature to produce an accessible overview of the region for an average British reader. The first edition of the book featured several illustrations and a large map of the Caucasus.
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| Map of the Caucasus included in Ellis' book (click to enlarge) |
Georgia, called by the Perfians Gurgiftan, and by the Turks Gurtchii [Gurji], comprehends the ancient Iberia, Colchis, and perhaps a part of Albania, as the province of Caket [Kakheti] is said to be distinguished, in the old Georgian language, by the name of Albon. The inhabitants are Christians of the Greek communion, and appear to have received their present name from their attachment to St. George, the tutelary Saint of these countries.
Georgia is divided into nine provinces: 1. Semo Kartveli, or upper Carduel; 2. Kuemo Kartveli, or lower Carduel; 3. Somgheti; 4. Kakheti; 5. Tshina-Kartveli, or inner Carduel; 6. Imereti; 7. Guria; 8. Suaneti; and 9. Mingreli. Of these, the five first are subject to Heraclius [King Erekle II of Kartli/Kakheti, 1745-1798], and form what is commonly called the kingdom of Georgia; as the four last, which are subject to David [King David II of Imereti, 1784-1789, 1790-1791], form the kingdom or principality of Imeretia.
This whole country is so extremely beautiful, that some fanciful travellers have imagined they had here found the situation of the original garden of Eden. The hills are covered with forests of oak, ash, beech, chestnuts, walnuts, and elms, encircled with vines, growing perfectly wild, but producing vast quantities of grapes. From these is annually made as much wine as is necessary for the yearly consumption; the remainder are left to rot on the vines. Cotton grows spontaneously, as well as the finest European fruit-trees. Rice, wheat, millet, hemp, and flax, are raised on the plains, almost without culture [cultivation]. The valleys afford the finest pasturage in the world; the rivers are full of fish; the mountains abound in minerals, and the climate is delicious; so that nature appears to have lavished on this favoured country every production that can contribute to the happiness of its inhabitants.
On the other hand, the rivers of Georgia, being fed by mountain torrents, are at all seasons either too rapid or too shallow for the purposes of navigation: the Black Sea, by which commerce and civilization might be introduced from Europe, has been 'till very lately in the exclusive possession of the Turks: the trade of Georgia by land is greatly obstructed by the high mountains of Caucasus; and this obstacle is still increased by the swarms of predatory nations, by which those mountains are inhabited.
[... Brief discussion of Georgian history follows...]
The capital of Georgia, and place of residence of prince Heraclius, is Tifflis, called by the inhabitants Tbilis-Cabar (Warm Town) from the warm baths in its neighbourhood. It was founded, as appears by an old inscription in the citadel, by a certain certain prince Lievang in the year 1063 [Tifliss was founded in the fifth century by King Vakhtang]. Though its circumference does not exceed two English miles, it contains twenty thousand inhabitants, of which more than half are Armenians: the remainder are principally Georgians, with some Tartars. It has twenty Armenian, and fifteen Greek churches, and three Metcheds [mosques]. The streets seldom exceed seven feet in breadth, and some are so narrow as scarcely to allow a passage for a man on horseback: they are consequently very filthy. The houses have flat roofs, on which the women occasionally walk in fine weather: they are neatly built, the walls of the rooms are wainscoted [lined with wooden paneling], and the floors spread with carpets. At Tifflis there is a foundry, at which are cast a few cannon, mortars, and balls, all of which are very inferior to those of the Turks. The gunpowder made here is very good. The Armenians have likewise established in this town all the manufactures carried on by their countrymen in Persia; the most flourishing is that of printed linens. The common coins of Georgia are the abasses, of about fifteen-pence value, and a small copper coin, stamped at the mint at Tifflis. Besides these, a large quantity of gold and silver money is brought into the country from Persia and Turkey, in exchange for honey, butter, cattle, and blue linens.
The subjects of Heraclius are estimated at about sixty thousand families; but this, notwithstanding the present desolated state of the country, is probably an under valuation. The peasants belonging to the queen, and those of the patriarch, pay no tax to the prince, and therefore do not appear on the books of the revenue officers. Many similar exemptions have likewise been granted by the prince to his sons-in-law, and his favourites. Besides, as the impost on the peasants is not a poll-tax, but a tax on hearths, the inhabitants of a village, on the approach of the collectors, frequently carry the furniture of several huts into one, and destroy the remainder, which are afterwards very easily replaced. It is probable, therefore, that the population of Georgia does not fall short of three hundred and fifty thousand fouls.
The revenues of this country may be estimated at about 150,000 roubles, or 26,250 £. They consist of, 1. the customs, farmed at 1,750£. 2. Rent paid by the farmers of the mint at Tifflis, 1,750£. — 3. The tribute paid by the Khans of Erivan and Gansha[Ganja], 7,000£. — and 4. The hearth money levied on the peasants, amounting to 15,750£.
The government of Georgia is defpotic, but, were it not for the assistance of the Russian troops, the prince would be frequently unable to carry his decrees into execution. The punishments in criminal cafes are shockingly cruel, fortunately they are not frequent, because it is seldom difficult to escape into some of the neighboring countries, and because the prince is more enriched by confifcating the property of the criminal, than by putting him to torture. Judicial combats are considered as the privilege of nobility, and take place when the cause is extremely intricate, or when the power and interest of two claimants are so equal, that neither can force a decision of the court in his favour. This mode of trial is called an appeal to the judgment of God.
The dress of the Georgians nearly resembles that of the Cossaks; but men of rank frequently wear the habit of Persia. They usually dye their hair, beards, and nails with red. The Georgian women employ the fame colour to stain the palms of their hands. On their heads they wear a cap or fillet, under which their black hair falls on their forehead; behind, it is braided into several tresses. Their eye-brows are painted with black, in such a manner as to form one entire line, and their faces are perfectly coated with white and red. Their robe is open to the girdle, so that they are reduced to conceal the breasts with their hands. Their air and manner are extremely voluptuous. Being generally educated in convents, they can all read and write; a qualification which is very unusual among the men, even of the highest rank. Girls are betrothed as soon as possible, often at three or four years of age. In the streets the women of rank are always veiled, and then it is indecent in any man to accost them. It is likewise uncivil in conversation to inquire after the wives of any of the company. These, however, are not ancient customs, but are a consequence of the violences committed by the Persians, under Shah Nadir
Travellers accuse the Georgians of drunkenness, superstition, cruelty, sloth, avarice, and cowardice; vices which are every where common to slaves and tyrants, and are by no means peculiar to the natives of this country. The descendants of the colonists, carried off by Shah Abbas [in early 17th century], and settled at Persia, near Ispahan, and in Masanderan, have changed their character with their government; and the Georgian troops, employed in Persia against the Affghans, were advantageously distinguished by their docility, their discipline, and their courage.
The other inhabitants of Georgia are Tartars, Ossi, and Armenians, called in the Georgian language Somakhi. These last are found all over Georgia, sometimes mixed with the natives, and sometimes in villages of their own. They speak among themselves their own language, but all understand and can talk the Georgian. Their religion is partly the Armenian, and partly the Roman Catholic. They are the most oppressed of the inhabitants, but are still distinguished by that instinctive industry which every where characterizes the nation.
Besides these, there are in Georgia considerable numbers of Jews, called, in the language of the country, Uria. Some have villages of their own, and others are mixed with the Georgian. Armenian, and Tartar inhabitants, but never with the Ossi. They pay a small tribute above that of the natives.
[...Another discussion of Georgian history follows...]
The capital of Imeretia, and place of residence of prince David, is Cutais [Kutaisi]. The remains of its cathedral seem to prove that it was once a considerable town, but at present it scarcely deserves the name of a village. Solomon, father of the present prince [ David was the son of Giorgi IX and cousin of Solomon I], very wisely ordered the walls and the citadel to be destroyed, observing, that the rocks of Caucafus were the only fortifications which were capable of being defended by an undisciplined army of six thousand men, unprovided with artillery.
The inhabitants of Imeretia, eflimated at about twenty thousand families, are not collected into towns or villages but scattered over the country in small hamlets. They are less mixed with foreigners, and handsomer than the other Georgians. They are likewise bolder, and more industrious: they send yearly considerable quantities of vine to the neighbouring parts of Georgia, in leather bags, carried by horses: but they are without manufactures, very poor and miserable, and cruelly oppressed by their vexatious landlords.
The ordinary revenues of Imeretia, like those of Georgia, arise from a contribution of the peasants in wine, grain, and cattle, and from the tribute of the neighbouring princes. Among the extraordinary sources of revenue, confiscations have a considerable share; but as all this is by no means sufficient for the subsistence of the prince, he usually travels from house to house, living on his vassals, and never changing his quarters till he has consumed every thing eatable. It will of course be understood, that the court of Imeretia is not remarkable for splendour, nor the prince's table very sumptuously served. His usual fare consists of gom (a species of millet, ground, and boiled into a paste), a piece of roasted meat, and some pressed caviar; these he eats with his fingers; forks and spoons being unknown in Imeretia. At table he is frequently employed in judging causes, which he decides at his discretion, there being no law in his dominions but his own will. His new ordinances are publicized to the people on Fridays, which are the market days, by a crier, who gets up into a tree, and from thence issues the proclamation.
The Imeretians are of the Greek religion. Their Catholicos, or patriarch, is generally of the royal family, and can seldom read or write; and the inferior clergy are not better instructed. Their churches are wretched buildings, scarcely to be distinguished from common cottages, but from a paper cross over the principal door, and some paintings of the Virgin and the saints.
The Dadian, or prince of Mingrelia and Guriel, though possessed of a country far more considerable than Imeretia, is tributary to prince David, who is, therefore, a very formidable neighbour to the Turks of Achalziche [Akhaltsikhe]. He is, however, very much fettered in his operations by the disobedience of his numerous barons, who, like those of Georgia and Mingrelia, have power of life and death over their vassals.
SPECIMEN OF THE CAUCASIAN LANGUAGES
[In this section, Ellis compiled examples of words from several key Caucasian languages, including Abkhaz, Circassian, Ossetian, Kist, Lezghian and Georgian. Ellis noted that the words came from a general vocabulary that was created by the order of Empress Catherine II of Russia]
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