Nineteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Georgia always had close links with Iran. For centuries, Tbilisi had played a significant role in the Georgian-Iranian relations and was an important political, commercial, and cultural centre in Transcaucasia. Historically, the Iranians were one of the most significant and influential segments of the Muslim community of Tbilisi. As the general census of 1897 of the Russian Empire suggest, there were 81.700 Muslims living in Georgia (the total population of the country was 1.867.000). This period was marked by an increasing number of the Iranians in Tbilisi amounting to 6,000 people. A consulate-general of Persia acted in the capital and there were some charity, cultural, and educational centres operation in Tbilisi as well. In 1907, Persian school (madrasa) Ettefaq-e Iraniyan (“Iranian’s union”) was established in Tbilisi. The school was located in “Muslim district” of Tbilisi called “Sheytan Bazaar” (“Devil’s Bazaar”) and was sometimes called a Sheytan Bazaar’s school. The school was established in Tbilisi by Iranian charity organization Ettefaq with under the assistance of Iran’s Consulate-General in Tbilisi and ambassador of Iran in Russia Mirza Hasan Khan Moshir od-Dowleh. The pupils at the Persian school studied the Persian, Arabian, Turkish, Georgian, French and Russian languages, as well as Sharia, geography, music, and other subjects. The school had many problems and was closed in 1931. Data about the Persian school in Tbilisi given in the report were taken from Persian literary sources (Ali Javaher Kalam’s memories, Yahya Dowlatabadi and his book of memories) and National Archives of Georgia.