Located between Russia and Turkey and surrounded on the Eastern boarder by Azerbaijan and Armenia, the country of Georgia has been the seat of numerous kingdoms and empires throughout history. From the kingdoms of Colchis and Kartli-Iberia before Christ to the Roman and Ottoman empires during the classical periods to the Russian empire and even the USSR in a more contemporary age, Georgia has long enjoyed its status as a crossroads for ethnic and religious groups. Home to Muslims, Christians, Arabs, Persians, and more, the area is rich and diverse-a conquest worth making for many emperors across history (CIA). Today, as an independent republic, the country of Georgia boasts both a strong economy and an often-stable government, although recent uprisings have questioned the degree of stability the government possesses. A prime location for both tourists and foreign investors, Georgia enjoys a similarly impressive status in today's world.
             Although the history and demographics of the area certainly make it an interesting subject for study, speculation about why the region has been so sought-after throughout the centuries is more complex. While the area's importance in regards to empires may have led to the continual struggles over its possession that seem to characterize the region's history, its natural resources can be similarly viewed as important to its position of importance in history. In fact, by studying both Georgia's military and economic natural resources, Geographers and historians can agree that the country's rich natural resources are a plausible cause for the conflicts that have raged throughout history for ownership of the area, in addition to the area's rich economy and tourism industry today.
             From the beginning of prehistory through the modern age, landscape has been an important part of military strategy. Those areas with natural boarders and fortifications have traditionally been hard to penetrate, while f...