On the date when Christianity became the state religion of Georgia

Abstract

In the Georgian chronicles it is specified that the acceptance of Christianity in Georgia is connected with the fact that, during a hunt, King Mirian suddenly became aware that it was dark and that the Sun had disappeared from the sky. Accordingly, it is considered that Christianity in Georgia was announced to be the state religion after this event in the fourth century. In the 1930s the well-known Georgian historian Ivane Javakhishvili asked astronomers to answer the question of whether there was a solar eclipse in Georgia in the fourth century or not. Now we have found that a total solar eclipse occurred in Georgia on 6 May 319 AD.