George V of Georgia in the context of "Mongol invasions of Georgia"

Georgians, or Kartvelians (/kɑːrtˈvɛliənz/; Georgian: ქართველები, romanized: kartvelebi, pronounced [kʰaɾtʰʷelebi]), are a nation and Caucasian ethnic group native to present-day Georgia and surrounding areas historically associated with the Georgian kingdoms. Significant Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, Greece, Iran, Ukraine, the United States, and the European Union.

Georgians arose from Colchian and Iberian civilizations of classical antiquity; Colchis was interconnected with the Hellenic world, whereas Iberia was influenced by the Achaemenid Empire until Alexander the Great conquered it. In the early 4th century, the Georgians became one of the first to embrace Christianity. Currently, the majority of Georgians are Orthodox Christians, with most following their national Georgian Orthodox Church; there are also small Georgian Catholic and Muslim communities as well as a significant number of irreligious Georgians. Located in the Caucasus, on the continental crossroads of Europe and Asia, the High Middle Ages saw Georgian people form a unified Kingdom of Georgia in 1008 AD, later inaugurating the Georgian Golden Age. This lasted until the kingdom was weakened and later disintegrated as the result of the 13th–15th-century invasions of the Mongols and Timur, the Black Death, the Fall of Constantinople, as well as internal divisions following the death of George V the Brilliant in 1346, the last of the great kings of Georgia.

The nation of Georgia was first unified as a kingdom under the Bagrationi dynasty in 1008 AD, arising from several successor states of the ancient kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia. The Kingdom of Georgia flourished during the 11th and 12th centuries under King David IV of Georgia and Queen Tamar the Great. It fell to the Mongol invasion by 1243 but saw restoration of its former strength under the leadership of George V the Brilliant. Throughout the Middle Ages, Georgia was one of the preeminent powers of the Eastern Orthodox world.

Facing relentless invasions from much larger empires, by 1490 Georgia finally collapsed into several petty kingdoms and principalities, which throughout the Early Modern period feuded with one another and struggled to defend themselves against external threats, such as Ottoman and Persian encroachment. This prompted Georgian monarchs to increasingly seek an alliance with the Russian Empire, their Orthodox Christian neighbor to the north, culminating in the annexation of Georgia by the Russian Empire beginning in 1801.

Zakarid Armenia (Armenian: Զաքարեան Հայաստան, romanized: Zakaryan Hayastan) alternatively known as the Zakarid Period, describes a historical period in the Middle Ages during which the Armenian vassals of the Kingdom of Georgia were ruled by the Zakarid-Mkhargrzeli dynasty. The city of Ani was the capital of the princedom. The Zakarids were vassals to the Bagrationi dynasty in Georgia, but frequently acted independently and at times titled themselves as kings. In 1236, they fell under the rule of the Mongol Empire as a vassal state with local autonomy.

During the reign of George V and Bagrat V, the Zakarid territories once again reverted to the Kingdom of Georgia. The Zakarid dynasty continued to rule Ani until around 1350, when it was conquered and ravaged by the Chobanids.