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After a long time, King Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem ^[1]. The Jews who fled from there came to Kartli; they asked the mtskheta mamassakhlisi to cede them land with the imposition of tribute [kharki]. The mamassakhlisi gave it to them, settled them in the Aragvi gorge near a spring called Zanavi. And the land which they held on condition of paying tribute [kharki] is now called Kherki – from "kharki" [tribute]. Until that time, the spoken language of the Kartlosids was Armenian ^[2]. When such an innumerable multitude of tribes gathered in Kartli, where the Georgian language was formed ^[3], the Georgians also abandoned the Armenian language.

^[1] Nebuchadnezzar's conquest of Jerusalem took place in 597 BC, and its complete destruction – in 586 BC.

^[2] In Georgian historiography, there are different opinions on this issue, since at that time there were numerous tribes living on the territory of Kartli who spoke Georgian, but with neighboring countries where Georgian was not known, such as Armenia, they communicated in their language.

^[3] In the Rumyantsev manuscript, there is a marginal note: "here the Georgian language appeared."

Then [during the time of Alexander ^[1]] the warlike tribe of the Hons ^[3], which had separated from the Chaldeans ^[2], arrived and asked the ruler of the Bun-Turks ^[4] for a place [under the condition of paying] tribute, and they settled in Zanavi. And they possessed it, [the place] for which they paid tribute, and it is called Kherki ^[5].

^[1] Alexander the Great — king of Macedon from 336 BC — June 10, 323 BC.

^[2] The Chaldeans are a tribe of Semitic origin. The last ruling dynasty in independent Babylonia, as is known, was precisely Chaldean (626–539 BC). In this case, however, it probably refers not to Babylonia of the New Kingdom period, but to the Achaemenid state. The Achaemenids, having defeated the Chaldean dynasty of Babylon, were at one time called Chaldean rather than Persian kings. That the Chaldeans mentioned in the "Conversion of Georgia" refer to the Persians is also clearly seen from the context — after all, contemporary with Alexander the Great, it was Achaemenid Persia that had political significance in the world. Very noteworthy in this regard are the observations of K. S. Kekelidze, who noted that in the monuments of ancient Georgian literature, ancient Iran is often mentioned as the country of the Babylonians or Chaldeans; this, according to the scholar, is quite logical if one considers that the country of the Chaldeans was also part of Persia (Kekelidze K. S. Notes from the history of ancient Georgian literature: Itrudzhan. — In: Studies on the history of ancient Georgian literature, I, Tb., 1956, p. 269, in Georgian).

^[3] Considering the Chaldeans to be Babylonians, E. S. Takayshvili understood "honni" as "huriani" (the ancient Georgian name for Jews) and connected the fact noted in the "Conversion of Georgia" with the resettlement of Jews by the Babylonian king of the Chaldean dynasty, Nebuchadnezzar II (640–562 BC). Based on this understanding, he interpreted the ancient Georgian word "gamoskhuli" — "separated" (see Abuladze I. V. Dictionary of the Ancient Georgian Language, p. 45) as "exiled." But such an interpretation of the text seems to us incorrect. Firstly, E. S. Takayshvili, without justification, as already noted in the specialized literature (see Janashia S. N. The most ancient national information about the place of the original habitation of the Georgians. — Works, vol. II, Tb., 1952, p. 42), believed that in the original a titlo was omitted above the word "honni" and read this word as "huriani." Besides, this passage refers to a fact contemporary with Alexander the Great, i.e., which took place several centuries after Nebuchadnezzar II's capture of Jerusalem and the resettlement of the Jews from there. S. N. Janashia understood "honni" as Huns, considering this an anachronism. However, it seems to us that there is no reason to attribute such a gross error to the author of the "Conversion of Georgia." At the current stage of research, the question of the identification of this ethnonym, apparently, to avoid error, is best left open.

^[4] It is believed that the ethnonym "Bun-Turks" is a compound, where the word "bun" is a definition by which the author of the "Conversion of Georgia" wanted to emphasize the non-identity of the Turks who lived in Georgia during the time of Alexander the Great with the Turks contemporary to the author. The word "bun" is interpreted differently. E. S. Takayshvili, for example, believed that Bun-Turks (he wrote Bunturks) are Turkic spearmen, since, according to the scholar, "bun" is an Armenian word meaning the handle of a spear (see p. 1, 2, note 2). In modern specialized literature, preference is given to the interpretation proposed by M. Brosset, according to which the indicated ethnonym should be understood as "indigenous, true Turks" (Brosset M. Histoire de la Gèorgie, I partie, 1849, p. 30-33; see also Melikishvili G. A. On the history of ancient Georgia. — Tb., 1959, p. 125; he also, Bun-Turks. — Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia, vol. 2, p. 572; Janashia N. S. On the sources of the "Life of the Georgian Kings." — In: Historical and source studies essays, — Tb., 1986, p. 96, note 10, in Georgian). The word "bun" in addition to the indicated meaning also has the meaning of "sedentary" — mkvidri (see Abuladze I. V. Dictionary of the Ancient Georgian Language. — Tb., 1973, p. 37). For this case, it is precisely this meaning that seems most appropriate. Firstly, according to the context, the Bun-Turks are indeed sedentary — they live in cities. In addition, in the second half of the 5th century, when the "Conversion of Georgia" was compiled, Turkic tribes could mostly have been known as nomads (see Eremeev D. E. Ethnogenesis of the Turks. — M., 1971). Consequently, the definition "bun" as an explanation to the ethnonym "Turks" for the contemporaries of the author of the "Conversion of Georgia" was indeed necessary. For completeness of information about the Bun-Turks, one can also refer to the work of M. Seidov "An attempt at etymological analysis of the word Bunturki/Buntürki" (Reports of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR. 1969, vol. XXV, No. 8, pp. 91-93), in which the word "bun" is connected with Turkic languages and the ethnonym as a whole is interpreted as "Turkic tribe." More about the Bun-Turks.

^[5] In ancient Georgian sources, "tribute" is conveyed with the word "kharki." Considering the obvious consonance of this word with "Kherki," the author tried to reveal the etymology of this toponym.

After him [Aderki] his sons reigned. During their reign, Vespasian ^[1], the Roman Caesar, destroyed Jerusalem, and the Jews who fled from there came to Mtskheta and settled next to the Jews who had lived there from ancient times, and with them were the sons of Barabas, whom the Jews released during the crucifixion in place of our Lord Jesus. Bartom and Kartam reigned peacefully and in mutual love. Bartom had a son named Kaos, and Kartam had a son named Parsman. Bartom and Kartam died, and after them their sons remained kings: in Armazi – Parsman, and in the inner city – Kaos.

^[1] Titus Flavius Vespasianus — Roman emperor from December 20, 69 to 79 AD.