Paleographic, Textological and Phonetic Study and Comparative Analysis of Persian Manuscripts Written in the Georgian Script

Abstract

The paper deals with the manuscripts S-16, S-418, and H-2290 – preserved in Georgian-language funds of Korneli Kekelidze Georgian National Centre of Manuscripts, which attest the Persian texts in Georgian script. S-16 is an 18th-century manuscript containing a Persian Gospel transcribed in Georgian letters. Manuscript S-418 is an 18th-century collection that includes excerpts from poems in various languages, among them a Persian poem written in Georgian letters, followed by Georgian translations of Persian words and phrases, also in Georgian script. H-2290 (19th century) is a bilingual text of Georgian-Persian expressions, where Georgian phrases and their Persian translations, transliterated using Georgian letters, are presented one below the other. In the paper, paleographic, textological, and phonetic studies and comparative analyses of the mentioned manuscripts are presented.