Georgia is the English name of the country, situated at the junction of Europe and Asia, through which, from ancient times, ran the Silk Road, which connected the two continents.

The name of the country, Georgia, comes from the Latin “georgiani”; in Georgian, it is called Sakartvelo.

Georgia and its historical lands have existed as state entities for over three thousand years, known variously as the Kingdom of Colchis (Egrisi), Iberia (Kartli, Kartalinia), the Kingdom of Laz or Lazica (Egrisi), the Abkhazian (Western Georgian) Kingdom, the Georgian Kingdom (Sakartvelo), and the principalities of Abkhazia, Guria, Megrelia (Mingrelia, Odishi), Samtskhe-Saatabago, and Svaneti.

In 1801, the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti was incorporated into the Russian Empire; a few years later, the Russian Empire also conquered and abolished the Kingdom of Imereti (1810). This marked the beginning of the final dissolution of Georgian state formations.

In 1917, following the collapse of the Russian Empire, an independent state was re-established as the Georgian Democratic Republic (1918–1921). In 1921, after the Bolshevik occupation, the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic was formed and existed until 1990. In 1991, following the collapse of the USSR, Georgia once again became an independent state.