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81-645: The municipality to the west of the town of Zestaponi is part of the Kolkheti lowlands at a height of 90-200 m, with the land rising to the east to the Imereti plateau at 500 m through a hilly zone with narrow rocky gorges. The region is bounded to the south with a low range of mountains rising to about 1,000 m. The lowland zone has relatively cold winters averaging -4 °C in January, with hot summers averaging 24 °C in August. Precipitation

162-555: A developed agricultural society. However, as Alexander Mikaberidze adds, these explanations for the word Georgians/Georgia are rejected by the scholarly community, who point to the Persian word gurğ/gurğān ("wolf" ) as the root of the word. Starting with the Persian word gurğ/gurğān , the word was later adopted in numerous other languages, including Slavic and West European languages. This term itself might have been established through

243-473: A high proportion of Neogene and Palaeogene relict plants and animals, with the closest relatives in distant parts of the world: five species of Rhododendrons and other evergreen shrubs, wingnuts , Caucasian salamander , Caucasian parsley frog , eight endemic species of lizards from the genus Darevskia , the Caucasus adder ( Vipera kaznakovi ), Robert's snow vole , and endemic cave shrimp . Millet

324-449: A later era the name "Colchians" was organically connected with the name " Lazi ", it should be remembered that Byzantine sources saw the northern limit of the spread of Laz people somewhere between the Phasis (modern. Poti ) and Dioscurias". The Greek name Kolchís ( Κολχίς ) is first used to describe a geographic area in the writings of Aeschylus and Pindar . Earlier writers speak of

405-628: A major uprising against the Roman Empire , which ended unsuccessfully. The lowlands and coastal area were frequently raided by fierce mountain tribes, with the Svaneti and Heniochi being the most powerful of them. Paying a nominal homage to Rome , they created their own kingdoms and enjoyed significant independence. Under Hadrian, the Romans established relations with Colchian tribes. Hadrian sent his advisor, Arrian , to tour Colchis and Iberia. Arrian depicted

486-571: A nation and Caucasian ethnic group native to present-day Georgia and surrounding areas historically associated with the Georgian kingdoms. Significant Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia , Turkey , Greece , Iran , Ukraine , the United States , and the European Union . Georgians arose from Colchian and Iberian civilizations of classical antiquity ; Colchis

567-593: A significant number of irreligious Georgians . Located in the Caucasus , on the continental crossroads of Europe and Asia , the High Middle Ages saw Georgian people form a unified Kingdom of Georgia in 1008 AD, the pan-Caucasian empire, later inaugurating the Georgian Golden Age , a height of political and cultural power of the nation. This lasted until the kingdom was weakened and later disintegrated as

648-568: A symbol of excess condemned by Roman moralists. The Colchian hinterland lacked salt and demand was satisfied partially by local production on the coast and partially by imports from the northern coast of the Black Sea. Colchis provided slaves as a tribute to the Achaemenid Empire and Colchian slaves are also attested in Ancient Greece. The eastern Black Sea region in antiquity was home to

729-573: A turbulent fluctuation of tribal powers and boundaries, with various hostile and anarchic tribes in the area. The Laz controlled most of coastal Colchis, while other tribes such as the Sanigs and Abasgoi escaped Roman jurisdiction. Other tribes, like the Apsilae , were becoming powerful and their king with the Romanised name Julianus was recognized by Trajan. Arrian listed the following peoples in his Periplus of

810-441: Is about 1190 mm annually. In the higher areas the temperature is lower and there is more rainfall. The Kvirila River runs through the region from east to west, fed by many smaller rivers. Flooding is common in the spring. The municipality is forested with hornbeam, oak, beech, chestnut, alder and many other tree species. The southern range has beech, maple, lime and Imeretian oak. The land has been partly cleared for agriculture in

891-515: Is also a small number of Georgian Jews , tracing their ancestors to the Babylonian captivity . In addition to traditional religious confessions, Georgia retains irreligious segments of society , as well as a significant portion of nominally religious individuals who do not actively practice their faith. The Georgian cuisine is specific to the country, but also contains some influences from other European culinary traditions , as well as those from

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972-498: Is derived from the country of Georgia. In the past, lore-based theories were given by the medieval French traveller Jacques de Vitry , who explained the name's origin by the popularity of St. George amongst Georgians, while traveller Jean Chardin thought that "Georgia" came from Greek γεωργός ("tiller of the land"), as when the Greeks came into the region (in Colchis ) they encountered

1053-525: Is disputed. Some scholars argue the name Qulḫa (Colchís) originally referred to a land to the west of Georgia. Others argue Qulḫa may have been located in the south, near modern Göle, Turkey . According to Levan Gordeziani, while the Greek Colchis etymologically descends from Urartian Qulḫa , the Greeks may have applied the name to a different region (and/or cultures) than the preceding Urartians had. Further confusion rests in possible differences in

1134-558: Is prepared, always accompanied by large amounts of wine, and dinner can last for hours. In a Georgian feast, the role of the tamada (toastmaster) is an important and honoured position. In countries of the former Soviet Union , Georgian food is popular due to the immigration of Georgians to other Soviet republics, in particular Russia. In Russia all major cities have many Georgian restaurants and Russian restaurants often feature Georgian food items on their menu. The Georgians have historically been classified into various subgroups based on

1215-520: Is the largest ferroalloy plant in the country. There were more factories in the Soviet era, but many have closed down. The rural areas include the communities of Boslevi, Dilikauri, Dzirula, Ilemi, Kldeeti, Kvaliti, Kveda Sakara , Kveda Sazano, Meore Sviri, Puti , Pirveli Sviri, Rodinauli, Sanakhshire, Shrosha, Tskhratskaro, Zeda Sakara and Zovreti. Each community typically includes two or three villages. There are medieval castles in several villages, notably

1296-842: Is usually defined as the area east of the Black Sea coast, restricted from the north by the southwestern slopes of the Greater Caucasus , from the south by the northern slopes of the Lesser Caucasus in Georgia and Eastern Black Sea (Karadeniz) Mountains in Turkey, and from the east by Likhi Range , connecting the Greater and the Lesser Caucasus. The central part of the region is Colchis Plain, stretching between Sukhumi and Kobuleti ; most of that lies on

1377-510: The c.  13th to the 1st centuries BC, is regarded as an early ethnically Georgian polity; the name of the Colchians was used as the collective term for early Kartvelian tribes which populated the eastern coast of the Black Sea in Greco-Roman ethnography . According to Donald Rayfield , the ethnic makeup of Colchis is "obscure" and Kartvelian names "are conspicuously absent from

1458-594: The Euxine , and the Anticites or Atticitus (now Kuban ). Arrian mentions many others by name, but they would seem to have been little more than mountain torrents: the most important of them were Charieis, Chobus or Cobus, Singames, Tarsuras, Hippus, Astelephus, Chrysorrhoas, several of which are also noticed by Ptolemy and Pliny . The chief towns were Dioscurias or Dioscuris (under the Romans called Sebastopolis, now Sukhumi ) on

1539-613: The Golden Fleece , and the fire-breathing Colchis bulls and was the destination of the Argonauts . Colchis also is thought to be a possible homeland of the Amazons . Amazons also were said to be of Scythian origin from Colchis. According to the Greek mythology, Colchis was a fabulously wealthy land situated on the mysterious periphery of the heroic world. Here in the sacred grove of

1620-578: The Imereti region for centuries and are now identified as Imeretian or Imeretian-Mingrelians. Last names from mountainous eastern Georgian provinces (such as Kakheti, etc.) can be distinguished by the suffix – uri (ური), or – uli (ული). Most Svan last names typically end in – ani (ანი), Mingrelian in – ia (ია), - ua (უა), or - ava (ავა), and Laz in – shi (ში). The 1897 Russian census (which accounted people by language), had Imeretian, Svan and Mingrelian languages separate from Georgian . During

1701-482: The Laz . The language known today as Georgian is a traditional language of the eastern part of the country which has spread to most of the present-day Georgia after the post-Christianization centralization in the first millennium CE. Today, Georgians regardless of their ancestral region use Georgian as their official language. The regional languages Svan and Mingrelian are languages of the west that were traditionally spoken in

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1782-493: The Machelones , Heniochi , Zydretae , Lazi , Chalybes , Tibareni / Tubal , Mossynoeci , Macrones , Moschi , Marres , Apsilae , Abasci , Sanigae , Coraxi , Coli , Melanchlaeni , Geloni and Soani (Suani) . The ancients assigned various origins to the tribes that inhabited Colchis. Herodotus regarded the Colchians as "dark-skinned ( μελάγχροες ) and woolly-haired" and calls them Egyptians. Herodotus states that

1863-530: The ancient Greeks and Romans as Colchians and Iberians . East Georgian tribes of Tibarenians-Iberians formed their kingdom in 7th century BCE . However, western Georgian tribes ( Colchian tribes ) established the first Georgian state of Colchis ( c.  1350 BCE ) before the foundation of the Kingdom of Iberia in the east. According to the numerous scholars of Georgia, the formations of these two early Georgian kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia, resulted in

1944-420: The "Kolchian" ( Κολχίδα ) people and their mythical king Aeëtes ( Αἰήτης ), as well as his eponymous city Aea or Aia ( Αἶα ) , but don't make explicit references to a Kolchis nation or region. The main river was known as the Phasis (now Rioni ) and was, according to some writers the southern boundary of Colchis, but more probably flowed through the middle of that country from the Caucasus west into

2025-755: The 20th century, due to Soviet anti-religious policies, cultural integration with the national Orthodox majority, and strong missionary efforts by the Georgian Orthodox Church. In the early modern period, converted Georgian recruits were often used by the Persian and Ottoman Empires for elite military units such as the Mameluks , Qizilbash , and ghulams . The Iranian Georgians are all reportedly Shia Muslims today, while Ingiloy (indigenous to Azerbaijan), Laz (indigenous to Turkey), Imerkhevians (indigenous to Turkey), and Georgians in Turkey (who descend from Georgian immigrants) are mostly Sunni Muslim. There

2106-591: The Colchian land. Subsequently, the Colchis people appear to have overthrown the Persian Authority, and to have formed an independent state. According to Ronald Suny this western Georgian state was federated to Kartli-Iberia, and its kings ruled through skeptoukhi (royal governors) who received a staff from the king. According to David Braund's reading of Strabo 's account, the native Colchian dynasty continued ruling

2187-475: The Colchians remembered the Egyptians better than the Egyptians remembered the Colchians; the Egyptians said that they considered the Colchians part of Sesostris' army. I myself guessed it, partly because they are dark-skinned and woolly-haired; though that indeed counts for nothing, since other peoples are, too; but my better proof was that the Colchians and Egyptians and Ethiopians are the only nations that have from

2268-537: The Colchians, with the Ancient Egyptians and the Ethiopians , were the first to practice circumcision , a custom which he claims that the Colchians inherited from remnants of the army of Pharaoh Sesostris ( Senusret III ). Herodotus writes: For it is plain to see that the Colchians are Egyptians; and what I say, I myself noted before I heard it from others. When it occurred to me, I inquired of both peoples; and

2349-671: The Euxine Sea written in 130-131 (from south to north): Sanni, Machelones , Heniochi , Zudreitae, Lazi , Apsilae , Abasgoi , Sanigs and Zilchi . According to traditional accounts Christianity began to spread in the early first century by Andrew the Apostle , Simon the Zealot , and Saint Matthias . A change in burial patterns in the 3rd century was possibly due to Christian influence. The Hellenistic civilization , local paganism and Mithraic Mysteries would, however, remain widespread until

2430-574: The Georgian language. Colchians in the ancient western Georgian polity of Colchis were another proto-Georgian tribe. They are first mentioned in the Assyrian annals of Tiglath-Pileser I and in the annals of Urartian king Sarduri II, and also included western Georgian tribe of the Meskhetians . Iberians, also known as Tiberians or Tiberanians, lived in the eastern Georgian kingdom of Iberia. Both Colchians and Iberians played an important role in

2511-613: The Georgian population, most of whom are ethnic Georgian, follow Eastern Orthodox Christianity. A sizable Georgian Muslim population exists in Adjara . This autonomous Republic borders Turkey, and was part of the Ottoman Empire for a longer amount of time than other parts of the country. Those Georgian Muslims practice the Sunni Hanafi form of Islam. Islam has however declined in Adjara during

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2592-453: The Greeks' own usage of the name Colchis in political and mythological contexts (i.e. the relationship between "Aia-Colchis" and "the land of Colchis"). According to the scholar of Caucasian studies Cyril Toumanoff : Colchis appears as the first Caucasian State to have achieved the coalescence of the newcomer. Colchis can be justly regarded as not a proto-Georgian, but a Georgian (West Georgian) kingdom. ... It would seem natural to seek

2673-687: The Ottomans, and the remaining Georgian territories were absorbed by the Russian Empire in a piecemeal fashion through the course of the 19th century. Georgians briefly reasserted their independence from Russia under the First Georgian Republic from 1918 to 1921 and finally in 1991 from the Soviet Union . The Georgian nation was formed out of a diverse set of geographic subgroups, each with its characteristic traditions, manners, dialects and, in

2754-465: The Persian court 100 girls and 100 boys every five years. In 400 BC, shortly after the Ten Thousand reached Trapezus , a battle was fought between them and the Colchis in which the latter were decisively defeated. The influence exerted on Colchis by the vast Achaemenid Empire with its thriving commerce and wide economic and commercial ties with other regions accelerated the socio-economic development of

2835-543: The Province of Galatia (63) and later, in Cappadocia (81). Phasis , Dioscurias and other Greek settlements of the coast did not fully recover after the wars of 60-40 BC and Trebizond became the economical and political centre of the region. Despite the fact that all major fortresses along the sea coast were occupied by the Romans, their rule was relatively loose. In 69, the people of Pontus and Colchis under Anicetus staged

2916-576: The Russians on the political horizon as a possible replacement for the lost Byzantine Empire , "for the sake of the Christian faith". The Georgian kings and Russian tsars exchanged no less than 17 embassies, which culminated in 1783, when Heraclius II of the eastern Georgian kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti forged an alliance with the Russian Empire . The Russo-Georgian alliance, however, backfired as Russia

2997-530: The Shorapani and Sviri castles in the historical village of Argveti and a castle from the 6th-7th centuries in Tabakini . There are old churches, ancient wine cellars and other points of interest for tourism. The Zestaponi Municipality has 5,000 hectares of vineyards accounting for 80% of all farmland. The Sakara Viticulture and Winemaking Scientific-Research Station plays an important role in developing viticulture in

3078-594: The Urartians and their territories were themselves conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire . According to Svante Cornell , "What could be conceived as the proto Georgian statehood emerged mainly in the Western parts of today's Georgia, with the kingdom of Colchis ( Kolkheti ) in the sixth century BC." Colchis was inhabited by a number of tribes whose settlements lay along the shore of the Black Sea. Chief among those were

3159-825: The Zestaponi Region. Other crops include maize and vegetables, cattle breeding and swine production. The district's main settlements are: Zestaponi Municipal Assembly ( Georgian : ზესტაფონის საკრებულო, Zestaponis Sakrebulo ) is a representative body in Zestaponi Municipality, consisting of 39 members which are elected every four years. The last election was held in October 2021 . 42°06′20″N 43°02′09″E  /  42.10556°N 43.03583°E  / 42.10556; 43.03583 Kolkheti In classical antiquity and Greco-Roman geography , Colchis ( / ˈ k ɒ l k ɪ s / ; Ancient Greek : Κολχίς )

3240-579: The ancient Iranian appellation of the near- Caspian region, which was referred to as Gorgan ("land of the wolves" ). Most historians and scholars of Georgia as well as anthropologists, archaeologists, and linguists tend to agree that the ancestors of modern Georgians inhabited the southern Caucasus and northern Anatolia since the Neolithic period . Scholars usually refer to them as Proto-Kartvelian (Proto-Georgians such as Colchians and Iberians) tribes. The Georgian people in antiquity have been known to

3321-523: The beginnings of Georgian social history in Colchis, the earliest Georgian formation. According to most Classical-era sources, Colchis was bordered on the south-west by Pontus , on the west by the Black Sea , as far as the river Corax. To its north was the Greater Caucasus , beyond which was Sarmatia . On its east it bordered the Kingdom of Iberia and Montes Moschici (now the Lesser Caucasus ). The south of Colchis bordered Armenia . The westward extent of

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3402-503: The case of Svans and Mingrelians , own regional languages. The Georgian language , with its own unique writing system and extensive written tradition, which goes back to the 5th century, is the official language of Georgia as well as the language of education of all Georgians living in the country. According to the State Ministry on Diaspora Issues of Georgia , unofficial statistics say that there are more than 5 million Georgians in

3483-519: The consolidation and uniformity of the Georgian nation. According to the renowned scholar of the Caucasian studies Cyril Toumanoff , the Moschians also were one of the early proto-Georgian tribes which were integrated into the first early Georgian state of Iberia. The ancient Jewish chronicle by Josephus mentions Georgians as Iberes who were also called Thobel (Tubal). David Marshall Lang argued that

3564-529: The country in spite of its fragmentation into skeptoukhies . Gocha R. Tsetskhladze explains that although Colchis and neighboring Iberia were once viewed as not having been under Achaemenid rule, "ever more evidence is emerging to show that they were, forming a lesser part of the Armenian satrapy ". Mithridates VI quelled an uprising in the region in 83 BC and gave Colchis to his son Mithridates , who, soon being suspected in having plotted against his father,

3645-488: The country is considered differently by different authors: Strabo makes Colchis begin at Trabzon , while Ptolemy , on the other hand, extends Pontus to the Rioni River . Although some ancient authors consider Dioscurias to be the extreme northern settlement point of Colchians (in an ethnic sense), nevertheless "they consider it as a point located on the territory of non-Colchian tribes ( Heniochi , Sanigs )". Since in

3726-479: The destination of the Argonauts , as well as the home to Medea and the Golden Fleece . It was also described as a land rich with gold, iron, timber and honey that would export its resources mostly to ancient Hellenic city-states. Colchis likely had a diverse population. According to Greek and Roman sources, between 70 and 300 languages were spoken in Dioscourias (modern Sukhumi) alone. According to Rayfield,

3807-520: The earliest Georgian formation. An FTDNA collection of Georgian Y-DNA suggests that Georgians have the highest percentage of Haplogroup G (39.9%) among the general population recorded in any country. Georgians' Y-DNA also belongs to Haplogroup J (32.5%), R1b (8.6%), L (5.4%), R1a (4.2%), I2 (3.8%) and other more minor haplogroups such as E, T and Q. Georgian is the primary language for Georgians of all provenance, including those who speak other Kartvelian languages : Svans , Mingrelians and

3888-467: The earliest ages, that Sesostris king of Egypt was overcome in Scythia , and put to fight, by the king of Colchis, which if true, that the Colchians not only had kings in those times, but were a very powerful people. Many modern theories suggest that the ancestors of the Laz - Mingrelians constituted the dominant ethnic and cultural presence in the region in antiquity, and hence played a significant role in

3969-511: The elevation below 20 m (66 ft) above sea level. Marginal parts of the region are mountains of the Great and the Lesser Caucasus and Likhi Range. Its territory mostly corresponds to what is now the western part of Georgia and encompasses the present-day Georgian provinces of Samegrelo , Imereti , Guria , Adjara , Abkhazia , Svaneti , Racha ; the modern Turkey ’s Rize , Trabzon and Artvin provinces ( Lazistan , Tao-Klarjeti ); and

4050-420: The ethnic and cultural formation of the modern Georgian nation. According to the scholar of the Caucasian studies Cyril Toumanoff: Colchis appears as the first Caucasian State to have achieved the coalescence of the newcomer, Colchis can be justly regarded as not a proto-Georgian, but a Georgian (West Georgian) kingdom ... It would seem natural to seek the beginnings of Georgian social history in Colchis,

4131-408: The ethnogenesis of the modern Georgians . Pausanias , a 1st-century BC Greek geographer, citing the poet Eumelos, assigned Aeëtes , the mythological first king of Colchis, a Greek origin. The tribes living in the southern Colchis ( Macrones , Moschi , and Marres ) were incorporated into Persia and formed the 19th satrapy , while the northern tribes submitted "voluntarily" and had to send to

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4212-520: The few anthronyms found in Colchian burials." Instead, Greek , Anatolian , Iranian , and possibly Abkhaz names are present. At the beginning of the XX century, a researcher of ancient history Peter Ushakov notes: "In ancient times, during the 15th-18th centuries BC, the tribes of the Abkhazian - Circassian group inhabited the entire space of the western half of the Caucasus from the Black Sea province through

4293-748: The first mention of Colchis is during the reign of the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I of the Middle Assyrian Empire (1245–1209 BC) when he mentions "40 kings by the Upper [Black] Sea". Colchis territory is mostly assigned to what is now the western part of Georgia and encompasses the present-day Georgian provinces of Samegrelo , Imereti , Guria , Adjara , Svaneti , Racha ; Abkhazia ; modern Russia 's Sochi and Tuapse districts; and present-day Turkey ’s Artvin , Rize , and Trabzon provinces. Colchis, Kolkha, Qulḫa, or Kilkhi, which existed from

4374-507: The first practised circumcision. These claims have been widely rejected by modern historians. It is in doubt if Herodotus had ever been to Colchis or Egypt, and no Egyptian army ever set foot in the Caucasus, a region shielded by states to the south of the Caucasus too powerful for any Egyptian army to pass through, such as Urartu , Hittia , Assyria and Mitanni . According to Pliny the Elder : The Colchians were governed by their own kings in

4455-607: The former religions except Zoroastrianism, which become a second established religion in Iberia after the Peace of Acilisene in 378. The conversion to Christianity eventually placed the Georgians permanently on the front line of conflict between the Islamic and Christian world. Georgians remained mostly Christian despite repeated invasions by Muslim powers, and long episodes of foreign domination. As

4536-408: The fourth century. Goths , dwelling in the Crimea and looking for new homes, raided Colchis in 253, but were repulsed with the help of the Roman garrison of Pitsunda . By the first century BC, the Lazica (or the Laz) kingdom was established in the region. Lazica became known as Egrisi in 66 BC when Egrisi became a vassal of the Roman Empire after the Caucasian campaign of Pompey . Colchian coins,

4617-498: The geographic region which their ancestors traditionally inhabited. Even if a member of any of these subgroups moves to a different region, they will still be known by the name of their ancestral region. For example, if a Gurian moves to Tbilisi (part of the Kartli region) he will not automatically identify himself as Kartlian despite actually living in Kartli. This may, however, change if substantial amount of time passes. For example, there are some Mingrelians who have lived in

4698-441: The latter being one of the proto-Georgian tribes that emerged as a dominant group in ancient times. Kart probably is cognate with Indo-European gard and denotes people who live in a "fortified citadel ". Ancient Greeks ( Homer , Herodotus , Strabo , Plutarch etc.) and Romans ( Titus Livius , Cornelius Tacitus , etc.) referred to western Georgians as Colchians and eastern Georgians as Iberians . The term "Georgians"

4779-413: The lowlands and hilly areas, but is more densely forested in the southern mountain range. The forests are home to wolf, fox, jackal, badger, rabbit and smaller animals. The town of Zestaponi and the smaller neighboring town of Shorapani are industrial centers. The Zestaponi ferro-alloy plant processes raw manganese ore shipped by rail down the Kvirila valley from Chiatura, supplying 6% of world demand. It

4860-440: The modern Russia ’s Sochi and Tuapse districts. The climate is mild humid; near Batumi , annual rainfall level reaches 4,000 mm (160 in), which is the absolute maximum for continental western Eurasia. The dominating natural landscapes of Colchis are temperate rainforests , yet degraded in the plain part of the region; wetlands (along the coastal parts of Colchis Plain); subalpine and alpine meadows . Colchis has

4941-430: The most important elements in the modern Georgian nation, the Colchians were probably established in the Caucasus by the Middle Bronze Age ." It has been described in modern scholarship as "the earliest Georgian formation", which, along with the Kingdom of Iberia , would later contribute significantly to the development of the Kingdom of Georgia and the Georgian nation . Colchis is known in Greek mythology as

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5022-438: The oldest of which were dated to the middle of the 6th century BC, served as the primary source of evidence for the Colchian state. A reassessment of the coins, however, has revealed that these early "Colchian" coins actually represent the production of a Achaemenid satrapy. Little is known of the rulers of Colchis. From the fifth century B.C.E. onwards, Colchis was identified as Aea, the mythical home of Aeëtes , Medea ,

5103-427: The pre-Christian Kingdom of Colchis , but later lost importance as the unified Kingdom of Georgia emerged. Their decline is largely due to the capital of the unified kingdom, Tbilisi , being in the eastern part of the country known as Kingdom of Iberia effectively making the language of the east an official language of the Georgian monarch. All of these languages comprise the Kartvelian language family along with

5184-463: The related language of the Laz people , which has speakers in both Turkey and Georgia. Georgian dialects include Imeretian , Racha - Lechkhumian , Gurian , Adjarian , Imerkhevian (in Turkey), Kartlian , Kakhetian , Ingilo (in Azerbaijan), Tush , Khevsur , Mokhevian , Pshavian , Fereydan dialect in Iran in Fereydunshahr and Fereydan , Mtiuletian , Meskhetian and Javakhetian dialect. According to Orthodox tradition, Christianity

5265-475: The result of the 13th–15th-century invasions of the Mongols and Timur , the Black Death , the Fall of Constantinople , as well as internal divisions following the death of George V the Brilliant in 1346, the last of the great kings of Georgia . Thereafter and throughout the early modern period , Georgians became politically fractured and were dominated by the Ottoman Empire and successive dynasties of Iran . Georgians started looking for allies and found

5346-499: The root Tibar gave rise to the form Iber that made the Greeks pick up the name Iberian in the end for the designation of the eastern Georgians. Diauehi in Assyrian sources and Taochi in Greek lived in the northeastern part of Anatolia . This ancient tribe is considered by many scholars as ancestors of the Georgians. Modern Georgians still refer to this region, which now belongs to present-day Turkey, as Tao-Klarjeti , an ancient Georgian kingdom. Some people there still speak

5427-434: The seaboard of the Euxine, Sarapana (now Shorapani ), Phasis (now Poti ), Pityus (now Pitsunda ), Apsaros (now Gonio ), Surium (now Vani ), Archaeopolis (now Nokalakevi ), Macheiresis, and Cyta or Cutatisium or Aia (now Kutaisi ), the traditional birthplace of Medea . Scylax mentions also Mala or Male, which he, in contradiction to other writers, makes the birthplace of Medea . In physical geography , Colchis

5508-451: The smelting and casting of metals. Sophisticated farming implements were made, and fertile, well-watered lowlands and a mild climate promoted the growth of progressive agricultural techniques. The earliest attestations of the name of Colchis can be found in the 8th century Greek poet Eumelus of Corinth as Κολχίδα and earlier, in Urartian records as Qulḫa mentioned by the Urartian kings, who conquered it in 744 or 743 BC before

5589-431: The son and heir of Zenon, Colchis was part of the Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom . After the death of Polemon (8 BC), his second wife Pythodorida of Pontus retained possession of Colchis as well as of Pontus, although the kingdom of Bosporus was wrested from her power. Her son and successor, Polemon II of Pontus , was induced by Emperor Nero to abdicate the throne, and both Pontus and Colchis were incorporated in

5670-408: The surrounding Western Asia. Each historical province of Georgia has its own distinct culinary tradition, such as Megrelian, Kakhetian, and Imeretian cuisines. In addition to various meat dishes, Georgian cuisine also offers a variety of vegetarian meals. The importance of both food and drink to Georgian culture is best observed during a Caucasian feast, or supra , when a huge assortment of dishes

5751-709: The war god Ares , King Aeëtes hung the Golden Fleece until it was seized by Jason and the Argonauts . Colchis was also the land where the mythological Prometheus was punished by being chained to a mountain while an eagle ate at his liver for revealing to humanity the secret of fire. Apollonius of Rhodes named Aea as the main city ( Argonautica , passim). The main mythical characters from Colchis are: 42°N 42°E  /  42°N 42°E  / 42; 42 Georgians The Georgians , or Kartvelians ( / k ɑːr t ˈ v ɛ l i ə n z / ; Georgian : ქართველები , romanized : kartvelebi , pronounced [kʰaɾtʰʷelebi] ), are

5832-516: The well-developed Bronze Age culture known as the Colchian culture , related to the neighbouring Koban culture , that emerged toward the Middle Bronze Age . In at least some parts of Colchis, the process of urbanization seems to have been well advanced by the end of the second millennium BC. The Colchian Late Bronze Age (fifteenth to eighth century BC) saw the development of significant skill in

5913-555: The whole of Colchis in a continuous strip to the sources of the Euphrates and were divided into four branches: the people of Mitanni , Colchians, Abasgi and Ubykhs ." The name Colchis is thought to have derived from the Urartian Qulḫa . In the mid-eighth century BC, Sarduri II , the King of Urartu , inscribed his victory over Qulḫa on a stele; however, the exact location of Qulḫa

5994-560: The world. Georgians call themselves Kartveli ( ქართველი , pl. Kartvelebi ქართველები ), their land Sakartvelo ( საქართველო ), and their language Kartuli ( ქართული ). According to The Georgian Chronicles , the ancestor of the Kartvelian people was Kartlos , the great-grandson of the Biblical Japheth . However, scholars agree that the word is derived from the Karts ,

6075-459: Was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( Georgian : ეგრისი ) located on the eastern coast of the Black Sea , centered in present-day western Georgia . Its population, the Colchians , are generally thought to have been mainly an early Kartvelian-speaking tribe ancestral to contemporary western Georgians , namely Svans and Zans . According to David Marshall Lang : "one of

6156-825: Was executed. During the Third Mithridatic War , Mithridates VI made another of his sons, Machares , king of Bosporus and Colchis, who held his power, but only for a short period. On the defeat of Mithridates VI of Pontus in 65 BC, Colchis was occupied by Pompey , who captured one of the local chiefs (sceptuchus) Olthaces, and installed Aristarchus as a dynast (63–47 BC). On the fall of Pompey, Pharnaces II , son of Mithridates , took advantage of Julius Caesar being occupied in Egypt , and reduced Colchis, Armenia , and some part of Cappadocia , defeating Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus , whom Caesar subsequently sent against him. His triumph was, however, short-lived. Under Polemon I ,

6237-475: Was first preached in Georgia by the Apostles Simon and Andrew in the 1st century. It became the state religion of Kartli (Iberia) in 319 or 326. At the same time, in the first centuries A.D., the cult of Mithras , pagan beliefs, and Zoroastrianism were commonly practiced in Georgia. The conversion of Kartli to Christianity is credited to St. Nino of Cappadocia . Christianity gradually replaced all

6318-492: Was interconnected with the Hellenic world , whereas Iberia was influenced by the Achaemenid Empire until Alexander the Great conquered it. In the early 4th century, the Georgians became one of the first to embrace Christianity and now the majority of Georgians are Orthodox Christians , with most following their national Georgian Orthodox Church , although there are small Georgian Catholic and Muslim communities as well as

6399-399: Was the main staple crop in Colchis. Wheat grew in certain regions and was also imported by sea. Similarly, local wines were produced and some wines were brought from overseas. The Colchian plain provided ample grazing land for cattle and horses, with the name of Phasis associated with fine horses. The wetlands were a home for waterfowl, while Colchian pheasants were exported to Rome and became

6480-557: Was true elsewhere, the Christian church in Georgia was crucial to the development of a written language, and most of the earliest written works were religious texts. Medieval Georgian culture was greatly influenced by Eastern Orthodoxy and the Georgian Orthodox Church , which promoted and often sponsored the creation of many works of religious devotion. These included churches and monasteries, works of art such as icons , and hagiographies of Georgian saints. Today, 83.9% of

6561-399: Was unwilling to fulfill the terms of the treaty, proceeding to annex the troubled kingdom in 1801 as well as the western Georgian kingdom of Imereti in 1810. There were several uprisings and movements to restore the statehood, the most notable being the 1832 plot , which collapsed in failure. Eventually, Russian rule over Georgia was acknowledged in various peace treaties with Iran and

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