Das Fünffte Buch

Title

Das Fünffte Buch

Map shows the Caucasus with Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and partly Russia. The reverse depicts a nobleman of Sarmatia with a horse and a German description of their traditions.

ca. 1550

Artist

Münster (1489-1552)

Sebastian Münster (1489–1552) was a leading Renaissance cosmographer. His most famous work, the Cosmographia (1544), was a comprehensive description of the world with 24 maps, based on research dating back to 1528. Continuously revised, the 1550 edition already included many new maps. It was the first scientific yet accessible world description published in German, illustrated with numerous woodcuts by artists such as Hans Holbein the Younger. Between 1544 and 1650, the Cosmographia appeared in 46 editions (27 in German) and was translated into several languages. Münster’s work combined the knowledge of scholars, artists, and travelers and remained influential long after his death.

Historical Description

At the end of the tenth century, Georgia was united in its "golden age". The longstanding dependence on the Byzantine Empire was shaken off. Under Davit the Builder and Queen Tamar, Georgia became the strongest power in Transcaucasia between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. This was followed by a Mongol invasion under Timur. In the 16th century, Georgia disintegrated into the kingdoms of Imeretia, Kakheti and Kartlia as well as five principalities under Ottoman and Iranian influence. In 1783, Eastern Georgia (Kartlia-Kakheti) concluded a protection treaty with Russia. In 1801, Kartli Kakheti was annexed by decree of the tsar and its royal house dethroned. The regions in the west of the country remained independent for another decade. It was not until 1810 that Russia conquered the Georgian kingdom of Imeretia. It took Russia another 54 years to gain complete control over western Georgia. The region of Guria was abolished in 1828, Mingrelia in 1857. The region of Svaneti was annexed in the Caucasian War between 1857 and 1859, the principality of Abkhazia in 1864. In the Russian Empire, the western part of Georgia belonged to the Kutaisi Governorate, the eastern part to the Tbilisi Governorate. After the October Revolution, Georgia declared itself independent and a democratic republic on May 26, 1918. In 1921, the Democratic Republic of Georgia was occupied by the Red Army and incorporated into the Soviet Union, which lasted until the end of the Soviet Union in 1991. As part of the Soviet Union, Georgia experienced industrialization, Georgian agriculture specialized in the export of southern fruits and the republic became one of the country's most important tourist and vacation regions. In 1991, before the August coup in Moscow, which accelerated the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia declared itself independent once again. Wars of secession broke out in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. However, due to Russia's strong military presence, the Georgian government still has no control over parts of its territory. Georgia's first president after regaining independence, Swiad Gamsakhurdia, was replaced by a coup in early 1992. His successor was the former Georgian Communist Party leader and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze.