Abkhazia

Abkhazia[a] (/æbˈkɑːziə/ (audio speaker iconlisten) ab-KAH-zee-ə or /æbˈkeɪziə/ ab-KAY-zee-ə), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognized state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which views the region as an autonomous republic. It lies on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, south of the Greater Caucasus mountains in northwestern Georgia. It covers 8,665 square kilometres (3,346 sq mi) and has a population of around 245,000. Its capital and largest city is Sukhumi. Locals call Abkhazia "Apsny" which means "country of the soul".

Flag

The status of Abkhazia is a central issue of the Georgian–Abkhazian conflict and Georgia–Russia relations. The polity is recognised as a state by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria. While Georgia lacks control over Abkhazia, the Georgian government and most United Nations member states consider Abkhazia legally part of Georgia, with Georgia maintaining an official government-in-exile.

The region had autonomy within Soviet Georgia at the time when the Soviet Union began to disintegrate in the late 1980s. Simmering ethnic tensions between the Abkhaz—the region's titular ethnicity—and Georgians—the largest single ethnic group at that time—culminated in the 1992–1993 War in Abkhazia, which resulted in Georgia's loss of control over most of Abkhazia and the ethnic cleansing of Georgians from Abkhazia.

Despite a 1994 ceasefire agreement and years of negotiations, the dispute remains unresolved. The long-term presence of a United Nations Observer Mission and a Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States peacekeeping force failed to prevent the flare-up of violence on several occasions. In August 2008, Abkhaz and Russian forces fought a war against Georgian forces, which led to the formal recognition of Abkhazia by Russia, the annulment of the 1994 ceasefire agreement and the termination of the UN mission. On 28 August 2008, the Parliament of Georgia declared Abkhazia a Russian-occupied territory, a position reflected by most United Nations member states.

Emblem

Name

The Abkhazians call their homeland Аԥсны (Apsny, Aṗsny), popularly etymologised as "a land/country of the soul", yet literally meaning "a country of mortals (mortal beings)". It possibly first appeared in the seventh century in an Armenian text as Psin(oun), perhaps referring to the ancient Apsilians. The term "Apkhazeti" first appeared in the Georgian annals, which is of Mingrelian origin "Apkha" meaning back or shoulder[better source needed], gave rise to the name Abkhazia. It was used to denote Abasgia proper and entire Western Georgia within the Kingdom of Georgia. In early Muslim sources, the term "Abkhazia" was generally used in the meaning of Georgia. The Russian Абхазия (Abkhaziya) is adapted from the Georgian აფხაზეთი (Apkhazeti). Abkhazia's name in most languages are derived directly from the Russian.

The state is formally designated as the "Republic of Abkhazia" or "Apsny".

Traditional English and Latin spelling is Abhasia.

History

Main article: History of Abkhazia

Early history

Between the 9th and 6th centuries BC, the territory of modern Abkhazia was part of the ancient Georgian kingdom of Colchis. Around the 6th century BC, the Greeks established trade colonies along the Black Sea coast of present-day Abkhazia, in particular at Pitiunt and Dioscurias.

Classical authors described various peoples living in the region and the great multitude of languages they spoke. Arrian, Pliny and Strabo have given accounts of the Abasgoi and Moschoi peoples somewhere in modern Abkhazia on the eastern shore of the Black Sea. This region was subsequently absorbed in 63 BC into the Kingdom of Lazica.

Within the Roman/Byzantine Empire

The Roman Empire conquered Lazica in the 1st century AD; however, the Romans exercise little control over the hinterland of Abkhazia. According to Arrian, the Abasgoi and Apsilae peoples were nominal Roman subjects, and there was a small Roman outpost in Dioscurias. After the 4th century Lazica regained a measure of independence, but remained within the Byzantine Empire's sphere of influence. Anacopia was the principality's capital. The country was mostly Christian, with the archbishop's seat in Pityus.[36] Although the exact time when the population of the region of Abkhazia was converted to Christianity has not been determined,[citation needed] it is known that Stratophilus, the Metropolitan of Pityus, participated in the First Council of Nicaea in 325. According to an Eastern tradition Simon the Zealot died in Abkhazia having come there on a missionary trip and was buried in Nicopsis.

Around the middle of the 6th century AD, the Byzantines and the neighbouring Sassanid Persia fought for supremacy over Abkhazia for 20 years, a conflict known as the Lazic War. In 550, during the Lazic War, the Abasgians (Abasgoi) revolted against the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire and called upon Sasanian assistance. General Bessas, however, suppressed the Abasgian revolt.

An Arab incursion into Abasgia, led by Marwan II, was repelled by Prince Leon I jointly with his Lazic and Iberian allies in 736. Leon I then married Mirian's daughter and a successor, Leon II exploited this dynastic union to acquire Lazica in the 770s. Presumably considered as a successor state of Lazica (Egrisi in Georgian sources), this new polity continued to be referred to as Egrisi in some contemporary Georgian and Armenian chronicles (e.g. The Vitae of the Georgian Kings by Leonti Mroveli and The History of Armenia by Hovannes Draskhanakertsi).

Within the Georgian sphere

The successful defence against the Arab Caliphate, and new territorial gains in the east, gave the Abasgian princes enough power to claim more autonomy from the Byzantine Empire. Towards circa 778, Prince Leon II, with the help of the Khazars declared independence from the Byzantine Empire and transferred his residence to Kutaisi. During this period the Georgian language replaced Greek as the language of literacy and culture.

The Kingdom of Abkhazia was united through dynastic succession with the newly formed Kingdom of Georgia in 1008 when Bagrat II of Abkhazia b

The western Georgian kingdom of Abkhazia flourished between 850 and 950, which ended by unification of Abkhazia and eastern Georgian states under a single Georgian monarchy ruled by King Bagrat III at the end of the 10th century and the beginning of the 11th century.[citation needed]

In the 12th century, king David the Builder appointed Otagho as an Eristavi of Abkhazia, who later became the founder of House of Shervashidze (also known as Chachba).[citation needed]

In the 1240s, Mongols divided Georgia into eight military-administrative sectors (dumans), the territory of contemporary Abkhazia formed part of the duman administered by Tsotne Dadiani.[citation needed]

Ottoman domination

In the 16th century, after the break-up of the Georgian Kingdom into small kingdoms and principalities, Principality of Abkhazia (nominally a vassal of the Kingdom of Imereti) emerged, ruled by the Shervashidze dynasty. Since the 1570s, when the Ottoman navy occupied the fort of Tskhumi, Abkhazia came under the influence of the Ottoman Empire and Islam. Under Ottoman rule, the majority of the Abkhaz elite converted to Islam. The principality retained a degree of autonomy.

Abkhazia sought protection from the Russian Empire in 1801, but was declared "an autonomous principality" by the Russians in 1810. Russia then annexed Abkhazia in 1864, and Abkhaz resistance was quashed as the Russians deported Muslim Abkhaz to Ottoman territories.

Within the Russian Empire

The borders of the Sukhumi District of the Kutaisi Governorate in 1899 when Abkhazia was part of the Russian Empire.

In the beginning of the 19th century, while the Russians and Ottomans were vying for control of the region, the rulers of Abkhazia shifted back and forth across the religious divide. The first attempt to enter into relations with Russia was made by Keilash Bey in 1803, shortly after the incorporation of eastern Georgia into the expanding Tsarist empire (1801). However, the pro-Ottoman orientation prevailed for a short time after his assassination by his son Aslan-Bey on 2 May 1808. On 2 July 1810, the Russian Marines stormed Sukhum-Kale and had Aslan-Bey replaced with his rival brother, Sefer-Bey (1810–1821), who had converted to Christianity and assumed the name of George. Abkhazia joined the Russian Empire as an autonomous principality, in 1810. However, George's rule was limited and many mountain regions were as independent as before. The next Russo-Turkish war strongly enhanced the Russian positions, leading to a further split in the Abkhaz elite, mainly along religious divisions. During the Crimean War (1853–1856), Russian forces had to evacuate Abkhazia and Prince Michael (1822–1864) seemingly switched to the Ottomans.

Later on, the Russian presence strengthened and the highlanders of Western Caucasia were finally subjugated by Russia in 1864. The autonomy of Abkhazia, which had functioned as a pro-Russian "buffer zone" in this troublesome region, was no longer needed by the Tsarist government and the rule of the Shervashidze came to an end; in November 1864, Prince Michael was forced to renounce his rights and resettle in Voronezh. Later that same year, Abkhazia was incorporated into the Russian Empire as a special military province of Sukhum-Kale which was transformed, in 1883, into an okrug as part of the Kutais Governorate. Large numbers of Muslim Abkhazians, said to have constituted as much as 40% of the Abkhazian population, emigrated to the Ottoman Empire between 1864 and 1878 with other Muslim population of Caucasus, a process known as Muhajirism

Large areas of the region were left uninhabited and many Armenians, Georgians, Russians and others subsequently migrated to Abkhazia, resettling much of the vacated territory. Some Georgian historians assert that Georgian tribes (Svans and Mingrelians) had populated Abkhazia since the time of the Colchis kingdom.

By official decision of the Russian authorities the residents of Abkhazia and Samurzakano had to study and pray in Russian. After the mass deportation of 1878, Abkhazians were left in the minority, officially branded "guilty people", and had no leader capable of mounting serious opposition to Russification.

British mountaineer Douglas Freshfield (who led an expedition to the Caucasus and was the first to climb Kazbek) described the denuded territories of Abkhazia in a moving chapter 'The Solitude of Abkhazia' in The Exploration of the Caucasus published in 1892.

Abkhaz and Georgian generals in the Imperial Russian Army, 19th century

On 17 March 1898 the synodal department of the Russian Orthodox Church of Georgia-Imereti, by order 2771, again prohibited teaching and the conduct of religious services in church schools and churches of the Sukhumi district in Georgian. Mass protests by the Georgian population of Abkhazia and Samurzakano followed, news of which reached the Russian emperor. On 3 September 1898 the Holy Synod issued order 4880 which decreed that those parishes where the congregation was Mingrelians i.e. Georgians, conduct both church services and church education in Georgian, while Abkhazian parishes use old Slavic. In the Sukhumi district, this order was carried out in only three of 42 parishes. Tedo Sakhokia demanded the Russian authorities introduce Abkhazian and Georgian languages in church services and education. The official response was a criminal case brought against Tedo Sakhokia and leaders of his "Georgian Party" active in Abkhazia.

Within the Soviet Union

The Russian Revolution of 1917 led to the creation of an independent Georgia which included Abkhazia, in 1918.

Map of the Soviet Caucasus (1957–91) showing the Abkhaz ASSR within the Georgian SSR.

Abkhazia remained part of Georgia after a peasant revolt supported by Bolsheviks and a Turkish expedition were defeated in 1918 and the 1921 Georgian constitution granted Abkhazia autonomy.

In 1921, the Bolshevik Red Army invaded Georgia and ended its short-lived independence. Abkhazia was made a Socialist Soviet Republic (SSR Abkhazia) with the ambiguous status of a treaty republic associated with the Georgian SSR. In 1931, Joseph Stalin made it an autonomous republic (Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic or in short Abkhaz ASSR) within the Georgian SSR. Despite its nominal autonomy, it was subjected to strong direct rule from central Soviet authorities. Under the rule of Stalin and Beria Abkhaz schools were closed, requiring Abkhaz children to study in the Georgian language.[54][55][56] The publishing of materials in Abkhazian dwindled and was eventually stopped altogether; Abkhazian schools were closed in 1945/46. In the terror of 1937–38, the ruling elite was purged of Abkhaz and by 1952 over 80% of the 228 top party and government officials and enterprise managers were ethnic Georgians; there remained 34 Abkhaz, 7 Russians and 3 Armenians in these positions. Georgian Communist Party leader Candide Charkviani supported the Georgianization of Abkhazia.

The policy of repression was eased after Stalin's death and Beria's execution, and the Abkhaz were given a greater role in the governance of the republic. As in most of the smaller autonomous republics, the Soviet government encouraged the development of culture and particularly of literature. The Abkhazian ASSR was the only autonomous republic in the USSR in which the language of the titular nation (in that case Abkhazian) was confirmed in its constitution as one of its official languages

The status of Abkhazia is a central issue of the Georgian–Abkhazian conflict and Georgia–Russia relations. The polity is recognised as a state by RussiaRussia, VenezuelaVenezuela, NicaraguaNicaragua, NauruNauru, and Syria Syria. While Georgia lacks control over Abkhazia, the Georgian government and most United Nations member states consider Abkhazia legally part of GeorgiaGeorgia, with Georgia maintaining an official government-in-exile.

Abkhazia[a] (/æbˈkɑːziə/ (audio speaker iconlisten) ab-KAH-zee-ə or /æbˈkeɪziə/ ab-KAY-zee-ə[9]), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognized state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which views the region as an autonomous republic. It lies on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, south of the Greater Caucasus mountains in northwestern Georgia. It covers 8,665 square kilometres (3,346 sq mi) and has a population of around 245,000. Its capital and largest city is Sukhumi. Locals call Abkhazia "Apsny" which means "country of the soul".

Abkhazia[a] (/æbˈkɑːziə/ (audio speaker iconlisten) ab-KAH-zee-ə or /æbˈkeɪziə/ ab-KAY-zee-ə[9]), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognized state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which views the region as an autonomous republic. It lies on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, south of the Greater Caucasus mountains in northwestern Georgia. It covers 8,665 square kilometres (3,346 sq mi) and has a population of around 245,000. Its capital and largest city is SukhumiSukhumi. Locals call Abkhazia "Apsny" which means "country of the soul"

Despite a 1994 ceasefire agreement and years of negotiations, the dispute remains unresolved. The long-term presence of a United Nations Observer Mission and a Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States peacekeeping force failed to prevent the flare-up of violence on several occasions. In August 2008, Abkhaz and Russian forces fought a war against Georgian forces, which led to the formal recognition of Abkhazia by Russia, the annulment of the 1994 ceasefire agreement and the termination of the UN mission. On 28 August 2008, the Parliament of Georgia declared Abkhazia a Russian-occupied territory, a position reflected by most United Nations member states.[15]

The Abkhazians call their homeland Аԥсны (Apsny, Aṗsny), popularly etymologised as "a land/country of the soul",[16] yet literally meaning "a country of mortals (mortal beings)".[17] It possibly first appeared in the seventh century in an Armenian text as Psin(oun), perhaps referring to the ancient Apsilians.[18] The term "Apkhazeti" first appeared in the Georgian annals, which is of Mingrelian origin "Apkha" meaning back or shoulder[19][20][21][better source needed], gave rise to the name Abkhazia. It was used to denote Abasgia proper and entire Western Georgia within the Kingdom of Georgia. In early Muslim sources, the term "Abkhazia" was generally used in the meaning of Georgia.[22][23] The Russian Абхазия (Abkhaziya) is adapted from the Georgian აფხაზეთი (Apkhazeti). Abkhazia's name in most languages are derived directly from the Russian.

The state is formally designated as the "Republic of Abkhazia" or "Apsny".[10]

Between the 9th and 6th centuries BC, the territory of modern Abkhazia was part of the ancient Georgian kingdom of Colchis.[26][27][28][29] Around the 6th century BC, the Greeks established trade colonies along the Black Sea coast of present-day Abkhazia, in particular at Pitiunt and Dioscurias.

Classical authors described various peoples living in the region and the great multitude of languages they spoke.[30] Arrian, Pliny and Strabo have given accounts of the Abasgoi[31] and Moschoi[32] peoples somewhere in modern Abkhazia on the eastern shore of the Black Sea. This region was subsequently absorbed in 63 BC into the Kingdom of Lazica.[33][34]

The Roman Empire conquered Lazica in the 1st century AD; however, the Romans exercise little control over the hinterland of Abkhazia. According to Arrian, the Abasgoi and Apsilae peoples were nominal Roman subjects, and there was a small Roman outpost in Dioscurias.[35] After the 4th century Lazica regained a measure of independence, but remained within the Byzantine Empire's sphere of influence. Anacopia was the principality's capital. The country was mostly Christian, with the archbishop's seat in Pityus.[36] Although the exact time when the population of the region of Abkhazia was converted to Christianity has not been determined,[citation needed] it is known that Stratophilus, the Metropolitan of Pityus, participated in the First Council of Nicaea in 325.[37] According to an Eastern tradition Simon the Zealot died in Abkhazia having come there on a missionary trip and was buried in Nicopsis.[38]

Around the middle of the 6th century AD, the Byzantines and the neighbouring Sassanid Persia fought for supremacy over Abkhazia for 20 years, a conflict known as the Lazic War. In 550, during the Lazic War, the Abasgians (Abasgoi) revolted against the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire and called upon Sasanian assistance.[39] General Bessas, however, suppressed the Abasgian revolt.[39]

An Arab incursion into Abasgia, led by Marwan II, was repelled by Prince Leon I jointly with his Lazic and Iberian allies in 736. Leon I then married Mirian's daughter and a successor, Leon II exploited this dynastic union to acquire Lazica in the 770s.[40] Presumably considered as a successor state of Lazica (Egrisi in Georgian sources), this new polity continued to be referred to as Egrisi in some contemporary Georgian and Armenian chronicles (e.g. The Vitae of the Georgian Kings by Leonti Mroveli and The History of Armenia by Hovannes Draskhanakertsi).

In the 16th century, after the break-up of the Georgian Kingdom into small kingdoms and principalities, Principality of Abkhazia (nominally a vassal of the Kingdom of Imereti) emerged, ruled by the Shervashidze dynasty.[4] Since the 1570s, when the Ottoman navy occupied the fort of Tskhumi, Abkhazia came under the influence of the Ottoman Empire and Islam. Under Ottoman rule, the majority of the Abkhaz elite converted to Islam. The principality retained a degree of autonomy.[citation needed]

Abkhazia sought protection from the Russian Empire in 1801, but was declared "an autonomous principality" by the Russians in 1810.[42][43] Russia then annexed Abkhazia in 1864, and Abkhaz resistance was quashed as the Russians deported Muslim Abkhaz to Ottoman territories.[4][29][42]

In the beginning of the 19th century, while the Russians and Ottomans were vying for control of the region, the rulers of Abkhazia shifted back and forth across the religious divide.[44] The first attempt to enter into relations with Russia was made by Keilash Bey in 1803, shortly after the incorporation of eastern Georgia into the expanding Tsarist empire (1801). However, the pro-Ottoman orientation prevailed for a short time after his assassination by his son Aslan-Bey on 2 May 1808.[45] On 2 July 1810, the Russian Marines stormed Sukhum-Kale and had Aslan-Bey replaced with his rival brother, Sefer-Bey (1810–1821), who had converted to Christianity and assumed the name of George. Abkhazia joined the Russian Empire as an autonomous principality, in 1810.[4] However, George's rule was limited and many mountain regions were as independent as before.[46] The next Russo-Turkish war strongly enhanced the Russian positions, leading to a further split in the Abkhaz elite, mainly along religious divisions. During the Crimean War (1853–1856), Russian forces had to evacuate Abkhazia and Prince Michael (1822–1864) seemingly switched to the Ottomans.[47]

Later on, the Russian presence strengthened and the highlanders of Western Caucasia were finally subjugated by Russia in 1864. The autonomy of Abkhazia, which had functioned as a pro-Russian "buffer zone" in this troublesome region, was no longer needed by the Tsarist government and the rule of the Shervashidze came to an end; in November 1864, Prince Michael was forced to renounce his rights and resettle in Voronezh.[48] Later that same year, Abkhazia was incorporated into the Russian Empire as a special military province[4] of Sukhum-Kale which was transformed, in 1883, into an okrug as part of the Kutais Governorate. Large numbers of Muslim Abkhazians, said to have constituted as much as 40% of the Abkhazian population, emigrated to the Ottoman Empire between 1864 and 1878 with other Muslim population of Caucasus, a process known as Muhajirism

Large areas of the region were left uninhabited and many Armenians, Georgians, Russians and others subsequently migrated to Abkhazia, resettling much of the vacated territory.[49] Some Georgian historians assert that Georgian tribes (Svans and Mingrelians) had populated Abkhazia since the time of the Colchis kingdom.[50]

By official decision of the Russian authorities the residents of Abkhazia and Samurzakano had to study and pray in Russian. After the mass deportation of 1878, Abkhazians were left in the minority, officially branded "guilty people", and had no leader capable of mounting serious opposition to Russification.[51]

British mountaineer Douglas Freshfield (who led an expedition to the Caucasus and was the first to climb Kazbek) described the denuded territories of Abkhazia in a moving chapter 'The Solitude of Abkhazia' in The Exploration of the Caucasus published in 1892.[citation needed]

On 17 March 1898 the synodal department of the Russian Orthodox Church of Georgia-Imereti, by order 2771, again prohibited teaching and the conduct of religious services in church schools and churches of the Sukhumi district in Georgian. Mass protests by the Georgian population of Abkhazia and Samurzakano followed, news of which reached the Russian emperor. On 3 September 1898 the Holy Synod issued order 4880 which decreed that those parishes where the congregation was Mingrelians i.e. Georgians, conduct both church services and church education in Georgian, while Abkhazian parishes use old Slavic. In the Sukhumi district, this order was carried out in only three of 42 parishes.[51] Tedo Sakhokia demanded the Russian authorities introduce Abkhazian and Georgian languages in church services and education. The official response was a criminal case brought against Tedo Sakhokia and leaders of his "Georgian Party" active in Abkhazia.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 led to the creation of an independent Georgia which included Abkhazia, in 1918.[4]

Abkhazia remained part of Georgia after a peasant revolt supported by Bolsheviks and a Turkish expedition were defeated in 1918 and the 1921 Georgian constitution granted Abkhazia autonomy.[citation needed]

In 1921, the Bolshevik Red Army invaded Georgia and ended its short-lived independence. Abkhazia was made a Socialist Soviet Republic (SSR Abkhazia) with the ambiguous status of a treaty republic associated with the Georgian SSR.[4][52][53] In 1931, Joseph Stalin made it an autonomous republic (Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic or in short Abkhaz ASSR) within the Georgian SSR.[29] Despite its nominal autonomy, it was subjected to strong direct rule from central Soviet authorities. Under the rule of Stalin and Beria Abkhaz schools were closed, requiring Abkhaz children to study in the Georgian language.[54][55][56] The publishing of materials in Abkhazian dwindled and was eventually stopped altogether; Abkhazian schools were closed in 1945/46.[57] In the terror of 1937–38, the ruling elite was purged of Abkhaz and by 1952 over 80% of the 228 top party and government officials and enterprise managers were ethnic Georgians; there remained 34 Abkhaz, 7 Russians and 3 Armenians in these positions.[58] Georgian Communist Party leader Candide Charkviani supported the Georgianization of Abkhazia.[59]

The policy of repression was eased after Stalin's death[29] and Beria's execution, and the Abkhaz were given a greater role in the governance of the republic.[29] As in most of the smaller autonomous republics, the Soviet government encouraged the development of culture and particularly of literature.[60] The Abkhazian ASSR was the only autonomous republic in the USSR in which the language of the titular nation (in that case Abkhazian) was confirmed in its constitution as one of its official languages

Abkhazia[a] (/æbˈkɑːziə/ (audio speaker iconlisten)[8] ab-KAH-zee-ə or /æbˈkeɪziə/ ab-KAY-zee-ə[9]), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognized state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which views the region as an autonomous republic.[10][11][12][13][14] It lies on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, south of the Greater Caucasus mountains in northwestern Georgia. It covers 8,665 square kilometres (3,346 sq mi) and has a population of around 245,000. Its capital and largest city is Sukhumi. Locals call Abkhazia "Apsny" which means "country of the soul"

Emblem

Name

The Abkhazians call their homeland Аԥсны (Apsny, Aṗsny), popularly etymologised as "a land/country of the soul",[16] yet literally meaning "a country of mortals (mortal beings)".[17] It possibly first appeared in the seventh century in an Armenian text as Psin(oun), perhaps referring to the ancient Apsilians.[18] The term "Apkhazeti" first appeared in the Georgian annals, which is of Mingrelian origin "Apkha" meaning back or shoulder[19][20][21][better source needed], gave rise to the name Abkhazia. It was used to denote Abasgia proper and entire Western Georgia within the Kingdom of Georgia. In early Muslim sources, the term "Abkhazia" was generally used in the meaning of Georgia.[22][23] The Russian Абхазия (Abkhaziya) is adapted from the Georgian აფხაზეთი (Apkhazeti). Abkhazia's name in most languages are derived directly from the Russian.

The state is formally designated as the "Republic of Abkhazia" or "Apsny".[10]

Traditional English and Latin spelling is Abhasia.

History

Main article: History of Abkhazia

Early history

Between the 9th and 6th centuries BC, the territory of modern Abkhazia was part of the ancient Georgian kingdom of Colchis.[26][27][28][29] Around the 6th century BC, the Greeks established trade colonies along the Black Sea coast of present-day Abkhazia, in particular at Pitiunt and Dioscurias.

Classical authors described various peoples living in the region and the great multitude of languages they spoke.[30] Arrian, Pliny and Strabo have given accounts of the Abasgoi[31] and Moschoi[32] peoples somewhere in modern Abkhazia on the eastern shore of the Black Sea. This region was subsequently absorbed in 63 BC into the Kingdom of Lazica.[33][34]

Within the Roman/Byzantine Empire

The Roman Empire conquered Lazica in the 1st century AD; however, the Romans exercise little control over the hinterland of Abkhazia. According to Arrian, the Abasgoi and Apsilae peoples were nominal Roman subjects, and there was a small Roman outpost in Dioscurias.[35] After the 4th century Lazica regained a measure of independence, but remained within the Byzantine Empire's sphere of influence. Anacopia was the principality's capital. The country was mostly Christian, with the archbishop's seat in Pityus.[36] Although the exact time when the population of the region of Abkhazia was converted to Christianity has not been determined,[citation needed] it is known that Stratophilus, the Metropolitan of Pityus, participated in the First Council of Nicaea in 325.[37] According to an Eastern tradition Simon the Zealot died in Abkhazia having come there on a missionary trip and was buried in Nicopsis.[38]

Around the middle of the 6th century AD, the Byzantines and the neighbouring Sassanid Persia fought for supremacy over Abkhazia for 20 years, a conflict known as the Lazic War. In 550, during the Lazic War, the Abasgians (Abasgoi) revolted against the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire and called upon Sasanian assistance.[39] General Bessas, however, suppressed the Abasgian revolt.[39]

An Arab incursion into Abasgia, led by Marwan II, was repelled by Prince Leon I jointly with his Lazic and Iberian allies in 736. Leon I then married Mirian's daughter and a successor, Leon II exploited this dynastic union to acquire Lazica in the 770s.[40] Presumably considered as a successor state of Lazica (Egrisi in Georgian sources), this new polity continued to be referred to as Egrisi in some contemporary Georgian and Armenian chronicles (e.g. The Vitae of the Georgian Kings by Leonti Mroveli and The History of Armenia by Hovannes Draskhanakertsi).

Within the Georgian sphere

The successful defence against the Arab Caliphate, and new territorial gains in the east, gave the Abasgian princes enough power to claim more autonomy from the Byzantine Empire. Towards circa 778, Prince Leon II, with the help of the Khazars declared independence from the Byzantine Empire and transferred his residence to Kutaisi. During this period the Georgian language replaced Greek as the language of literacy and culture.

The Kingdom of Abkhazia was united through dynastic succession with the newly formed Kingdom of Georgia in 1008 when Bagrat II of Abkhazia b

The western Georgian kingdom of Abkhazia flourished between 850 and 950, which ended by unification of Abkhazia and eastern Georgian states under a single Georgian monarchy ruled by King Bagrat III at the end of the 10th century and the beginning of the 11th century.[citation needed]

In the 12th century, king David the Builder appointed Otagho as an Eristavi of Abkhazia, who later became the founder of House of Shervashidze (also known as Chachba).[citation needed]

In the 1240s, Mongols divided Georgia into eight military-administrative sectors (dumans), the territory of contemporary Abkhazia formed part of the duman administered by Tsotne Dadiani.[citation needed]

Ottoman domination

In the 16th century, after the break-up of the Georgian Kingdom into small kingdoms and principalities, Principality of Abkhazia (nominally a vassal of the Kingdom of Imereti) emerged, ruled by the Shervashidze dynasty.[4] Since the 1570s, when the Ottoman navy occupied the fort of Tskhumi, Abkhazia came under the influence of the Ottoman Empire and Islam. Under Ottoman rule, the majority of the Abkhaz elite converted to Islam. The principality retained a degree of autonomy.[citation needed]

Abkhazia sought protection from the Russian Empire in 1801, but was declared "an autonomous principality" by the Russians in 1810.[42][43] Russia then annexed Abkhazia in 1864, and Abkhaz resistance was quashed as the Russians deported Muslim Abkhaz to Ottoman territories.[4][29][42]

Within the Russian Empire

The borders of the Sukhumi District of the Kutaisi Governorate in 1899 when Abkhazia was part of the Russian Empire.

In the beginning of the 19th century, while the Russians and Ottomans were vying for control of the region, the rulers of Abkhazia shifted back and forth across the religious divide.[44] The first attempt to enter into relations with Russia was made by Keilash Bey in 1803, shortly after the incorporation of eastern Georgia into the expanding Tsarist empire (1801). However, the pro-Ottoman orientation prevailed for a short time after his assassination by his son Aslan-Bey on 2 May 1808.[45] On 2 July 1810, the Russian Marines stormed Sukhum-Kale and had Aslan-Bey replaced with his rival brother, Sefer-Bey (1810–1821), who had converted to Christianity and assumed the name of George. Abkhazia joined the Russian Empire as an autonomous principality, in 1810.[4] However, George's rule was limited and many mountain regions were as independent as before.[46] The next Russo-Turkish war strongly enhanced the Russian positions, leading to a further split in the Abkhaz elite, mainly along religious divisions. During the Crimean War (1853–1856), Russian forces had to evacuate Abkhazia and Prince Michael (1822–1864) seemingly switched to the Ottomans.[47]

Later on, the Russian presence strengthened and the highlanders of Western Caucasia were finally subjugated by Russia in 1864. The autonomy of Abkhazia, which had functioned as a pro-Russian "buffer zone" in this troublesome region, was no longer needed by the Tsarist government and the rule of the Shervashidze came to an end; in November 1864, Prince Michael was forced to renounce his rights and resettle in Voronezh.[48] Later that same year, Abkhazia was incorporated into the Russian Empire as a special military province[4] of Sukhum-Kale which was transformed, in 1883, into an okrug as part of the Kutais Governorate. Large numbers of Muslim Abkhazians, said to have constituted as much as 40% of the Abkhazian population, emigrated to the Ottoman Empire between 1864 and 1878 with other Muslim population of Caucasus, a process known as Muhajirism

Large areas of the region were left uninhabited and many Armenians, Georgians, Russians and others subsequently migrated to Abkhazia, resettling much of the vacated territory.[49] Some Georgian historians assert that Georgian tribes (Svans and Mingrelians) had populated Abkhazia since the time of the Colchis kingdom.[50]

By official decision of the Russian authorities the residents of Abkhazia and Samurzakano had to study and pray in Russian. After the mass deportation of 1878, Abkhazians were left in the minority, officially branded "guilty people", and had no leader capable of mounting serious opposition to Russification.[51]

British mountaineer Douglas Freshfield (who led an expedition to the Caucasus and was the first to climb Kazbek) described the denuded territories of Abkhazia in a moving chapter 'The Solitude of Abkhazia' in The Exploration of the Caucasus published in 1892.[citation needed]

Abkhaz and Georgian generals in the Imperial Russian Army, 19th century

On 17 March 1898 the synodal department of the Russian Orthodox Church of Georgia-Imereti, by order 2771, again prohibited teaching and the conduct of religious services in church schools and churches of the Sukhumi district in Georgian. Mass protests by the Georgian population of Abkhazia and Samurzakano followed, news of which reached the Russian emperor. On 3 September 1898 the Holy Synod issued order 4880 which decreed that those parishes where the congregation was Mingrelians i.e. Georgians, conduct both church services and church education in Georgian, while Abkhazian parishes use old Slavic. In the Sukhumi district, this order was carried out in only three of 42 parishes.[51] Tedo Sakhokia demanded the Russian authorities introduce Abkhazian and Georgian languages in church services and education. The official response was a criminal case brought against Tedo Sakhokia and leaders of his "Georgian Party" active in Abkhazia.

Within the Soviet Union

The Russian Revolution of 1917 led to the creation of an independent Georgia which included Abkhazia, in 1918.[4]

Map of the Soviet Caucasus (1957–91) showing the Abkhaz ASSR within the Georgian SSR.

Abkhazia remained part of Georgia after a peasant revolt supported by Bolsheviks and a Turkish expedition were defeated in 1918 and the 1921 Georgian constitution granted Abkhazia autonomy.[citation needed]

In 1921, the Bolshevik Red Army invaded Georgia and ended its short-lived independence. Abkhazia was made a Socialist Soviet Republic (SSR Abkhazia) with the ambiguous status of a treaty republic associated with the Georgian SSR.[4][52][53] In 1931, Joseph Stalin made it an autonomous republic (Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic or in short Abkhaz ASSR) within the Georgian SSR.[29] Despite its nominal autonomy, it was subjected to strong direct rule from central Soviet authorities. Under the rule of Stalin and Beria Abkhaz schools were closed, requiring Abkhaz children to study in the Georgian language.[54][55][56] The publishing of materials in Abkhazian dwindled and was eventually stopped altogether; Abkhazian schools were closed in 1945/46.[57] In the terror of 1937–38, the ruling elite was purged of Abkhaz and by 1952 over 80% of the 228 top party and government officials and enterprise managers were ethnic Georgians; there remained 34 Abkhaz, 7 Russians and 3 Armenians in these positions.[58] Georgian Communist Party leader Candide Charkviani supported the Georgianization of Abkhazia.[59]

The policy of repression was eased after Stalin's death[29] and Beria's execution, and the Abkhaz were given a greater role in the governance of the republic.[29] As in most of the smaller autonomous republics, the Soviet government encouraged the development of culture and particularly of literature.[60] The Abkhazian ASSR was the only autonomous republic in the USSR in which the language of the titular nation (in that case Abkhazian) was confirmed in its constitution as one of its official languages

Abkhazia[a] (/æbˈkɑːziə/ (audio speaker iconlisten)[8] ab-KAH-zee-ə or /æbˈkeɪziə/ ab-KAY-zee-ə[9]), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognized state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which views the region as an autonomous republic.[10][11][12][13][14] It lies on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, south of the Greater Caucasus mountains in northwestern Georgia. It covers 8,665 square kilometres (3,346 sq mi) and has a population of around 245,000. Its capital and largest city is Sukhumi.

The status of Abkhazia is a central issue of the Georgian–Abkhazian conflict and Georgia–Russia relations. The polity is recognised as a state by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria. While Georgia lacks control over Abkhazia, the Georgian government and most United Nations member states consider Abkhazia legally part of Georgia, with Georgia maintaining an official government-in-exile.

The region had autonomy within Soviet Georgia at the time when the Soviet Union began to disintegrate in the late 1980s. Simmering ethnic tensions between the Abkhaz—the region's titular ethnicity—and Georgians—the largest single ethnic group at that time—culminated in the 1992–1993 War in Abkhazia, which resulted in Georgia's loss of control over most of Abkhazia and the ethnic cleansing of Georgians from Abkhazia.

Despite a 1994 ceasefire agreement and years of negotiations, the dispute remains unresolved. The long-term presence of a United Nations Observer Mission and a Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States peacekeeping force failed to prevent the flare-up of violence on several occasions. In August 2008, Abkhaz and Russian forces fought a war against Georgian forces, which led to the formal recognition of Abkhazia by Russia, the annulment of the 1994 ceasefire agreement and the termination of the UN mission. On 28 August 2008, the Parliament of Georgia declared Abkhazia a Russian-occupied territory, a position reflected by most United Nations member states.[15]