Credited to Georgia. The origin of the first Georgian script is poorly known. Medieval Georgian tradition credits King Pharnavaz I in the 3rd century BCE, while medieval Armenian sources and a number of scholars credit Mesrop Mashtots, creator of the Armenian alphabet. The Georgian historian Ivane Javakhishvili judged the Mashtots account a later addition. No full agreement exists.
How it began
The oldest Georgian script, Mrgvlovani, also called Asomtavruli, was introduced around 430 CE. Who designed it is not settled. A Georgian tradition first attested in a medieval chronicle of about 800 names King Pharnavaz I of the 3rd century BCE. Medieval Armenian sources and a number of scholars name Mesrop Mashtots, and some Western scholars allow that Armenian clerics played a part. Wikipedia states that the exact origin has never been established.
How it works
The three scripts look different, but their letters share the same names and alphabetical order and are written horizontally from left to right. In structure the order largely follows the Greek alphabet, with letters for sounds specific to Georgian grouped at the end. The alphabet first had 38 letters. Modern Georgian is written with 33, since five letters are obsolete. Mingrelian, Laz and Svan use the same letters with a few additions.
How it spread
Nuskhuri was derived from Mrgvlovani, and Mkhedruli was derived after it. Mkhedruli first appears in the 10th century. Its oldest inscription, dated 982, is in the Ateni Sioni Church, and 11th-century royal charters of King Bagrat IV use it. It served as the civil and royal script of the Kingdom of Georgia, while the two older scripts stayed in church use. With the development of printed Georgian fonts in the 19th century, Mkhedruli became the universal writing system outside the church.
Where it stands today
Georgia's educational system is based on Mkhedruli, taught in primary and high school and at home. Mrgvlovani and Nuskhuri are practiced and taught mainly by the community of the Georgian Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church and are taught in schools at a basic level. The living culture of the three writing systems received national heritage status in 2015 and was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016.
