The Institute of Oriental Studies was founded in 1960 on the initiative of Academician Giorgi Tsereteli and was named after him in 1973.
In 2010, the Institute became affiliated with the Ilia State University. Renowned scholars working at the Institute at different times included Giorgi Tsereteli, Sergy Jikia, Giorgi Akhvlediani, Simon Kaukhchishvili, Konstantine Tsereteli, Vladimer Puturidze, Valerian Gabashvili, Otar Gigineishvili, Aleksandre Gvakharia, Magali Todua, Vladimer Akhvlediani, Mzia Andronikashvili, Otar Tskitishvili, Zurab Sharashenidze, Vazha Gvakharia, Mikheil Chkheidze, Mikheil Svanidze, Teo Chkheidze, Nodar Lomouri, Karlo Kutsia, Jemshid Giunashvili, Olga Tedeev, Levan Nadiradze, etc. The Honorary President of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences, Academician Thomas V. Gamkrelidze, was the Head of the Scientific Council of the Institute.
The following are the key areas of research done at the Institute of Oriental Studies: oriental linguistics; history, literature, and contemporary culture of Oriental peoples; Georgia’s centuries-old cultural relations with Eastern countries; current political, social, economic, cultural, and religious processes in the countries of the Near East and the Middle East; study of Islam and inter-confessional relations; geopolitical problems in the Middle East; Caucasus and Central Asia in the regional and global contexts.
Organizational Structure of the Institute:
- Department of Ancient Oriental Languages;
- Department of Semitic Studies;
- Department of the Indo-Iranian Languages;
- Department of Persian Philology;
- Department of Turkish Studies;
- Department of Byzantine Studies;
- Department of Modern and Contemporary History of the Middle East;
- Department of Medieval History of the Middle East;
- Japan Center;
- Centre for Yezidi Studies.
Rich Library of Scholarly Literature and Periodicals. Past and Current Periodicals published by the Institute:
- The Near East and Georgia
- The Middle East Today (e-journal)
- Philologia orientalis
- Oriental Records on Georgian History
- Modern and Contemporary History of the Middle East
- Semitic Studies
- Typological Investigations
- Persian-Georgian Studies
- Jevanmardi
- Orientalist
- Perspective – XXI
The academic staff of the Institute of Oriental Studies has produced numerous important monographs and scientific articles, which have been published in various countries.
The Institute closely cooperates with leading foreign universities and research centres, including the University of California, Berkeley, the French National Institute of Oriental Languages and Cultures and the “Iranian and Indian World” Research Group, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, the Amsterdam Institute of Social History, Hokkaido and Tokyo Metropolitan Universities, the University of Göttingen, Pembroke College of the University of Cambridge, the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, the Universities of Tehran, Isfahan and Gilan, the French Institute of Anatolian Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, the Institute of Iranian Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the Universities of Yerevan, Baku, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and With institutes of Oriental Studies. The Institute’s employees have implemented many joint projects with foreign colleagues. The Institute’s employees are members of a number of international scientific societies.
The Institute has held many international conferences. Among them in recent years: “Iran and the Caucasus: History, Culture, Contemporary Relations”, together with the French Institute of Anatolian Studies (2015); “The Great Game and Georgia” East-West Political, Cultural and Economic Relations in the First Half of the 19th Century, together with Pembroke College, University of Cambridge) (2015); VI International Conference of the European Association for the Study of Iranian Languages (2016); 8th International Conference on Popular Cultures of the Middle East and North Africa, together with the University of Vienna and Al-Akhvaini University (Morocco); 8th Congress of the Association for the Study of Persian-Speaking Societies (2018); “East and West: Linguistic, Cultural and Historical Relations” (dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the birth of Academician Tamaz Gamkrelidze) (2019). International conference dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the Institute’s founding “The Middle East and the Caucasus. Culture, History, Politics” (2020).
The Institute’s staff leads the Oriental Studies program of the Faculty of Science and Arts of Ilia State University, the Middle East module of the International Relations program. They deliver lectures at all three levels of study and supervise master’s and doctoral students.