Following the peaceful Rose Revolution in 2003, Georgia strongly pursued a pro-Western foreign policy, introducing a series of democratic and economic reforms aimed at integration into the European Union and NATO.

[27] Lore-based theories were given by traveller Jacques de Vitry, who explained the name's origin by the popularity of St. George among Georgians,[28] while Jean Chardin thought that Georgia came from the Greek γεωργός ('tiller of the land').

[41] Buffered by the Caucasus and benefiting from the Black Sea ecosystem, the region seems to have served as a refugium throughout the Pleistocene,[42] while the first continuous primitive settlements date back to the Middle Paleolithic, close to 200,000 years ago.

[49] The classical period saw the rise of a number of Georgian states, including Colchis in western Georgia, where Greek mythology located the Golden Fleece sought after by the Argonauts.

Eastern Georgia remained a decentralized mosaic of various clans (ruled by individual mamasakhlisi) until the 4th century BC when it was conquered by Alexander the Great, eventually leading to the creation of the Kingdom of Iberia under the protectorate of the Seleucid Empire, an early example of advanced state organization under one king and an aristocratic hierarchy.

[54] In 645, the Arabs invaded southeastern Georgia, starting an extended period of Muslim domination in the region; this also led to the establishment of several feudal states seeking independence from each other, such as the Emirate of Tbilisi and the Principality of Kakheti.

Though Ashot's descendants formed competing princely lines, Adarnase IV managed to unify most Georgian lands (except for Kakheti and Abkhazia) and was crowned King of the Iberians in 888, restoring the monarchy abolished three centuries prior.

[66] The revival of the Kingdom of Georgia was set back after Tbilisi was captured and destroyed by the Khwarezmian leader Jalal ad-Din in 1226,[67] followed by devastating invasions by Mongol ruler Genghis Khan.

Neighboring large empires subsequently exploited the internal division of the weakened country, and beginning in the 16th century, various Ottoman and Iranian forces subjugated western and eastern regions of Georgia, respectively.

With the death of Nader Shah in 1747, both kingdoms broke free and were reunified through a personal union under the energetic king Heraclius II, who succeeded in stabilizing Eastern Georgia to a degree.

[82] In the summer of 1805, Russian troops on the Askerani River near Zagam defeated the Iranian army during the 1804–13 Russo-Persian War and saved Tbilisi from reconquest now that it was officially part of the Imperial territories.

Throughout the remainder of the Soviet period, Georgia's economy continued to grow and experience significant improvement, though it increasingly exhibited blatant corruption and alienation of the government from the people.

Simmering disputes within two regions of Georgia; Abkhazia and South Ossetia, between local separatists and the majority Georgian populations, erupted into widespread inter-ethnic violence and wars.

Despite these increasingly difficult relations, in May 2005 Georgia and Russia reached a bilateral agreement[110] by which Russian military bases (dating back to the Soviet era) in Batumi and Akhalkalaki were withdrawn.

Russia withdrew all personnel and equipment from these sites by December 2007[111] while failing to withdraw from the Gudauta base in Abkhazia, which it was required to vacate after the adoption of the Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty during the 1999 Istanbul summit.

[146] Due to the incomplete transition to parliamentary democracy, a year of uneasy cohabitation between Ivanishvili and Saakashvili followed until the presidential election in October 2013,[147][148] which was won by Giorgi Margvelashvili from the Georgian Dream party.

[170][171] Following the announcement of the results of the 2024 Georgian parliamentary election, protests erupted in Georgia on 28 October, with the protestors citing alleged violations of electoral law, such as voter fraud.

The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy called on the Central Election Commission of Georgia (CEC) to "swiftly, transparently and independently investigate and adjudicate electoral irregularities and allegations thereof".

[181] The main roads through the mountain range into Russian territory lead through the Roki Tunnel between Shida Kartli and North Ossetia and the Darial Gorge (in the Georgian region of Khevi).

Western Georgia's landscape ranges from low-land marsh-forests, swamps, and temperate rainforests to eternal snows and glaciers, while the eastern part of the country even contains a small segment of semi-arid plains.

Western Georgia's forests consist mainly of deciduous trees below 600 metres (1,969 ft) above sea level and contain species such as oak, hornbeam, beech, elm, ash, and chestnut.

The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range plays an important role in moderating Georgia's climate and protects the nation from the penetration of colder air masses from the north.

As in the western parts of the nation, elevation plays an important role in eastern Georgia where climatic conditions above 1,500 metres (4,921 ft) are considerably colder than in the low-lying areas.

[198] The explicit western orientation of Georgia, deepening political ties with the US and European Union, notably through its EU and NATO membership aspirations, the US Train and Equip military assistance programme, and the construction of the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline, increasingly strained Tbilisi's relations with Moscow in the early 2000s.

For example, in its 2017 report, Council of Europe observed that while most day-to-day corruption has been eliminated, there are some indications of a "clientelistic system" whereby the country's leadership may allocate resources in ways that generate the loyalty and support it needs to stay in power.

[244] The government came under criticism for its alleged use of excessive force on 26 May 2011 when it dispersed protesters led by Nino Burjanadze, among others, with tear gas and rubber bullets after they refused to clear Rustaveli Avenue for an independence day parade despite the expiration of their demonstration permit and despite being offered to choose an alternative venue.

[273] Archaeological research demonstrates that Georgia has been involved in commerce with many lands and empires since ancient times, largely due its location on the Black Sea and later on the historical Silk Road.

[292] Georgia's telecommunications infrastructure is ranked the last among its bordering neighbors in the World Economic Forum's Network Readiness Index (NRI) – an indicator for determining the development level of a country's information and communication technologies.

[388] The shipment of counterfeit wine has been primarily channelled through Russian managed customs checkpoints in Russian-occupied Georgian territories Abkhazia and South Ossetia, where no inspection and regulation occurs.

Georgia has had five players in the NBA: Vladimir Stepania, Jake Tsakalidis, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Tornike Shengelia and former Golden State Warriors centre Zaza Pachulia.