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Kartli is the largest and most populated province of Eastern Georgia. It includes the Georgian capital Tbilisi and two other major cities, Gori and Rustavi. It is bordered by the nountain-range of Great Caucasus to the north, by Georgian province of Kakheti to the east, by Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey to the south and the Georgian province of Imereti to the west. Here was established in the 3rd century BC the ancient Eastern Georgian Kingdom of Kartli, also known as Iberia. Its king declared the Christianity as an official religion of Kartli in 337 AD. In the early Middle Ages Kartli lost its political importance because of the struggle between the King and strong feudal rulers, as well as the aggression of strong Persian Kingdom. Even so, in a way, it remained Georgia's leader because of independence of its Church and culture from Byzantine influence. Kartli was part of united Georgian kingdom in central Middle Ages. (Georgia was unified in the beginning of the 11th century, but Tbilisi, Kartli's main city was not liberatad until 1122. Immediately afterwards, Georgian capital has moved from Kutaisi to Tbilisi). After the disintegration of the united Kingdom in the 15th century, Kartli was an independent Kingdom, which suffered from frequent invasions of Persians. During the 16th-18th centuries, Ossetians, which forced to flee their land in the fields of Northern Caucasus, migrated southwards to the northern slopes of Great Caucasus mountain-range. Part of them cross the mountains to Southern Caucasus and thus settled in the mountainous region of Kartli (historical district of Samachablo). In 1762 the Kingdom of Kartli was united with the neighboring Kingdom of Kakheti. This Kingdom too was soon weakened by the Persian aggression. In 1801 the Kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti was annexed to Russian Empire. Kartli was part of independet Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1918-1921, of Transcucasian Soviet Federalist Socialist Republic in 1922-1936 (capital of which was Tbilisi, province's and Georgia's main city), of Georgian SSR in 1922-1991. Since the disintegration of the USSR in 1991, Kartli is part of independent Republic of Georgia, while Tbilisi, Kartli's main city, is the nations capital. Besides Tbilisi, the province of Kartli is divided into three administrative regions: Kvemo Kartli (Capital of which is Rustavi), Mtskheta-Mtianeti (With Mtskheta as its capital) and Shida Kartli (Capital of which is Gori). The last region officially includes the historical district of Samachablo, the majotity of which population is Ossetian since the 18th century and which had the status of autonomous district within Georgian SSR during the Soviet period (1922-1991). Since the Georgian-Ossetian civil war in 1991-1992, this district, which is known as South Ossetia, is de facto an independent state. (Though no nation officially recognizes its sovereignty).
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