The Mingrelians are an indigenous Kartvelian-speaking ethnic subgroup of Georgians that mostly live in the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region of Georgia. They also live in considerable numbers in Abkhazia and Tbilisi. In the pre-1930 Soviet census, the Mingrelians were afforded their own ethnic group category, alongside many other ethnic subgroups of Georgians.
A Mingrelian (c. 1900)
The Georgians, or Kartvelians, are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to present-day Georgia and surrounding areas historically associated with the Georgian kingdoms. Significant Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, Greece, Iran, Ukraine, the United States, and the European Union.
The Georgian kings, queens consort and the Catholicos-Patriarch depicted on a Byzantine-influenced fresco wearing Byzantine dress at the Gelati Monastery, UNESCO's World Heritage Site landmark.
Georgians presenting gifts to the Byzantine emperor. The Skylitzes Chronicle.
Georgian language is written in its own unique alphabet since the early 5th century.
Gelati Monastery, one of the most significant religious structures in Georgia, located near the former capital city of Kutaisi.
