By the beginning of the seventeenth century, they spread eastward into fertile lands of Karaiazi (modern-day Gardabani Municipality) and in the west, they reached Shulaveri and the Dmanisi Gorge.

[5] The area populated by ethnic Azerbaijanis today is known as historical Borchali (which in the form Burjoglu was originally the name of a Turkic tribe that settled there in the seventeenth century).

The Sultanate of Borchali existed from 1604 to 1755 with its capital in Aghjagala[7] (a mediaeval fortress whose ruins nowadays lie near Kushchi, Marneuli Municipality), later turned into a mouravate (district) under the suzerainty of the Georgian kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti.

[11] After Russia conquered the South Caucasus and Dagestan from Qajar Iran following the Russo-Persian War (1804–1813), the Russo-Persian War (1826–1828) and the out-coming treaties of Gulistan and Turkmenchay,[12] the government reorganised the Georgian kingdom into a governorate, with subdivisions of its own, five of which were referred to as the Tatar ranges (the Czarist nomenclature used the word "Tatar" for Azerbaijani), namely Borchali, Pambak, Shuragel, Kazakh, and Shamshadin.

[18] In response, social democrat labourer activists organised a peaceful rally, calling on both parties not to engage in a conflict, and managed to acquire arms from the Viceroyalty of the Caucasus in order to patrol the streets.

In March 1944, 3,240 ethnic Azerbaijanis and Kurds living in the capital city of Tbilisi were forcibly relocated to rural parts of Kvemo Kartli, as persons "deliberately avoiding working in the agricultural sector".

[23] In 1944, in the midst of the population transfer in the Soviet Union, a decree was issued by the Moscow-seated government, according to which tens of thousands of residents of the southern border regions of Georgia were to be forcibly relocated to Central Asia for national security reasons.

The decree made provision for the relocation of Meskhetian Turks, Kurds, Hamsheni Armenians and "others", though the latter category underlyingly referred to Azerbaijanis living in Samtskhe-Javakheti and Ajara.

Georgian NKVD officers made no distinction between the Azerbaijanis and the key deportation target groups, as together with Kurds and Hamsheni Armenians, they were seen as "Turkish-oriented".

[22][24] Azerbaijanis living in rural parts of the country were mainly engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry in kolkhozes and sovkhozes, as well as small-scale trade and industry.

Unlike other minority groups, many remaining Azerbaijanis cited attachment to their home communities and unwillingness to leave behind well-developed farms as their reason to stay.

This targeted the economic situation of many Azerbaijanis from the border regions who made a living through unencumbered trade with Azerbaijan and even led to protests against what was seen as "unfair punishment".

[34] In general, the majority-Azerbaijani regions, for the most part, demonstrated satisfaction with the United National Movement (UNM), showing varying support for this party in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 elections.

The other reason was that unlike most of their neighbours, Azerbaijanis historically adhered to Islam, which weakened possibilities of intermarriage or any other type of close contact with people of other faiths.

[35] Since Georgia regained its independence in 1991, in addition to nationwide problems such as unemployment, many Azerbaijanis along with other minorities have faced social disintegration and underrepresentation in the country's legislative, executive and judicial powers, mainly due to the language barrier.

Although after Mikheil Saakashvili's rise to power in 2004 the ban was lifted, local Azerbaijanis complained of unawareness of the changing laws as the main reason for dissatisfaction and expressed scepticism with regard to the situation improving.

[41] As a result, landowners from other parts of the country came to own and rent much of the land (70% according to Azerbaijani non-governmental organisations)[42] that had been formerly in the possession of the Azerbaijani-populated villages and farmer unions.

Other problems include corruption of agrarian establishments, land division and distribution, and priority unduly given to large companies, potential voters, and ethnic Georgians.

However, according to a report by the UN Association of Georgia, Azerbaijani politicians who make it to the national scene often come from Tbilisi and thus maintain weak links with the rural portion of the minority they are supposed to represent.

[55] The Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities received reports that ethnic Azerbaijanis living close to the Armenian border often become victims of acts of violence, land and other property seizures and thefts of cattle.

[57] Azerbaijani-populated areas of Georgia, mainly the districts of Marneuli, Bolnisi, Gardabani and Sagarejo, are famous for the production of Azerbaijani rugs of the Gazakh school of carpet-weaving, which also encompasses western Azerbaijan and northern Armenia.

[72] Beginning in 2009, Azerbaijanis of Dmanisi have annually held Elat, a summer celebration that historically marked the seasonal migration of Borchali pastoralists from plains into the mountains.

[73] On 21 March 2010, Mikheil Saakashvili declared Nowruz, an ancient Near Eastern spring fest celebrated by Azerbaijanis, a national holiday in Georgia.

In the nineteenth century, Georgians of Kakheti and Tusheti, as well as Kists from the Pankisi Gorge would herd their sheep down to the pastures in the Azerbaijani-populated lowlands, where they would spend the winter, which also contributed to their knowledge of Azerbaijani.

Some Tush Georgians would give their children up for fosterage (a common practice among peoples of the Caucasus aimed at strengthening intercommunal relations) to Azerbaijani families for the duration of their stay on the winter pastures.

[84] Later, due to changing linguistic policies, universal schooling, and abandonment of older practices, Azerbaijani significantly lost positions to Georgian and Russian.

[48] Since the fall of the Soviet Union, lack of knowledge of the official language makes it harder for Azerbaijanis and other ethnic minorities to be active in many social areas.

[91] The Saakashvili government's educational policy attempted to provide students in majority-Armenian and Azerbaijani areas with improved learning materials and teachers willing to instruct non-native speakers of Georgian.

[34] Azerbaijanis in Georgia are mainly Muslim, with 80% being Shia and 20% Sunni,[16] a distinction that is not felt much due to religion not occupying an important part of their everyday lives.

[16] In 2014, Azerbaijanis constituted a majority or a significant (over 10%) minority in the towns and villages across the following municipalities: 58 in Marneuli, 43 in Dmanisi, 37 in Bolnisi, 17 in Gardabani, 11 in Sagarejo, 9 in Lagodekhi, 8 in Kaspi, 8 in Tsalka, 7 in Tetritsqaro, 4 in Mtskheta, 3 in Gori, 2 in Dedoplistsqaro, 1 in Akhmeta, 1 in Kareli, and 1 in Telavi.