Georgian and Aluanian Calendars as presented in Anania Shirakouni’s Tomar (Calendar)

Abstract

The analysis of the information of Anania Shirakuni (7th century) about the Georgian and Aluanian calendars shows that in 552 the Armenian Church solved its calendar issues by the official adoption of the ecclesiastical calendar, compiled by Athanas Taronatsi. 9 years later, in 561, the Council of calendar scholars in Alexandria, despite the absence of representatives from Armenia, Georgia (Iberia), Albania and a number of other countries, established separate calendars for them, which were drawn up in the image of the Egyptian calendar, with the same beginning of the year and months and the general system of leap years. But at the beginning of the 7th century the Georgian Church finally broke with the Armenian Church and, as a result of this, in 781 switched to a new (Chalcedonite) ecclesiastical calendar and the use of the calendar created for Georgians by the Council in Alexandria (and known as the Georgian Chronicon). The Aluanian church, which was in canonical unity with the Armenian Church, did not switch to independent ecclesiastical calendar, did not create its own chronology and probably never applied the calendar compiled for the Aluans in Alexandria. In 666–667 AD, Anania Shirakuni created his monumental work – K’nnikon. The calendar (Tomar) consisting of theoretical and applied parts was represent in this work. The names of the months in the Aluanian and Georgian calendars have parallels in the names of the months of the Armenian calendar, represent borrowings or have semantics in common with them, which, obviously, is explained by the long cultural contacts of the peoples of the South Caucasus.