Cartu Fund has pledged to give 20,000 GEL to the translating and printing of historical material that connects Georgian King Erekle II (1720-1798) to Europe through 500 plus newspaper articles dating from the mid-1700s.
The newspaper articles were discovered by Art Palace Director, Giorgi Kalandia, in 2014 whilst looking through the British Library archives from the National Library of Ireland for references to Georgia.
At a time when Ottoman and Persian forces were a great threat to both the European continent and to Christianity, the Christian prince of the eastern provinces held particular fascination for the British press.
Through a series of letters and reports received from Venice, Petersburg, and other cities between the Ottoman Empire and Britain, we discover the exploits of King Erekle (known as Prince Heraclius), often exaggerated, sometimes contradicted, but nearly all painting him as a heroic, strong figure defending Christianity from the ‘barbarian hordes.’
The King Erekle project will perhaps be the first of a collection on Georgia in the Foreign Media, as other articles from the mid-1600s to the late 19th century have been identified in both Britain and Germany awaiting collection and translation.