Written Georgian Was Created So That The Bible Could Be Read

Georgian is an ancient language spoken today by about 6 to 7 million people, with about 4 million of these in the country of Georgia.

There was no written form until 326 AD/CE, when the conversion of the Georgian aristocracy to Christianity led to a desire for a Georgian translation of the Bible. The written form of Georgian is similar in construction and function to Aramaic, the literary language of pagan Georgia.

The oldest surviving literary work in Georgian is the "Martyrdom of the Holy Queen Shushanik" (Georgian: წამებაჲ წმიდისა შუშანიკისი დედოფლისაჲ, Tsamebay tsmidisa Shushanikisi dedoplisay) by Iakob Tsurtaveli, from the 5th century AD.