Medea D. Abashidze (Presidium of the GAS, Tbilisi)

Computer Research of Medieval History of Georgia

Recently interest in the past and in history has increased, especially the study of historical sources.

As the use of written language arose, our ancestors sought to understand their current state and to find ways of further development. For this purpose they copied and translated those works which gave answers to their burning questions.

At this stage of technological development this function is fulfilled by textual databases based mainly upon historical narratives which are kept in scientific centres. The vast majority of them have not yet been scientifically analysed. One reason for this is that medievalists are faced with the problem of authenticity of sources. Nevertheless, there are sources from which one can create databases. The creation of databases can be facilitated considerably by direct access to the sources.

Georgian historians studying medieval sources have not gained enough experience in creating databases.

However, databases of Georgian medieval historical sources are being created by historians at the Institutes of the Georgian Academy of Sciences and Tbilisi State University. There scholars work at creating textual databases, writing computer programs, forming bibliographic and informational databases, and writing formal descriptions of manuscripts according to the methodology and systems of structural data and utilising the database program CDS/ISIS.

The Association was established at the Georgian Academy of Sciences in 1997 for the study of narratives and material sources from the East and the Caucasus. THe aim is the creation of an integral database of Eastern Christian narratives and material sources. The project is interdisciplinary and consists of historians, philologists, linguists, archaeologists, geographers, art critics, and ethnographists and makes use of a large amount of information from Georgia and neighbouring countries. The Association works to create contemporary means of research which can facilitate work with original sources and the formation of databases which are essential for preparing texts and for conducting fundamental scientific research.