Berzhe, Adolph Petrovich

Archeologist, Caucasus researcher.

Born July 28, 1828, in St. Petersburg. Was educated in Gatchina Orphan Institute, Reformation School (1836-1838), and Zapintini Pension. In 1847, Berzhe entered the Orient Department of St. Petersburg University. In 1851, graduated and was appointed a clerk in the registry of Prince M.S. Vorontsov, the Caucasus Vicegerent. In 1853, Berzhe was sent to Persia on a purpose of scientific research where he visited cities of Tavriz, Kazvin, Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, and others. Returned to Tiflis in 1854 and was dispatched to Persia again in 1855. From 1864 to his last day was the chairman of the Caucasus Archeology Commission.

A.P. Berzhe deceased in Tiflis on January 31, 1886.

Among Berzhe's multiple works on history and antiques, mainly of the Caucasus and Middle East, the most significant one should be acknowledged the eleven volumes of Acts Collected by the Caucasus Archeology Commission of the Caucasus Vicegerent Administration (published under Berzhe's editorship in Tiflis, 1866-1886), in which the materials on the Caucasus history are collected until 1863; the eleventh volume was published upon Berzhe's death. Also should be noted: Chechnya and Chechens (Tiflis, 1859), History of Adygei People Recited by Shora Bemurzin Nogmov after Kabardin Legends (Tiflis, 1861), The Archeological Caucasus (Tiflis, 1874) ? this work was also published in The Notes of the Caucasus Archeology Amateur Society (Berzhe was a founder and the most active member of this society), N.N. Muravyov in the Time of His Being Vicegerent in the Caucasus, 1854-1856 (an historic essay published in Russkaya Starina (Russia's Old Days) almanac of 1873, book 10), Ethnographic Review of the Caucasus (St. Petersburg, 1879), Georgia's Accession to Russia, 1799-1831 (an historic research paper, Russkaya Starina, 1880, volume 28), and many other articles on the Caucasus history, published in Russkaya Starina and Caucasian Calendar.

On history and antiques of the Orient, Berzhe published Abstracts on a Journey to Persia in 1853-1854 (Tiflis, 1854), On People's Holidays, Fasts, and Remarkable Days with Shiite Muslims in General and Persians in Particular (published in Caucasian Calendar 1856 and separately), pocket dictionary Dictionnaire Persan-Francais (Leipzig, 1968) compiled exclusively for Persian official document translators, Die Sanger des XVIII und XIX Jahrhunderts in adserbeidshanischer Mundart (Leipzig, 1869), a collection of almost all poetry literature of Transcaucasian Muslims published, according to a German critic Zarneke, excellently and with deep knowledge of the subject, and many other works.