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| History of Georgia |
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Before the 10th-century unification of the country by the Bagrationi dynasty, several Georgian states (including Iberia and Colchis) subsisted between the Roman Empire (the Byzantine Empire after the fall of Rome's western half) on the west and the Sassanid Empire (later replaced by the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates) on the east. Between the 11th and 15th centuries, the Kingdom of Georgia was a major regional power which withstood invasions by the Seljuk, Mongol and Timurid Empires before its fragmentation and submission to the Ottoman and Safavid Empires. Many Georgians fought in the armies of empires that ruled the country since the 16th century, be it the Safavids (and successive Afsharids and Qajars), the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union. Since 1991, independent Georgia has taken part in a number of wars; its conflict with Russia culminated in the 2008 Russo–Georgian War, and its alliance with the United States led to Georgia's participation in the Afghan and Iraq Wars.