article Documents Reflecting the History of Georgia in the Second Half of the Sixteenth Century from the Simancas Archive (Spain)

Abstract

To study Georgia’s past in depth, it is essential to consider not only Georgian written sources but also the rich body of materials preserved in foreign archival repositories. In this regard, the corpus of documents discovered in the archive of Simancas, Spain, by the noted Spanish scholar Luis Gil Fernández is of particular significance. The materials he brought to light—predominantly composed in Spanish, with a smaller portion in Georgian, Greek, Latin, Castilian, and Armenian—represent an important addition not only to Georgian historiography but also to the study of the histories of Turkey, Persia, and Western Europe. These documents shed valuable light on ​​the diplomatic relations among the above-mentioned states during the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries. The archival originals, accompanied by their translations into Georgian, were published as a separate volume in Madrid in 1993 by Luis Gil Fernández and Ilia Tabaghua. The present study draws upon these primary sources and undertakes an analysis of the situation in Georgia during the latter half of the sixteenth century, placing it within the broader framework of contemporary international developments.

The documents discovered in the Simancas Archive introduce new material that substantially enriches and further broadens our understanding of the relations that linked King Simon I of Kartli (who reigned in 1556–1569 and 1578–1600) with the contemporaneous rulers of Persia in the context of their coordinated opposition to the Ottoman Empire. Furthermore, these records elucidate the substantial patronage afforded by the Roman pontiff and the Catholic polities of Western Europe to the Persian–Georgian coalition engaged in active resistance against Ottoman aggression. In support of these observations, the article cites the relevant excerpts from the documents reproduced in the Madrid edition.