The histories of Georgia and Armenia are closely intertwined and relations between the two nations date back centuries. More than 200,000 Armenians currently live in Georgia, (400.000, according to unofficial data) concentrated mainly in Tbilisi, Javakhk, Kvemo Kartli, Batumi, Telavi, Surami, Gori, Bolnis-Khachen and other places. 

The mass migration of Armenians to Georgia began in the 11th century after the fall of the Armenian kingdom of Bagratuni and its capital Ani. Georgia became a pillar for Armenian patriots in the struggle for the liberation of the homeland. The city of Gori was established for the residence of a large number of Armenians who moved from Ani.

In the eighteenth century, a sizable group of Armenian merchants started to settle in Tbilisi (at the time called Tiflis) where they built churches and educational facilities. 

By the nineteenth century, Armenians made up a sizable portion of the population. At this time, an Armenian commercial bourgeoisie was formed, (consisting of the famous Mantashev, Aramyants, and Gukasov families) who owned around 60% of the industrial enterprises and trading houses of Tbilisi. The city became the economic, cultural, and political center of Eastern Armenia, giving rise to some of the most prolific figures in Armenian history. 

Among them were the poet Sayat Nova who was born in the Tiflis, artists  Stepanos Nersisyan, Gevorg Bashinjaghian, the Hovnatanyan family – Mkrtum, Hakob and Aghaton, painter Gayane Khachaturian, film director Rouben Mamoulian, world-famous composer Aram Khachaturian, and visionary artist and filmmaker Sergei Parajanov. 

The Armenian Theater, on Havlabari’s main square, dates back to 1858. The original building was demolished and its reconstruction is expected to be completed in 2020.

The city played a central role in the development of Armenian literature. Writers Ghazaros Aghayan, Gabriel Sundukian, and Nar-Dos were born there, while literally giants Raffi and Hovhannes Tumanyan spent the majority of their lives there. In 1899, Tumanyan established the Vernatun literary club with Avetik Isahakyan, Derenik Demirjian, Levon Shant, and others. The Tumanyan House opened in 2017, retraces its history.

Armenian-language press in Georgia has had a remarkably rich history. More than 260 Armenian periodicals were published here at different times. The Armenian newspaper Vrastan, founded in 1920, is the oldest newspaper in Georgia that is still in circulation. 

The Nersesian Seminary, opened in 1824, is one of the largest Armenian educational establishments in the world. The writers Khachatur Abovyan, Perch Proshyan, as well as political figures like Soghomon Tehlirian and Anastas Mikoyan, all studied there. In 1911, the seminary moved to a new building on Arsenal Hill; it was built entirely out of tuff imported from Armenia. It closed down in 1924 and today the building is used by the Caucasus University. Currently, there are 154 Armenian schools and schools with mixed education in Georgia, including 8 in Tbilisi, 115 in Samtskhe–Javakheti, 29 in Shida (Inner) Kartli.

Georgia, and especially the city of Tbilisi were also central to Armenian political developments. In 1880, Mikhail Loris Melikov, was named Minister of the Interior of the Russian Empire. Just 10 years after the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) was founded in Tbilisi in 1890. Furthermore, representatives of the Armenian community have held senior positions in the country’s governing bodies, for example, Tbilisi has had more than 40 Armenian mayors. 

Throughout the 7th to 19th centuries, Armenians built more than 600 churches in the territory of Georgia, and the Georgian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church was formed. Despite the rich religious history, many of the churches were destroyed during the Soviet Era. Nowadays, of the many Armenian Churches only the Saint George’s Church (the seat) and the Ejmiatsin Church (Ejmiatsnetsots St. Gevorg in Havlabar) are functioning in Tbilisi, the Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church – in Akhaltsikhe, the Surb Khach (The Holy Cross) Church – in Akhalkalaki and the Saint Sarkis Church – in Ninotsminda. Of special significance is the Armenian Pantheon of Tbilisi (Khojivank), where great Armenian rulers, high-ranking clergymen, notable figures of literature and culture are buried. The Pantheon was once formed around Khojivank (built in 1780), which was demolished in the 1930s, and many of the tombs were destroyed.

In the south of the country, the region of Javakhk (Javakheti in Georgian) was incorporated into the Russian Empire after the Russian-Turkish War (1828-1829), and its Armenian population grew substantially with the arrival of refugees from Western Armenia (mainly from Karin, now known as Erzurum). Since the end of the nineteenth century, the vast majority of Javakhk’s population has been made up of Armenians; it’s currently estimated that Armenians make up more than 90% of the population. In 1921 when Georgia came fully under Soviet control Javakhk was formally incorporated in the Georgian SSR.

Javakhk’s capital Akhalkalak is a small Armenian town of about 13,000 people. The Church of the Holy Cross (Surb Khach) was inaugurated in 1856. In the church compound, the statue of Bagratuni Karapet appears to be watching over the town. Sometimes called Karapet Srpazan, this priest from Erzurum led thousands of Armenian refugees toward Javakhk during the Russo-Turkish war. A statue of Mesrop Mashtots was also erected in a square in the center of town.

The second largest town in Javakhk, Ninotsminda has about 6,000 residents. In a peaceful neighborhood in the north of the town, St. Sarkis Church dates back to the nineteenth century. Even further north, a memorial pays tribute to Soviet Armenian soldiers who died during the Second World War. The Armenian Genocide memorial is located behind the Georgian Armenian Friendship Park. 

There are dozens of small villages in the region, many populated entirely by Armenians. Some villages are Armenian Catholic and have their own schools and small churches. The Church of the Holy Mother of God in Hestia is considered to be the spiritual center of their community.

An ethnographic Museum of Javakhk Armenians was opened in 2019 in the village of Satkhe, and the village of Gandza is home to the Vahan Teryan House-Museum. The Jivani Museum, dedicated to the Armenian poet, is located in the village of Kartsakhi, about five kilometers from the Turkish border.

Not far from Javakhk, the town of Akhaltsikhe (“Akhaltskha” in Armenian) was also predominantly Armenian during the Soviet era. The Armenian Catholic Cardinal Grigor Petros XV Agagianian, one of the forerunners for the papacy during the conclave of 1958, as well as Michael Aznavourian, the father of Charles Aznavour, are natives of Akhaltsikhe. 

On the coast of the Black Sea, the beach resort of Batumi has been home to an Armenian community since the nineteenth century. The Church of the Holy Saviour (Surb Amenaprkitch) was built in 1887. In 2010, a khachkar was put into the church’s courtyard. The Armenian Catholic church is in ruins. About 10,000 Armenians live in Adjara. 

Currently, there are also a number of Armenian community organizations operating in Georgia, such as the Javakhk People's Movement, Parvana, the Union of Georgian Armenians, the Union of Armenians of Adjara, and the Youth Union of Adjara. etc.