Georgian people

Process formation of modern Georgian ethnos in the territory of the Western Transcaucasia represented centuries-old and difficult process. That the Georgian ethnos consisted of related (kartvelsky) and unrelated elements, and its territory extended by assimilation of other tribes, generally the Caucasian origin, pays attention of the legend from drevnegruzinsky chronicles. In "Moktsevay Kartlisay" the most ancient inhabitants of a left bank of the Chicken specify not картвелы, and bunturka which the chronicle calls tribes iebuseev. The last appear in the Bible as one of hanaansky tribes. Already in Kartlis Tskhovreba mythical "family tree" kartvelov, going back to Targamosu, one of sons bible Yafeta is given. In the same place children of "ancestor" kartvelov Kartlosa are listed: Kakhos, Kukhos, Dzhavakhos, etc. These names in fact display names of historical areas of Georgia Kakheti, Kukhetiya, Dzhavakhety etc. also represent thus attempt to prove their origin. However in names of areas other, more ancient values, or probably even earlier existing here ethnos irrespective of, whether there were they closely related kartvelam remained.
Concerning a kartvelsky linguistic community, disintegration of language basis of kartvelsky languages by researchers is dated II thousand BC when isolation of Svan language begins. Possibly, in the VIII century BC, the kartsko-zansky (megrelo-chansky) language unity broke up. Already in the ancient time the East Georgian tribes left to the Black Sea, having broken the massif of the West Georgian tribes into two parts, and occupied Kartli behind the river the Chicken. Since then the West Georgian tribes made two groups: actually megrelsky (in present Western Georgia) and lazo-chansky (ranging from Adzhara to Trebizond the present territory of Turkey).  In the IV century BC in the Western Georgia there was the Colchis kingdom. To the east of the West Georgian (megrelo-chansky) tribes there lived kartsky (East Georgian) tribes. In the III century BC here in the area Mtskheta there was a Kartliysky kingdom (Iberia). In the twilight of the existence it included also Colchis and adjoined to the western areas of the Caucasian Albania. Caucasian albanian took part in ethnogenesis the Georgian of Kakheti. By the end of the IV century. The western Georgia was integrated under the power of the Egrissky (Lazsky) kingdom.
The Georgian people were formed on the basis of three closely related breeding associations: courts, megrelo-tubs and svanov. Process of formation of the Georgian nationality came to the end generally in the VI—X centuries.