History & Heraldry

At the beginning of the 19th century the territories south of the Caucasus were obtained by Russia, be it by treaty or by conquest.

After the Bagration dynasty was deposed in Georgia the annexation of Mingrelia followed in 1803 and the annexation of Guria and Imeretia in 1804. In 1806 Ossetia was annexated and, last but not least Abchasia in 1810. Simultaneously some Kaukasian chanates were obtained by treaty from Persia: Ganja in 1804; Karabagh and Shirvan in 1805; Baku, Kuban and Sheka in 1806; Talysh in 1813; Eriwan and Nachitshewan in 1828.

In this territory the Gruzino-Imeretinskian Government was set up. A coat of arms for this Government was adopted in 1851

Gruzino-Imeretinskian Government

Arms: ¼: 1. Or, mount Ararat, on its summit Noah’s Ark, proper (for Armenia); 2. Or, a wide fess wavy Azure (for the Black Sea); 3. Barry wavy of five pieces Or and Azure (for the Kur and Arax rivers); 4. Or, a snow-covered peak proper (for Kasbek). In fess point: Argent, St. George on a black horse riding  to the sinister, spearing the dragon, all proper.

Crest: A two-headed eagle issuant Sable, billed and clawed Or, its heads royally crowned, and recrowned with an imperial crown, in his dexter claw a thunderbolt and in his sinister a crown of laurel. On his breast the arms of Moscow: Gules, St. George and the dragon, proper.

By resolution, 22th of June 1851 [1]

Caucasia (Georgia)

A royal coat of arms for the caucasian territories was designed for the larger russian achievement of 8 December 1856. It comprises the arms of Iberia, Kartalinia (Karthili), Kabardia, Armenia and Circassia and the arms of Georgia on an escutcheon, as earlier in the ‘Titularnike’ of 1672.  The arms of Georgia alone are since then on the sinister wing of a version of the russian eagle.

Arms: ¼: 1. Gules, a rearing horse, in sinister chief and in dexter base eight pointed stars Argent (Iberia/Georgia); 2. Or, a volcano Vert with flames proper, pierced by two arrows in saltire Sable (Karthili); 3. Azure, two arrows in saltire Argent, charged in fess point with an escutcheon Or, a crescent Gules, and three six-pointed stars Argent, one in chief and the other two in dexter and sinister fess (Kabardia); 4. Or, a lion rampant Gules, crowned of the field (Armenia); enté en point Or, a cerkess riding on horseback, his horse Sable, his armoury  Argent, vested Gules and with a mantle Sable, his lance Sable (Circassia). And in fess point: Or, Saint George and the dragon, his armoury Azure with a cross Or, his mantle Gules, his horse Sable with clothes Purpure fringed Or, his lance Gules, the dragon Vert, winged Sable (Georgia).

By Resolution, 8th of December 1856  [2]

In 1878 Kars was added to Armenia.

Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic

22.04.1918-25.05.1918

After the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917 an attempt was made to unite the southern caucasian territories of Kutais, Tiflis, Kars, Eriwan, Jelisawetpol and Baku in the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (TDFR; Закавказская демократическая Федеративная Республика (ЗКДФР); Zakavkazskaya Demokraticheskaya Federativnaya Respublika (ZKDFR); also known as the Transcaucasian Federation. This federation existed from 22 April until 25 May 1918. 

The federation had a flag consisting of three breadths yellow, black and red but its existence was too short to adopt a state emblem.

Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic

12.03.1922-05.12.1936

In 1922 a second and more succesful attempt was made when the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (Закавказская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика – ЗСФСР, Zakavkazskaya Sovetskaya Federativnaya Sotsalisticheskaya Respublika – ZSFSR), also known as the Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Transcaucasian SFSR and the TSFSR, was founded consisting of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

This federation had a flag as well as a state emblem. This last was inspired by the emblem of Georgia which had the Ararat mountains and a hammer and sickle surrounded by a five-pointed star of georgian folkloristic design.

Arms of the Transcaucasian Federal Socialist Soviet Republic, 1922-‘23

(Modern rendering)

Arms: The mountainpeaks of  the Büyük Agri dagi (5165 m) and the Kücük Agri dagi (3925 m) (The Greater and the Lesser Mount Ararat) proper, over all a hammer-and-sickle in saltire and a five-pointed star radiant Gules, in base a crescent Argent.

Bordure: A five-pointed star decorated with caucasian ornaments.

On bank notes, 1923 [3]

* This is a perfect combination of the mountains in the arms of Armenia, the moon and star of Azerbaijjan and the bordure of Georgia.

A new emblem appeared in 1923. It is:

Arms of the Transcaucasian Federal Socialist Soviet Republic, 1923-‘24

(Modern rendering)

Arms: A mountainridge representing the Caucasus over which a sun radiant is rising, all proper, charged with a hammer and sickle in saltire O, in chief a five-pointed star Gules, in base on the dexter works, on the sinister derricks and in point a stalk of maize, branches of cotton, a bunch of grapes and wine-leaves, and ears of wheat and rice all proper.

Bordure: A five-pointed star decorated with caucasian ornaments.

This is a combination of the Caucasian Mountain ridge, the works and derricks of Azerbaijjan and the garland and star of Georgia. [4]

The achievement apparently has been used 1923-1924.

In 1925 the star was replaced by a bordure with the name of the federation:

Arms: A mountainridge representing the Caucasus over which a sun radiant is rising, all proper, charged with a hammer and sickle in saltire O, in chief a five-pointed star Gules, in base on the dexter works, on the sinister derricks and in point a stalk of maize, branches of cotton, a bunch of grapes and wine-leaves, and ears of wheat and rice all proper.

Motto: пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! on an escroll Or.

Bordure: Gules, the initial letters of the Transcaucasian Federation, in armenian, russian, georgian and persian, separated by five-pointed stars, Or.

By Constitution 11th of April 1925.

In 1930 the persian inscription was replaced by latin letters.

Æ See illustration in the head of this essay.

When Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia were incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1936, the federation was dissoluted.