Andrew Andersen
ABKHAZIA:
EARLY HISTORY (ca 600
BC - 650 AD )
Most historians of the Caucasus as well as
anthropologists, archeologists and linguists tend to agree that the ancestors
of modern Georgians inhabited southern Caucasus and northern |
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Proto-Kartvelians were bordered
by Zykh tribes to the north-west (those were Proto-Adygh ancestors of modern Adygh
and Apsua ), Proto-Nakhs (ancestors of modern
Chechens and some Daghestani peoples) to the
north-east, Proto-Armenians to the south-east and Aramaeic-speaking
tribes to the south and south-west. Between 2100 and 750 B.C., the area survived the invasions
by the Hittites, Celts, Medes, Proto-Persians and Cimmerians. At the
same period, the ethnic unity of
Proto-Kartvelians broke up into several branches,
among them Svanian, Zanyan
and East-Kartvelian ones. |
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Click on the map or the full-screen image |
That finally led to the formation of modern Kartvelian languages: Georgian (originating from By that time Svans were dominant
in modern Svanetia and Abkhazia while Zans inhabited modern Georgian |
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As a result of cultural and geographic delimitation, two
core areas of future Georgian culture and statehood formed in western and
eastern |
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There is little or no exact information about the ethnic
composition of Colchis and Another important ethnic element of ancient Colchis were
Greeks who between 1000 and 550 B.C., established quite a few trade colonies
in the coastal area among them Naessus, Pitiys (modern resort town of Pitsunda), Dioscurias, Guenos, Phasis (modern Poti), Apsaros and Rhizos (modern Rize in Turkey). Most of the local Greeks called Pontic Greeks, used to live in the coastal cities where
they dominated culturally while their influence in the rural area was quite
limited. Between 653 and 333 B.C., both Colchis and |
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Click on
the maps for the full-screen image |
Between the early 2nd century, B.C.and the late 2nd century A.D., the Between 120 and 63 BC, King Mithridate
VI Eupator of From 187 to 70 B.C., the coalition of greater |
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As a result of brilliant Roman campaigns of Pompeus and Lucullus, the Kingdom of Pontus was
completely destroyed by the Romans and all its territory including Colchis
(with modern Abkhazia as its part), were incorporated into Roman Empire as
her provinces. The former Click on the map for bigger image |
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The following 600 years of West Georgian/Abkhazian history
were marked with manipulation between Rome and Parthia (Iran) who were
fighting long wars against each other for the domination in the Middle East
including Syria, Mesopotamia, Armenia, Albania (territory of modern
Azerbaijan) Iberia and Lazicum. Click on the map for the full
image Persian invasions of Georgian lands touched predominantly |
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In the early 3d century, Roman province of Lazicum was given certain degree of autonomy that by the
end of the century developed into full independence and formation of a new Kingdom of Lazica-Egrisi
on the basis of smaller principalities of Zans, Svans, Apsyls and Sanyghs. That new West-Georgian state survived more than
250 years until in 562 it was absorbed by East Roman (Byzantine) Empire. In the middle of the 4h century, Lazica
adopted Christianity as her official religion. That event was preceded by the
arrival of St. Simon the Kananites (or Kananaios in Greek) who was preaching all
over Lazica and met his death in Suaniri (Abkhazia). According to Moses of Chorene, the enemies of Christianity cut him in two
halves with a saw. The re-incorporation of Lazica
with Abkhazia into |
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