The term "Georgian Jews" took root in the 19th century, after Georgia was included in the Russian Empire, although in historical literature this name was used since the 11th century. Georgian Jews speak Georgian and call themselves "Ebraeli", "Kartveli Ebraeli" or "Israeli". The history of the Jews of Georgia dates back to ancient times.
The beginning of Jewish settlement in Georgia should be attributed to the era of the conquest of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and the destruction of the First Temple (586 BC). According to the "History of Georgia" by Prince Vakushtia, after the destruction of Jerusalem, some of the exiles came to Georgia and asked the governor of Mtskheta to give them a place to settle. The king agreed and assigned them a site on the Zanav River, which, due to the tribute paid by the Jews, was called Kerk (tribute).
This tradition of Georgian Jews coincides with the Agadic tradition. To the question where the ten tribes were taken, Mar Zutra answers: "to Africa". It can be assumed that the toponym אפריקי, mentioned several times in the Babylonian Talmud (for example: RxSh. 26a; Sanh. 94a; Tamid 32a), should be read as etherike, that is, Iberica, or Iberia - one of the ancient names of Eastern Georgia, as well as Georgia as a whole.
The next wave of Jewish migration to Georgia from their homeland is associated with the crucifixion of Christ, persecution in the Holy Land for the faith of Christ, for the Jewish faith, and the capture of Jerusalem by the Roman emperor Vespasian in 70 A.D. The refugees came to Mtskheta and settled there together with their co-religionists who came in earlier times. Jews settled in Mtskheta, the ancient capital of Eastern Georgia - Iberia - Kartli, Western Georgia, on the coast. There is evidence proving that Jewish communities began to actively appear on the lands of Kartli in Colchis and Iberia in the 1st century.
Georgia is one of the few countries where Jews were not accused of the crucifixion of Christ. On the contrary, at one time they took an active part in the spread of early Christianity. It is enough to recall the Georgian Christian saints - Eviatar of Urbnisi, who was a gabai in the synagogue, his sister Sidonia. A resident of Jerusalem named Elias witnessed the crucifixion of Christ. He bought Jesus's shrine from a Roman soldier on Golgotha and brought it to Georgia. This priceless Christian relic is still kept in Georgia today.
The Georgian Jews include the Georgian royal family of Bagrationi, which came from the family of the holy prophet David (as well as the prophet Isaiah and the Savior Christ). Descendants of brother Joseph from the tribe of Jacob, they went from Palestine to the Caucasus, and ended up in Kartli, where over time they became the royal family in Georgia. According to the same "History of Georgia" ("Kartlis Tskhovreba"), one of the Jews, named Guaram, is the founder of the royal Georgian family of Bagrationi. The genealogy of the Bagrationi is traced in this chronicle to the biblical Isaiah (Jesse), his son - the Jewish king David and to the son of David - Shlomo (Solomon), and therefore the Georgian kings from the Bagrationi family titled themselves "Issian - Davidian - Solomonians". The Bagrationi dynasty united all the Kartvelian peoples. Georgia reached its greatest prosperity and power during the reign of the Bagrationi dynasty, who considered themselves true Georgians, and they were. David the Builder (Agmashenebeli), Queen Tamar, Hero of the Great Patriotic War of 1812, commander Prince Bagrationi, Emperor Peter the Great, and many others came from it. All of them devotedly and selflessly loved Georgia. The coat of arms of the Bagrationi House depicts King David's sling, with which he killed Goliath, King David's harp, and above the coat of arms is an inscription in Georgian: "By the grace of God, the descendant of Jesse, David and Solomon, King of all Georgia." Georgia has always warmly welcomed peoples who were persecuted. People shared shelter, food, clothing with refugees, and helped them settle in a new place. And so the Jews found their second homeland in this blessed land. In 2014, they celebrated their 2,600-year presence in Georgia, based on family traditions and data from the Kartlis Tskhovreba, the Chronicle of Georgia.