Georgian is the primary and official language of Georgia and the literary language of the Kartvelian language family, which has no proven genetic relationship to any other language family in the world. The Georgian script (Mkhedruli) is one of only fourteen unique scripts in the world and dates in its earliest form to the 5th century AD. Classical Georgian literature flourished in the medieval period, most notably with Shota Rustaveli's 12th-century epic poem 'The Knight in the Panther's Skin'. The language survived Mongol, Persian, Ottoman, and Russian domination, remaining central to Georgian cultural and religious identity, especially through the Georgian Orthodox Church. Modern Georgian is spoken by approximately four million people in Georgia and diaspora communities.
