How did Georgian chronicles develop from legends into historical writing?

The evolution of Georgian chronicles from legends into genuine historical writing was a gradual process that occurred between the 10th and 13th centuries.1

Early works, such as Moktseva Kartlisa ("The Conversion of Georgia," c. 950) and the foundational Kartlis tskhovreba ("The Life of Kartli," compiled 10th–13th centuries), represent this transition. These texts began as collections of traditional narratives and legends but increasingly incorporated more structured, factual accounts, eventually coalescing into a form of genuine historiography. This development was part of a broader literary tradition that emerged following the 4th-century conversion to Christianity and the creation of the Georgian alphabet, which initially focused on ecclesiastical literature, including biographies of Church Fathers.1