The East and Caucasus. - Tbili: Saari - 2003 - N 1 - 150 p. - in Georgian. - Bibl. at the end of each article.
G. Alasania's paper "Dependence of Georgia upon the Ottoman State in the sources and in Reality" studies the relations between Georgia and the Ottoman state during the 15th-16th centuries. The research is divided into two main parts: the fiscal policy of the Ottoman power in Georgia is considered on the one hand and the establishment of the Turkish administration on the another. Georgia was obligated to pay taxes, food supply, assistance in road repairs, settlement of Turkish garrisons in the Georgian fortresses for the promise of Turkey of protection. These obligations were not frequently kept from both sides. Being in confrontation with the Safavid Persia, Ottomans in some cases preferred to have the Georgian rulers in ally instead of the conquered, enslaved and seeking protection of Persia.
G. Babunashvili's paper "Samuel Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations" Theory and its Critique" is the discussion of Harvard University Professor Samuel Ph. Huntington's essay "The Clash of Civilizations?" which generated discussions among scholars all over the world. In this paper the author does not agree with Huntington's theory and gives the critical analysis.
L. Bliadze's paper - "Law and Administrative Reforms of Midhat Pasha in Iraq" deals with the administration and juridical reforms led by the famous politician and statesman Midhat Pasha. This is the most important episode in the history of Iraq during the 19th century. Midhat Pasha commenced carrying out reforms in this backward region with customary energy and hurried to Europeanize its court and administration system.
I. Chichinadze in the paper "Factor of Iran concerning Iraq risis" considers the role of Iran with its geopolitical importance and economic factors in relation with the forthcoming "Iraq campaign". The author, guided by historical experience and political situation existing in the country, discusses the possible positions thath Iran may take over regarding Iraq crisis and underlines the most desirable position for the country.
The paper of M. Gabashvili "Why the Eastern Catholic Center Was moved from Smyrna to Tbilisi" considers a very significant event of Georgian historiography of the epoch of Giorgi the Illustrious - transfer of the Catholic center of the East from Smyrna to Tbilisi by the Church of Rome - which has not been grounded yet scientifically. The researches of the issue lead us to the marine policy of Georgia and history of Trabzon Empire, founded by the Queen Tamar. Byzantine and Italian documents display Georgian-Italian confrontations in Trabzon not only in political, but in trading-economic sphere as well. The role and importance of Georgia in political and economic life of Trabzon was well appreciated by Venice and Genoa as well as the Church of Rome, obtaining great part of its income from trading with Trabzon. Considering all these factors the Church of Rome transferred the Catholic center of the East from Smyrna to Tbilisi - capital of the country, which it regarded as the strongest and the most serious rival.
N. Gelovani in the paper "Women under the Umayyads" shows the role of women during the rule of the Umayyads (661-750). The author discusses their social origin, relative connections, points out the importance of women's participation in solving the problem of political succession. Among the famous women of the Umayyad dynasty there were aristocrats, bedouins and concubines.
L. Japava's paper "The Establishment of the Shiite Radical Organization "Hizballah" in Lebanon and its Historical Bases" deals with the formation of the "Hizballah" Radical Organization in modern Lebanon, the main aim of which was the establishment of Islamic Republic and the struggle against the aggression of Israel. The author writes about the influence of the Islamic Revolution of Iran and different Shiite organizations in the formation of "Hizballah". There is also shortly described the long and complicated history of Shiite community in Lebanon.
L. Kacharava's paper "The Question of Origin of the "Jewish Tribes" of Medina" deals with the ethnic origin of Medina's (Iasrib's) oldest Jewish tribes: Banu Qainaqa, Banu Quraiza and Banu Nadir. They are always mentioned as Jewish tribes in the historical literature. But during last time the question of their origin arose again and some scholars expressed an opinion of their Arab origin, but Judaic religion.
L. Kacharava's paper "Restoration of the Kingdom of Ghassanids in Syria on the Eve of the Conquest of Muslim Arabs" is an attempt to establish an approximate date of restoration of the Arabian Kingdom of Ghassanids. At first the kingdom of Ghassanids was founded in south Syria at the beginning of the 6th century with the help of the emperors of Byzantium but in 582 the Emperor Maurice abolished it. In spite of it in the Arabian historical sources which are about the conquest of Syria by the Muslims, there is mentioned the name of the King of Ghassanids and other Syrian tribes. This name is Jabal Ibn al->Aiham. There is not pointed the rough date to help us in dating exactly of this event, but those vague notes mentioned in the works of some Arab historians and the consideration of the political situation of that epoch give the basis to the author to date it roughly.
T. Kartsivadze's paper "Rabat - the Center of Arabian Maghrib" deals with the capital of modern Morocco, its scientific and cultural role in the life of Maghribi Arabs. The city founded in the period of the reign of Almohavids (1130-1269), was famous by its richness in North Africa and was an important cultural and economical center of Maghrib, closely connected with the famous cities of the Mediterranean Sea. From Merinide's epoch (1396-1465) Rabat lost its glory and its new prosperity is connected with the establishment of the French Protectorate (1912-1956).
D. Katsitadze in the paper "Dialogue between Teimuraz and Rustaveli" by Archil as the Historical Source" discusses and confirms the real historical importance of Archil's work. The mentioned work was used by Georgian historians of the 18th century - the members of the so-called "Erudites Commission" of the king Vakhtang VI.
Sh. Khetsuriani's paper - "From the History of the Relations of Eastern Georgia and Sassanid Iran Based on Numismatic Materials" presents a brief discussion of the relations of Eastern Georgia and Sassanid Iran on the base of the numismatic materials and literary sources. Sassanid coins, discovered in Georgia, are important source for studying political, economical and cultural situations in Georgia.
L. Kurdiani's paper "Towards the Apiru" deals with the identification of the term 'Apiru mentioned in ancient Egyptian texts and steles. The author's consideration, which is based upon the ancient Egyptian and Biblical data and special literature, is that 'Apiru (determined in Egyptian sources as a tribe or the union of tribes) can be understood as a common name of a group of people of Asiatic origin, speaking several Northwest Semitic languages and dialects.
N. Lursmanashvili's paper "Al-Azhar and the Question of Napoleon's "Islamic Orientation" During the French Expedition in Egypt" deals with such important aspect of the French expedition as the relation of Napoleon with the local traditions and especially to Islam. It was clear for Napoleon, that the strength of his position in such traditional Muslim country like Egypt, was partly depended upon the solidarity of theologians ( N. Lursmanashvili's paper "The Education System of Egypt in the First half of the 19th century During the Reign of Muhammad Ali" deals with the cultural reforms led by Muhammad 'Ali during his reign in Egypt (1805-1849). The result of his cultural reforms was the modernization and westernization of the Egyptian educational system. Muhammad 'Ali had chosen European countries, particularly France, as his political and cultural orientation for "westernization" of Egypt. He attempted to make Egypt economically strong unit, which would claim to be the successor of the Ottoman Empire. M. Makharadze's paper "The Question of Mention of Giorgi VIII as Persian King" deals with the last king of the United Georgian Kingdom - Giorgi VIII (1446-1465), who was mentioned as the "King of Persians" in the foreign historical sources. The author of this paper discusses the reasons of this fact. Till now the majority of the historians admitted that it was simply a mistake that "the King of Abhazia" was mentioned as "the King of Persia". However, the author concludes that in that period the West World thought the eastern Georgia to be the part of Persia and it was the reason to mention Giorgi VIII as the Persian King. T. Shalashvili's paper "Muridism as the Ideology of the Northern Caucasus Muslim Movement" discusses the spreading of Muridism as a religious-mystical trend in the Northern Caucasus in the first half of the 19th century and its transformation into a form of the national-liberation struggle against the Russian Empire. The author describes the role of Muridism as the religious ideology in the consolidation of the Northern Caucasus mountaineers. On the basis of critical analysis of the corresponding literary sources the form and contents of this movement are described in brief. M. Sharashenidze's paper "The Causes of the First Ottoman-Egyptian Conflict (1831-1833)" deals with the first conflict between the Sultan of Ottoman Empire and his vassal the Pasha of Egypt. It was one of the most important political events of the Near East in the first half of the 19th century, as it was followed by two wars between Turkey and Egypt. It is also called as the "Crisis of Egypt". The paper deals with the causes of the first conflict provoked by the great effort of Muhammad 'Ali, Pasha of Egypt (1805-1849), to create a new empire which would include Arabic provinces of Ottoman Empire. The invasion of Syria and Palestine by the Egyptian army was followed by the conflict. N. Shengelia's paper "Ottoman Qanun-Names about Georgia" deals with the Ottoman Code of Laws, "Qanun-Names", which are concerned with the South-western Georgian province - Samtskhe. In the wake of gradual conquests of Georgian lands, the area of influence of Qanun-Names became extended. The major part of Qanun-Names concerning Georgia have been translated and introduced into scholarly circulation. G. Sordia's paper "Tao-Klarjeti in the Turkish Publication" discusses the Turkish guidebook "The Black Sea - A Travelers Handbook for Northern Turkey" which deals with the questions of Georgian cultural heritage of Georgian historical provinces in Turkey, especially the province - Tao-Klarjeti. The paper by N. Tikadze "The Alexandrian Library and Classical Culture" focuses upon the historical role and place of a famous library founded in the capital of Egypt - Alexandria. According to the author, from the 3rd century B. C. for 300 years the Library of Alexandria was a great book depository of the Classical world, book-producer and a part of the famous Museion (Academy). In the 1st century B. C. the library was damaged by fire, but even after this, in the so-called Greco-Roman period (1st century B. C. - 5th century A. D.) it continued functioning. After the year 395, when the Roman Empire was divided, Egypt became the province of Byzantium. No historical evidence survives concerning the existence and functioning of the Library of Alexandria on this period. M. Butskhrikidze in the paper "The Function Word (bewaday) waday in Shmuel Josef Agnon's language" discusses the problem of usage of the adverb (bewaday) waday in Agnon's works. The author explains that the usage of the above-mentioned adverb is caused by the influence of Rabbinical language. The fact that the adverb comes across before the predicative is due to the language of Tannaim and especially to Hebrew of Babylonian Amoraim and not by the influence of European Languages. N. Dolidze's paper "Maqamas of Yasir Qatamish" deals with the discussion of the book "Notes of ibn Qatamish", written by modern Egyptian writer Yasir Qat?amish. The Maqamas of the end of the 20th century have the entire form of the classical Maqamas. They are presented as an example of modern satiric literature. The book's style entirely corresponds with the basic trends of modern Egyptian prose and to the eclectic nature of postmodernism. N. Ejibaze in the paper "The Ways of Expression of Tenses in the Egyptian Dialect" discusses tense categories formed by Perfect and Imperfect and also auxiliary verb and particle in the Egyptian dialect, in parallel with the forms of the Classical Arabic. The author, based on the concrete examples and appropriate materials, shows that in the Egyptian dialect, as well as in Classical Arabic, the tense categories are formed by the verbal form of Perfect and Imperfect. Besides, there are forms, analogues of which can't be found in Classical Arabic. N. Janashia's paper "Subjective personal marks in Turkish language" deals with the substation or agglutination of Turkish language system. Turkish language is an agglutinated language. This fact plays an important role in Turkish grammar system that is constructed by the agglutination principle. N. Krikheli in the paper "The Georgian Translation of the Amos Oz Tale "About Shadow, Light and Love" discusses the problem of translation from Hebrew into Georgian. The following peculiarities of Georgian translation are shown in this paper: 1. Absence of words; 2. Adding extra words; 3. Interpretations of original idiomatic expressions; 4. Some interpretations of the original text. L. Makhauri in the paper "Arabic Mourning Verse and its Parallels in Georgian and Chechenian" discusses an ancient genre of Arabic Literature - Ritha, and compares it with the ritual tradition surviving in Georgian and Chechen customs. On the basis of relevant literature and folklore materials the author talks about resemblances and differences, noticeable in the mourning genre of Arabic literature and in the sound of mourning over the deceased person, during the mourning rituals of Georgians and Chechenians. V. Mkervalishvili in the paper "Wine in the Koran" discusses the problem, which became actual after the prohibition of wine by Islam. In the Koran there are some contradicting suras about wine. The author translates and explains all these suras and analyzes the role of wine in the pre-Islamic Arabic poetry and in the Koran. Philology
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