''Dzala ertobashia'' (

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

: ძალა ერთობაშია, , "Strength is in Unity") is the official motto of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. It originally comes from a famous

fable Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular mo ...

Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani Prince Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani ( ka, სულხან-საბა ორბელიანი ) (November 4, 1658 – January 26, 1725) was a Georgian writer and diplomat. Orbeliani is noted in part due to his important role as an emissary of ...

of the same name. According to this fable, once upon a time there lived a king with thirty sons. One day, when he was dying, he called his sons and asked them to bring arrows. Then king asked them to break the arrows one by one, and the sons did. The king then asked them to break the arrows all at once, and they could not. The king said: "Teach O my sons from this fact, that there is ''‘strength in unity.’'' If you are together, an enemy cannot do you wrong, but if you are divided, victory will be on their side." The problem of unity is very real for the Georgian state, exemplified by the ongoing Russian occupations of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and thus was likely a factor in the decision to make the phrase the national motto.

Usage elsewhere

Versions of this phrase are the

national motto This article lists state and national mottos for the world's nations. The mottos for some states lacking general international recognition, extinct states, non-sovereign nations, regions, and territories are listed, but their names are not bold ...

s of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, and

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

, and also formerly in the historical Traansvaal,

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...

(as '' Ex Unitate Vires''), and Malaya. There is a popular legend in Bulgaria about

Kubrat Kubrat ( el, Κοβρᾶτος, Kούβρατος; bg, Кубрат ) was the ruler of the Onogur–Bulgars, credited with establishing the confederation of Old Great Bulgaria in ca. 632. His name derived from the Turkic words ''qobrat'' — ...

, ruler of

Great Bulgaria Old Great Bulgaria or Great Bulgaria (Medieval Greek: Παλαιά Μεγάλη Βουλγαρία, ''Palaiá Megálē Voulgaría''), also often known by the Latin names ''Magna Bulgaria'' and ''Patria Onoguria'' ("Onoğurs, Onogur land"), w ...

, who also gave his sons the same advice by the same example.

Usage elsewhere

See also