Georgiy Melikishvilli The largest Georgian historian, academician of the Georgian Academy of Sciences. Date of Birth: 30.12.1918 Country: Georgia

1. Georgy Melikishvili - The Prominent Georgian Historian
2. Early Life and Education
3. Contributions to Urartian Studies
4. Academic Career

Georgy Melikishvili - The Prominent Georgian Historian

Georgy Alexandrovich Melikishvili (December 30, 1918, Tbilisi - April 19, 2002) was the most prominent Georgian historian and a member of the Georgian Academy of Sciences. He gained fame for his works on the history of the Urartu kingdom.

Early Life and Education

Georgy Alexandrovich Melikishvili was born on December 30, 1918, in Tbilisi. In 1939, he graduated from the History Faculty of Tbilisi State University and then entered the graduate school, specializing in the history of the ancient East. From 1941, Georgy Alexandrovich became fascinated with the history of Urartu, studying the Urartian language and cuneiform texts. In 1944, Melikishvili defended his candidate dissertation on the subject of Urartu.

Contributions to Urartian Studies

Since the late 1940s, Georgy Alexandrovich published a series of research articles on Urartu, and in 1953-1954, his major works on this topic were published: "Urartian Cuneiform Inscriptions" and "Nairi-Urartu." In 1957, Georgy Alexandrovich Melikishvili became the first Soviet historian to receive the Lenin Prize. In addition to his works on Urartu, he also devoted significant attention to the ancient history of Georgia, the Caucasus, and Asia Minor. His most notable contribution in this field is the monograph "Towards the History of Ancient Georgia" (1959) and the organization and editing of the eight-volume book "Essays on the History of Georgia" (1982).

Academic Career

In 1961, Georgy Alexandrovich Melikishvili became an academician of the Georgian SSR Academy of Sciences. From 1954 to 1988, he headed the Department of Ancient History at the Institute of History of Georgia, and from 1965 to 1999, he also served as the director of this institute. From 1999 until his death in 2002, Georgy Alexandrovich held the honorary position of Director of the Institute of History.