Old Georgian in the context of "Kartvelian language"

The Kartvelian languages (/kɑːrtˈvɛliən, -ˈviːl-/ kart-VEL-ee-ən, -⁠VEEL-; Georgian: ქართველური ენები, romanized: kartveluri enebi), also known as South Caucasian or Kartvelic languages, are a language family indigenous to the South Caucasus and spoken primarily in Georgia. There are approximately 5 million Georgian language speakers worldwide, with large groups in Russia, Iran, the United States, the European Union, Israel, and Turkey. The Kartvelian family has no known relation to any other language family, making it one of the world's primary language families.

The most widely spoken of these languages is Georgian. The earliest literary source in any Kartvelian language is the Old Georgian Bir el Qutt inscriptions, written in ancient Georgian Asomtavruli script at the once-existing Georgian monastery near Bethlehem, dated to c. 430 AD. Georgian scripts are used to write all Kartvelian languages.

The Bir el Qutt inscriptions (Georgian: ბირ ელ ქუტის წარწერები, romanized: bir el kut'is ts'arts'erebi) are four Old Georgian Byzantine mosaic inscriptions in the Asomtavruli script. They were excavated at a Saint Theodore Tiron Georgian Orthodox monastery in 1952 by Italian archaeologist Virgilio Canio Corbo near Bir el Qutt, in the Judaean Desert, 6 km (3.7 mi) south-east of Jerusalem and 2 km (1.2 mi) north of Bethlehem.

The complex was built of reddish limestone. The excavations has also revealed a monastery which produced wine and olive oil. Georgian inscriptions were found on a mosaic floor decorated with geometrical and floral patterns. The first two inscriptions are dated AD 430, while the last two AD 532. The excavations of Bir el Qutt conditioned discovery of inscriptions where only one has survived completely while others lack parts of the mosaic that suffered significant damage. The inscriptions in memoriam mention Peter the Iberian alongside his father, and also Bacurius the Iberian who is thought to be a possible maternal great-uncle or grandfather of Peter. Peter reputedly was the founder or the renovator of the monastery. Peter's aristocratic descent would allow him easy access to various persons of power and prestige in Constantinople, Jerusalem and other places, to actively develop Georgian monastic establishments. At the end of the eighth century the monastery was completely abandoned.

Mepe (Old Georgian: ႫႴ; Georgian: მეფე [ˈmepʰe]; meh-PEH) is a royal title used to designate the Georgian monarch, whether it is referring to a king or a queen regnant. The title was originally a male ruling title.

Georgian Byzantine Rite Catholics, or members of the Georgian Greek Catholic Church, are Catholics from the Georgian people who practice the Byzantine Rite in Old Georgian, which is also the liturgical language of the Georgian Orthodox Church.