Onomastic Materials of Shida Kartli in the Ottoman Historical Documents (The Great Defter of Tbilisi Vilayet)

Abstract

The present article examines onomastic materials from the Shida Kartli region. The research is based on an analysis of toponyms and anthroponyms from the Prone Gorge recorded in the 1728 Detailed Register of Tbilisi Province (the 1728 Great Defter of Tbilisi Vilayet). The document was compiled by Turkish officials sent to eastern Georgia with the objective of determining the exact population numbers for taxation purposes.

The Detailed Register describes 53 villages located in Dvani, Ptsa and Ali Prone: Saghvalasheni, Aradeti, Tsveri, Breti, Dirbi, Dvani, Toletubani, Avnevi, Tsunari, Turmaneuli, Bekmari, Nuli, Malda, Tsurbisi, Kornisi, Erkneti. Berdzenauli, Ptsa, Tkotsa, Avlevi, Mdzvivleti, Tamarasheni, Tseronisi, Abisi, Satsikhuri, Chvirnisi, Baliti, Kaliti, Patkineti, Tsireti, Atutsi, Urmishkheli, Gharistavi, Shindara, Surnisi, Tighva, Dzaghina, Khtane, Terugvani, Akhalsheni, Khundisubani, Okona, Knole, Somaneti, Vaka, Sative, Brili, Domatskho; Kindzati, Ali, Utslevi, and Ulumba.

The anthroponymic structure of personal names is predominantly bipartite, and typically includes: 1. Name + father's name (Dimitri, son of George); 2. Name + brother (Tamaza, his brother); 3. Name + son (Giorgi, his son). More rarely, a title (e.g., nobleman, prince) appears together with a personal name.

Simple names may end in either a vowel or a consonant— for example, Giorgi, Shio, Lazare, Saba, Baram, Simon, Elioz. Consonant-stemmed names frequently occur in their stem form, as in Zaal, Baram, and Simon.

Personal names are formed with endearment and diminutive affixes in the nominative case, such as: -ia (Onia, Khosia), -una (Datuna, Babuna), -uka (Mamuka, Beruka), -ita (Osita, Karsita), -ika (Datika, Khakhajika), -ina (Kogina, Berdina), -a (Makhara, Zakara), -ila (Gokila, Kokila), and -ua (Bachua, Adua).

Complex anthroponyms are rarely attested, including Sulkhanisi, Khakhajika, Avberda, and Mamisimedi.

Names formed with diminutive affixes commonly occur with a possessive case marker and the emphatic vowels -a, and -i, for example: Akakisa, Davitisi.

The document separately describes the Jewish settlement in the village of Dzaghina. It lists 170 personal names recorded following the Georgian model, such as Samkala, Ioseb, Iakob, Abrama, Ishaka, Avrama, Moshia, Davit, and Jakhana.

The structural elements and formation patterns of village names and anthroponyms correspond to the general model of the Georgian language and reflect tendencies characteristic of both the literary language and its dialects. No naming norms characteristic of other linguistic groups are observed in the toponyms. The onomastic material provides valuable information about Jewish and Turkish anthroponyms, as well as about the demographic situation in Georgian villages within the Tbilisi Vilayet.