The Machkhani Bilingue and Monolingue

Abstract

Epigraphic monuments constitute valuable primary sources of information on the history of Arab dominance in Georgia. Our goal was to revisit the Georgian-Arabic bilingue and Georgian monolingue incised on the walls of Machkhani church, in the vicinity of modern Tbilisi, i.e. Tiflīs, the center of Arab dominions in medieval Georgia. Both lapidary inscriptions have already been analyzed and published by Akaki Shanidze, Giorgi Tsereteli, Giorgi Chubinashvili, Teimuraz Barnaveli, Leon Melikset-Beg, Korneli Danelia and Zurab Sarjveladze, etc.; nevertheless, de visu study (producing the paleographic copies included) in February 2023 let us ascertain some significant details. Reconsidering the available data we inferred the following: 1) Paleographic analysis dates the bilingue to the 10^th c., or even early 11^th c., dismissing the previous dating to mid-9^th c.; 2) Apparently being contemporary to constructing works, the bilingue dates the Machkhani church to the same time period, refuting its architectural features as dating tool for establishing the chronology of similar edifices; 3) The Machkhani church was constructed by permission of Emir of Tiflīs, illustrating the confessional policy of and in the Emirate of Tiflīs; 4) The bilingue and monolingue were carved by different artisans, perhaps in the same epoch, but possibly even decades apart; unfortunately, the third inscription (or a relief?) was destroyed; 5) The contents of the Georgian monolingue remain partially undeciphered; however, it became clear, that no “City Emir Ghyavar” was mentioned, and hence existed; 6) Humad b. Bashīr and Homad / Humad K’it’risdze mentioned correspondingly in the Arabic and Georgian parts of the bilingue were the same person, Humad son of Bashir K’it’risdze, fl. in the 10^th c. or early 11^th c., and being unrelated to Al-Qiṭrīj, the patrikios of Gardman, fl. in 853. This person was not the Emir of Tiflīs but rather local official or feudal ruling in the Dighomi valley. Having Arabic ism and nasab, Humad son of Bashir K’it’risdze was clearly and understandably affected by Arab culture; nevertheless, it is remarkable, that the bilingue carved on the wall of a church in several kilometers from Tiflīs is mostly in Georgian. The bilingue elucidates one more medieval Georgian (perhaps islamized) noble family, serving the Emirate of Tiflīs, the K’it’risdzes; presumably one of the many integrated into the hierarchy and administrative system of this Muslim-Georgian state.