This year Edvard Vasilievich Rtveladze, the Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, an emonent scholar in history, archeology, numismatics, culture and art of Central Asia and neighboring countries, was 60. He was born in the city of Borzhomi (Georgia), graduated from the Tashkent State University. In Leningrad in 1975 he successfully defended dissertation on the subject “To the History of Urban Culture of the Northern Caucuses and its Contacts with Central Asia”.
In 1985 E. Rtveladze became a laureate of the State Prize by Beruni. Archeological materials obtained in archeological expeditions in Central Asia became a basis of his doctoral dissertation “Ancient Bactria-Tokharistan. Dynamics of Historical and Cultural Development”.
The Tokharistan Archeological Expeditions he founded at the end of 90s renewed excavation, started in 80s, at the antique settlement of Kampirtepa where, at first time in archeological practice in Central Asia, the full revelation of the settlement dated from the 1st – 2nd centuries A.D. has been done. Continuing traditions of his teachers, academicians M.E. Masson and G.A. Pugachenkova, E. Rtveladze pays much attention to training of young scientists who now successfully works not only in our country but also abroad.
E. Rtveladze is a scholar with a world name. His works are published in different countries including France, Japan, England and USA. He published 20 monographs and about 600 articles dedicated to fundamental problems of Central Asia. As a participant of numerous archeological conferences, E. Rtveladze gave lectures on the history of Central Asia in universities and institutes of Washington, London, Paris, Turin, Nicosia, Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo, Stockholm, Moscow, Leningrad, Zurich and some others.
In 1995 E. Rtveladze was elected an academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan. He is a member of VAC, a member of editorial boards of journals “Obshestvennie Nauki Uzbekistana”, “Uzbekiston tarihi”, “San’at”, annual journal “Silk Road Art and Archeology”(Japan), a chairman of the series “The Culture of Central Asia in written sources, documents and materials”. E. Rtveladze is a scientific editor of 100 publications including publications devoted to anniversaries of cities and outstanding historical persons of Uzbekistan “Amir Temur v mirovoi istorii”, “Khiva – gorod tisyachi cupolov”, “Svet iz glubini vekov”, “Djalal-ad-din Manguberdi”, “Termez – drevniy I noviy gorod na perekrestkah velikih dorog” and others.
E. Rtveladze has worked out fundamental issues of early medieval numismatics of Chach. Using a principle of classification of Sogdian coins by tamgas, the scholar specified basic independent coinages of Chach among huge numismatic materials from archeological excavations. His searches actually formed the scientific foundations of early medieval Chach numismatics, and all later works were based and will be based on these foundations in future.
Study of city planning, architecture, fine and applied arts is one of the most important aspects of art history. Fundamental role in the study of ancient and early medieval stages in the development of these arts belongs to archeological and art historical exploration. It is impossible to imagine this field of science without a name of Academician E. Rtveladze. Having irreproachable scope of data knowledge he exposes in his works sweeping generalizations, synthesizing methods of archeological and art historical searches.
The works of E. Rtveladze give the impulse to the elaboration of general fields of art history, a topicality of which is strengthened in the context of new historical realty. The study of art culture evolution within the context of the history of state system of Uzbekistan, getting topical in 1990s, has special significance. He is an author (in cooperation with A.H. Saidov) of fundamental monographs “Ocherki po istorii zivilizazyi Uzbekistana. Gosudarstvennost i pravo”. E. Rtveladze and D. Alimova supervise the fundamental work “Istoriya gosudarstvennosti Uzbekistana”, which is being prepared for publication now. In the nearest future monographs by E. Rtveladze “Alexander Macedonsky v Bactrii I Sogdiane” will be issued. In 1999 the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan awarded E. Rtveladze a gold medal and diploma of the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan “For Outstanding Contribution to the Study of Culture”, and for the book “Velikiy shelkoviy put” E. Rtveladze received a diploma of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic for the best research in the field of the humanities.
The government of Uzbekistan highly appreciated the merits of Edvard Vasilievich Rtveladze. In 2001 he was awarded the order “Buyuk hizmatlari uchun”. He was also awarded the order of honour “Girdebis oredeni” by the Republic of Georgia.
…Each spring and summer, as previously, he goes to the excavation of his favorite settlement of Kampir-tepa, in the past being a lively crossroad of the world history and culture of many peoples where from time immemorial the courses of the Great Silk Road met stretching over many thousands kilometers.