Ekvtime Takaishvili - Historian, Archaeologist, Pedagogue and Public Figure

Ekvtime Takaishvili was born on 5 January 1862 in the village of Likhauri, in the Ozurgeti district of Georgia. His father, Simon Takaishvili, a member of the Georgian nobility, died shortly after his birth, while his mother, Nino, daughter of Prince Gituli Nakashidze, passed away when he was five years old. Following the loss of his parents, his relatives took responsibility for his upbringing.

At the age of seven, Takaishvili enrolled at the Ozurgeti District School, where he studied religious doctrine under Archpriest Simon, the brother of Bishop Gabriel Kikodze. After completing his studies in Ozurgeti, he spent a year in Poti before continuing his education in the second grade of the Kutaisi Progymnasium. In 1879, he transferred to the Kutaisi Classical Gymnasium, entering the fifth grade. Upon graduating in 1883, Ekvtime Takaishvili travelled to St. Petersburg, where he studied at the Faculty of History and Philology of the University, specialising in Greek and Latin languages (1883–1887).

Upon returning to Georgia, Takaishvili began his professional career as a teacher. He taught Greek and Latin, as well as history and geography.

After completing four years of study in St. Petersburg, the young Ekvtime Takaishvili returned to Georgia and began working as a Latin teacher at the Tbilisi Noblemen’s School. As he had not yet gained experience in teaching classical languages, he initially attended the lessons of distinguished classicists teaching at Tbilisi gymnasiums. He subsequently worked as a teacher of history and Latin at the Second Women’s Gymnasium and the Sixth Men’s Gymnasium in Tbilisi.

In 1894, Ekvtime Takaishvili was elected head of the Tbilisi Noblemen’s School. Under his leadership, the school attracted some of the finest teachers, the number of pupils increased considerably, and improvements in teaching raised the overall standard of students’ knowledge. Although the institution was officially designated as a noblemen’s school, thanks to the efforts of leaders such as Takaishvili, talented children from families belonging to the so-called lower social classes were also secretly admitted.

In addition to achieving academic success, the young people studying there developed a strong sense of patriotism. Despite persecution by officials of the Tsarist regime, they refused to submit, continued their education, and prepared themselves to serve their nation. Ekvtime Takaishvili was a strict yet deeply beloved mentor to these students, as well as a respected and highly esteemed leader of the teaching staff, a position he held for ten years.

In 1904, Takaishvili left the school. However, as he needed to provide for his newly established family, he continued working as a history and Latin teacher at various state gymnasiums in Tbilisi until the founding of the Georgian University.

Ekvtime Takaishvili made a significant contribution to the establishment of Tbilisi University. Together with Ivane Javakhishvili, he was elected to the commission of the “Society for the Georgian University” to draft the university’s statute and address other organisational matters.

On 12 May 1917, the first meeting of the founders of the University Society was held at the residence of Petre Melikishvili. The meeting, attended by 28 people, was chaired by Ekvtime Takaishvili. Early 1918 was designated as the tentative date for the university’s establishment. Ekvtime became a member of the commission responsible for organising academic matters.

Following the university’s opening, Ekvtime Takaishvili lectured in archaeology and served as Head of the Department of Archaeology. On 21 May 1918, the Council of Tbilisi University awarded him a doctoral degree. By 1920, Ekvtime Takaishvili was delivering three lectures per week: Introduction to the Antiquities of Georgia (Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages); General Survey of the Antiquities of Georgia’s Historical Period; Epigraphy and the History of Churches and Monasteries.

In January 1888, Ekvtime Takaishvili became a member of the Board of the Society for the Spreading of Literacy among Georgians. His name is associated with the establishment of numerous schools, the publication of books, the enrichment of the Society’s library and museum, and the preservation of numerous Georgian manuscripts, historical documents and other antiquities.

In 1899, Ekvtime Takaishvili founded a highly significant scholarly series - "Georgian Antiquities", followed later by "Old Georgia". He personally edited the volumes of both series. These publications preserved invaluable information about Georgia’s antiquities, historical charters and deeds, as well as facts of historical significance.

In 1907, on the initiative of Ekvtime Takaishvili, the Georgian Historical and Ethnographic Society was founded. Beginning in 1908, the Society organised archaeological expeditions in Kartli. In 1910, similar expeditions were conducted in Lechkhumi and Svaneti, and in 1913, in Guria-Samegrelo and Imereti. Between 1902 and 1917, Ekvtime Takaishvili travelled to southern Georgia on three occasions, and in 1919-1920, he travelled to Racha. During these expeditions, important information about Georgia’s historical monuments was collected and subsequently published.

In 1917, under the leadership of Spiridon Kedia, the National Democratic Party was established. Niko Nikoladze served as the party’s honorary leader, while Ekvtime Takaishvili was among Spiridon Kedia’s closest associates.

In November 1917, Ekvtime Takaishvili participated in the work of the National Council of Georgia on behalf of this party. His signature appears on the Act of Independence of Georgia, which was adopted by the National Council at its very first session.

In 1919, Ekvtime Takaishvili was elected as a member of the Constituent Assembly on the National Democratic Party’s electoral list. From 1919 to 1921, he served as a member of the Presidium of Georgia’s legislative body and as Deputy Chairman. He was also a member of the Territorial Commission, which was tasked with examining the disputed territories between Armenia and Georgia. He was entrusted with documenting the condition of churches and monasteries and cataloguing their antiquities. Ekvtime Takaishvili continued his active political and cultural work while in exile.

In 1921, following the occupation of the Democratic Republic of Georgia by Soviet Russia, Ekvtime Takaishvili was first entrusted with the evacuation of museum antiquities to Batumi and subsequently with the supervision and protection of the National Treasury. He was thus forced into exile. Together with his wife, Nina Poltoratskaya, he settled in Leuville, near Paris.

During his exile, he continued his scholarly activities. In 1922, he was elected a member of the Numismatic Society of Paris, and in 1925, a full member of the French Asiatic Society. Between 1937 and 1939, while in exile, Ekvtime headed the “Fund for the Publication of Georgian Cultural and Archaeological Materials”, which he had founded. He was also elected to the Academic Council of the London-based scholarly periodical "Georgika". Ekvtime actively contributed to Georgian periodicals, including the newspaper "Independent Georgia" and the journals "Samshoblo", "Kavkasioni", "Jvari Vazisa", "Kartlosi", and "Bedi Kartlisa". He also participated in the establishment of the Georgian Church of St. Nino in Paris and was elected a permanent member of its Board of Trustees.

Through his efforts, towards the end of the Second World War, an agreement was reached between the Government of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in exile and the State Museum of the Georgian SSR concerning the transfer to the museum of the National Treasury that had been taken out of Georgia. On 11 April 1945, Ekvtime Takaishvili brought Georgia’s National Treasury back to his homeland.