The Abkhazian Kingdom or the Kingdom of the Abkhazians refers to an early medieval feudal state in the Caucasus which lasted from the 780s until being united, through dynastic succession, with the Kingdom of the Georgians (see Tao-Klarjeti) in 1008. Official languages Abkhaz, Russian Political status De Facto Independent Capital Sukhumi Capitals coordinates 43°01′N 41°02′E President¹ Sergei Bagapsh Prime Minister¹ Alexander Ankvab ¹ De-facto government Chairman of the Supreme Council² Temur Mzhavia Chairman of Cabinet of Ministers² Irakli Alasania ² Pro-Georgian Government in exile Independence... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste. ... The Entholinguistic patchwork of the modern Caucasus - CIA map The Caucasus, a region bordering Asia Minor, is located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea which includes the Caucasus Mountains and surrounding lowlands. ... Centuries: 7th century - 8th century - 9th century Decades: 730s - 740s - 750s - 760s - 770s - 780s - 790s - 800s - 810s - 820s - 830s Years: 780 781 782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 Events and trends: Charlemagne expands the Frankish kingdom by gains in Saxony, Bavaria and Spain. ... Tao-Klarjeti is the term conventionally used in modern history writing to describe the historic south-western Georgian principalities, now forming part of north-eastern Turkey and divided among the provinces of Erzurum, Artvin, Ardahan and Kars. ... Events Olof, king of Sweden, is baptized. ...

The Abkhazian Kingdom in medieval and modern historiography

Writing the kingdom’s primary history was dominated by the Georgian, Armenian, Byzantine and Muslim annals, supported by modern epigraphic and archaeological records. Byzantine Empire (Greek: Βυζαντινή Αυτοκρατορία) is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Turkish:Müslüman, Persian:مسلمان, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of Islam. ...

The problem of the Abkhazian Kingdom, particularly the questions of the nature of its ruling family and its ethnic composition, is a main point of controversy between modern Georgian and Abkhaz scholars. This can be largely explained by the scarcity of primary sources on theses issues. Most Abkhaz historians claim the kingdom was formed as a result of the consolidation of the early Abkhaz tribes that enabled them to extend their dominance over the neighboring areas. This is one of the instrumentals of the Abkhazian claim for sovereignty over the region ¹. This is categorically objected on the side of the Georgian historians, some of them claiming that the kingdom was completely Georgian. Most international scholars agree, however, that it is extremely difficult to judge the ethnic identity of the various population segments ² due primarily to the fact that the terms “Abkhazia” and “Abkhazians” were used in a broad sense during this period – and for some while later – and covered, for all practical purposes, all the population of the kingdom, comprising both the Georgian (including also Mingrelians, Lazs, and Svans with their distinct languages that are sisters to Georgian) and possible Abkhazian (Abasgoi, Apsilae, and Zygii) peoples ^{2 3}. It seems apparent, however, that the significant (if not superior) proportion of the Georgian-speaking population and the drive of the Abkhazian kings to throw off the Byzantine political and cultural dominance have replaced the Greek language with Georgian as the language of literacy and culture ^{1 2 3 4}. The Abkhaz or Abkhazians are a caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in Abkhazia, and distinct from Georgians. ... Mingrelia (Samegrelo in Georgian) is a historic province in the western part of the republic of Georgia, formerly also known as Odishi. ... The Laz language (Lazuri in Laz, ლაზური (Lazuri) or ჭანური (Chanuri) in Georgian) is spoken by an ethnic group of the same name on the Southeast shore of the Black Sea. ... Svans — the inhabitants of Svaneti region — are ethnic Georgians (one of the local culture-groups of ethnically subdivided Georgian people), and are the indigenous population of this province. ... The South Caucasian languages, also called Georgian or Kartvelian, are spoken primarily in Georgia, with smaller groups of speakers in Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Ukraine and other countries. ... The Zygii are described in Strabo as a savage nation to the north of Colchis. ... Greek (, IPA - Hellenic) is an Indo-European language with a documented history of 3,500 years, the longest in the Indo-European family. ...

History

Abkhazia, or Abasgia of classic sources, formerly part of Colchis and later of Egrisi (Lazica) until the late 690s, was a princedom under the Byzantine authority. It lay chiefly along the Black Sea coast in what is now northwestern part of modern-day self-styled Republic of Abkhazia and extended northward into the territory of today’s Krasnodar Krai of the Russian Federation. It had Anacopia as the capital. The border between this princedom and Egrisi ran roughly along the Klisura river. Abkhazia was ruled by a hereditary archon (or eristavi, according to the Georgian sources) who effectively functioned as a Byzantine viceroy. The country was chiefly Christian and the city of Pityus was a seat of an archbishop directly subordinated to the Patriarch of Constantinople. The Arabs, pursuing the retreating Georgian princes – brothers Mir of Egrisi and Archil of Kartli – surged into Abkhazia in 736. Dysentery and floods, combined with a stubborn resistance offered by the archon Leon I and his Kartlian and Egrisian allies, made the invaders retreat. Leon I then married Mir’s daughter, and a successor, Leon II exploited this dynastic union to acquire Egrisi (Lazica) in the 770s. Frequently considered as a successor state of the latter monarchy, this new polity continued to be referred to as Egrisi in some contemporary Georgian (e.g., The Vitae of the Georgian Kings by Leonti Mroveli) and Armenian (e.g., The History of Armenia by Hovannes Draskhanakertsi) chronicles. In ancient geography, Colchis (sometimes spelled also as Kolchis) (Greek: Κολχίς, kŏl´kĬs; Georgian: კოლხეთი, Kolkheti) was a nearly triangular district in Caucasus. ... Egrisi (or Kolkheti) known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as Lazica and Persians as Lazistan was a kingdom in the western part of Georgia, which flourished between the 6th century BC and the 7th century AD. It covered the territory of the former kingdom Kolkha (Colchis) and the territory... Centuries: 6th century 7th century 8th century Decades: 640s - 650s - 660s - 670s - 680s - 690s - 700s - 710s - 720s - 730s - 740s Years: 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 698 699 700 Births: Chinese poet Wang Wei. ... For other meanings, see Prince (disambiguation). ... Byzantine Empire (Greek: Βυζαντινή Αυτοκρατορία) is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... Map of the Black Sea. ... Abkhazia (Abkhaz Аҧсны/Aphsny, Georgian აფხაზეთი/Apkhazeti, Russian Абха́зия/Abkhazia) is a region of 8,600 km² (3,300 sq. ... Krasnodar Krai (Russian: ) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the Southern Federal District. ... Look up Archon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recounted in the New Testament. ... Pitsunda (Georgian: Bichvinta) is a resort town in Abkhazia, situated on the shore of the Black Sea 25 km south from Gagra. ... In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. ... The Patriarch of Constantinople is the Ecumenical Patriarch, ranking as the first among equals in the Eastern Orthodox communion. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب ) are a large and heterogeneous ethnic group found throughout the Middle East and North Africa. ... Events The Kegon school of Buddhism arrives in Japan via Korea, when Rōben invites the Korean monk Simsang to lecture, and formally founds Japans Kegon tradition in the Tōdaiji temple. ... Dysentery is an illness involving severe diarrhea that is often associated with blood in the feces. ... Look up Flood in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Kartli is the largest and most populated province of Eastern Georgia. ... Centuries: 7th century - 8th century - 9th century Decades: 720s - 730s - 740s - 750s - 760s - 770s - 780s - 790s - 800s - 810s - 820s Years: 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 Events: Categories: 770s ... The succession of states theory asserts that all possessions and territory held by a state are automatically transferred to the successor state, the state which succeeds it. ... Leonti Mroveli (Georgian: ლეონტი მროველი) was the 11th-century Georgian historian and priest. ...

The successful defense against the Arabs, and new territorial gains, gave the Abkhazian princes enough power to claim more autonomy from the Byzantine Empire. Towards circa 786, Leon won his full independence with the help of the Khazars; he assumed the title of King of the Abkhazians and transferred his capital to the western Georgian city of Kutatisi (modern-day Kutaisi). According to Georgian annals, Leon subdivided his kingdom into eight duchies (saeristavo): Abkhazia proper, Tskhumi, Bedia, Guria, Racha and Takveri, Svaneti, Argveti, and Kutatisi ⁵. Events September 14 - Harun al-Rashid becomes the Abbasid caliph upon the death of his brother al-Hadi, makes various appointments including the appointemnt of Salim Yunisi as the Abbasid governor of Sindh and the Indus Valley A council is organized in Constantinople, but disturbed by soldiers Beatus of Li... The site of the Khazar fortress at Sarkel. ... Kutaisi (Georgian: ; ancient names: Aea/Aia, Kutatisi, Kutaïssi ) is Georgias second largest city in the western province of Imereti. ... Sukhumi (სოხუმი in Georgian, Аҟəа in Abkhaz language) is the capital of Abkhazia, a de facto independent state that is internationally recognised, however, as being part of Georgia. ... Guria is a region in Georgia (Caucasus), in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. ... Racha (Ratcha is a more correct spelling) (Georgian: რაჭა, Rača) is a historic province in Georgia, in the mountainous northwestern part of the country. ... Lechkhumi, also spelled Lecxumi (Georgian: ლეჩხუმი) is a historic province in northwestern Georgia which comprises the area along the middle basin of the Rioni and Tskhenistskali and also the Lajanuri river valley. ... Svaneti (სვანეთი. Also known as Svanetia or Svania in Russian and Western languages) is a historic province in Georgia, in the northwestern part of the country. ...

The most prosperous period of the Abkhazian kingdom was between 850 and 950. In the early years of the 10th century, it stretched, according to Byzantine sources, along the Black Sea coast three hundred Greek miles, from the frontiers of the Chaldean thema to the mouth of the river Nicopsis, with the Caucasus behind it. The increasingly expansionist tendencies of the kingdom led to the enlargement of its realm to the east. Beginning with George I (872/73-878/79), the Abkhazian kings controlled also Kartli (central and part of eastern Georgia), and interfered in the affairs of the Georgian and Armenian Bagratids. In about 908 King Constantine III (898/99-916/17) had finally annexed a significant portion of Kartli, bringing his kingdom up to the neighborhood of Arab-controlled Tfilisi (modern-day Tbilisi). Under his son, George II (916/17-960), the Abkhazian Kingdom reached a climax of power and prestige. For a brief period of time, Kakheti in eastern Georgia and Hereti in the Georgian-Albanian marches also recognized the Abkhazian suzerainty. Sometime friend of the Byzantines, George II helped to establish Christianity in Alania, winning the thanks of Patriarch Nicholas I of Constantinople. Events April 20 - Guntherus becomes Bishop of Cologne. ... Events World Population: 250 Million. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... A mile is any of a number of units of distance, each in the magnitude of 1–10 km. ... Chaldea, the Chaldees of the KJV Old Testament, was a Hellenistic designation for a part of Babylonia. ... The themata in 950. ... Greater Caucasus (Russian: , sometimes translated as Caucasus Major, Big Caucasus or Large Caucasus) is the major mountain range of Caucasus mountains. ... Events Battle of Hafrsfjord in Norway, Harald Finehair first king of Norway. ... Events Viking raid of Dorestad. ... Events The Danes force king Alfred the Great of Wessex to retreat to a fort in Athelney, Somerset. ... Events Wilfred the Hairy, Count of Barcelona, founded the benedictine monastery at Ripoll. ... Kartli is the largest and most populated province of Eastern Georgia. ... Region (Bagrevand) and family Bagratuni (or Bagratids) that ruled it, of the old Armenia c. ... Events Battle of Belach Mugna Births Deaths Categories: 908 ... Events Accession of Pope John IX Accession of King Kasyapa IV of Sri Lanka Magyar army headed by Álmos besieges Kiev Magyar tribes found state of Szekesfahervar in Hungary Bologna joins Italian Kingdom End of Yodit era in Ethiopia Foundation of Bhaktapur in Nepal Births Deaths Category: ... Events Edward the Elder becomes King of England. ... Events City of Mahdia founded in Tunisia Mercian warrior queen Aethelflaed conquers Wales Births Deaths St. ... Events August 20 - Battle of Anchialus: Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria invades Thrace and drives the Byzantines out. ... Tbilisi (Georgian თბილისი) is the capital city of the country of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura (Mtkvari) river, at . ... George II (died 960) was King of the Abkhazians from 916 on. ... Events Edgar the Peaceable crowned King of England. ... Categories: Caucasus geography stubs | Georgia (country) ... Hereti was a historic province in eastern Georgia. ... Byzantine Empire (Greek: Βυζαντινή Αυτοκρατορία) is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... ALania can refer to: Yhe feudal state of Alans. ... Nicholas Mysticus (d. ...

Bagrat II of Abkhazia; he was also Bagrat III of Georgia of the House of Bagrationi

George’s successors, however, were unable to retain the kingdom’s strength and integrity. During the reign of Leon III (960-969), Kakheti and Hereti wrested of his control. A bitter civil war and feudal revolts which began under Demetrius III (969-976) led the kingdom into complete anarchy under the unfortunate king Theodosius III the Blind (976-978). By that time the hegemony in Transcaucasia had finally passed to the Georgian Bagratids (Bagrationi) of Tao-Klarjeti. In 978, the Bagratid prince Bagrat, nephew (sister’s son) of the sonless Theodosius, occupied the Abkhazian throne with the help of his adoptive father David III of Tao. In 1008, Bagrat succeeded on the death of his natural father Gurgen as the King of Kings of the Georgians. Thus, these two kingdoms unified through dynastic succession, in practice laying the foundation to the unified Georgian monarchy, officially styled then as the Kingdom of the Abkhazians and Georgians. Image File history File links Bagrat_III_of_Georgia_(Gelati_mural). ... Image File history File links Bagrat_III_of_Georgia_(Gelati_mural). ... Bagrat III, King of Kings of the Abkhazians and Georgians, Kurapalates. ... The Bagratuni or Bagrationi or Bagratid royal dynasty (Armenian: Բագրատունյաց Ô±Ö€Ö„Õ¡ÕµÕ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶ Տոհմ or Bagratunyac Arqayakan Tohm, Georgian: ბაგრატიონთა სამეფო დინასტია or Bagrationta Samepo Dinastia) is a royal family whose ascendancy in Transcaucasia lasted for more than a millenium, since the 8th century until the early 19th century. ... Events December 11 - John I becomes Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. ... A civil war is a war in which parties within the same culture, society or nationality fight for political power or control of an area. ... Events January 10 - Basil II becomes Eastern Roman Emperor, see Byzantine Emperors. ... Theodosius III the Blind (also known as Theodosius the Sorrowed), was King of the Abkhazians from circa 975 to 978. ... Events Badìa Fiorentina, an abbey in Italy, is founded by Willa, Margravine of Tuscany. ... Transcaucasia is the name given to a region south of the Caucasus Mountains that covers Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. ... Tao-Klarjeti is the term conventionally used in modern history writing to describe the historic south-western Georgian principalities, now forming part of north-eastern Turkey and divided among the provinces of Erzurum, Artvin, Ardahan and Kars. ... Events Badìa Fiorentina, an abbey in Italy, is founded by Willa, Margravine of Tuscany. ... Bagrat III (ca. ... Events Olof, king of Sweden, is baptized. ... Gurgen also known as Gurgen Magistros (Georgian: გურგენი, which is also transliterated as Gourgen) of the House of Bagrationi, was King of Kings of the Georgians from 994 until his death in 1008. ...

Rulers

Most Abkhazian kings, with the exception of John and Adarnase of the Shavliani (presumably of Svan origin), came from the dynasty which is sometimes known in modern history writing as the Leonids after the first king Leon, or Anosids, after the prince Anos from whom the royal family claimed their origin. The prominent 20th-century historian and genealogist Cyril Toumanoff relates the name of Anos to the later Abkhaz noble family of Anchabadze⁶. By convention, the regnal numbers of the Abkhazian kings continue from those of the archons of Abasgia. There is also some lack of consistency about the dates of their reigns. The chronology below is given as per Toumanoff. Svans — the inhabitants of Svaneti region — are ethnic Georgians (one of the local culture-groups of ethnically subdivided Georgian people), and are the indigenous population of this province. ... Prince Cyril Toumanoff (1913 – 1997) was a Russian-born historian and genealogist of Armeno-Georgian descent specialized in the history of Armenia and Georgia. ...

House of the Anosids (Anchabadze)

• Leon II, 767/68-811/12
• Theodosius II, 811/12-837/38
• Demetrius II, 837/38-872/73
• George I of Aghts’epi, 872/73-878/79

For the aircraft, see Boeing 767. ... Events Charles (Charlemagne) and Carloman divide the Frankish kingdom after the death of their father Pippin the Short. ... Events July 26 - Battle of Pliska: Nicephorus I is defeated by the Bulgar khan Krum, and is succeeded by Stauracius as Byzantine emperor. ... Events Births April 12 - Muhammad at-Taqi, Shia Imam (d. ... Events Pietro Tradonico elected Doge of Venice. ... Events At Hingston Down, Egbert of Wessex beats the Danish and the West Welsh. ... Events Battle of Hafrsfjord in Norway, Harald Finehair first king of Norway. ... Events Viking raid of Dorestad. ... Events The Danes force king Alfred the Great of Wessex to retreat to a fort in Athelney, Somerset. ... Events Wilfred the Hairy, Count of Barcelona, founded the benedictine monastery at Ripoll. ...

House of Shavliani

• John Shavliani, 878/79-c. 880
• Adarnase Shavliani, c. 880-887/88

For other uses, see number 880. ... Events Emperor Uda ascends to the throne of Japan Births Deaths September 18 - Pietro I Candiano, Doge of Venice (killed in battle) Emperor Koko of Japan Categories: 887 ... Events January 13: With the death of Charles the Fat, the Frankish kingdom is split again, and this time permanently. ...

House of the Anosids (Anchabadze)

• Bagrat I, 887/88-898/99
• Constantine III, 898/99-916/17
• George II, 916/17-960
• Leon III, 960-969
• Demetrius III, 969-976
• Theodosius III, 976-978

Events Accession of Pope John IX Accession of King Kasyapa IV of Sri Lanka Magyar army headed by Álmos besieges Kiev Magyar tribes found state of Szekesfahervar in Hungary Bologna joins Italian Kingdom End of Yodit era in Ethiopia Foundation of Bhaktapur in Nepal Births Deaths Category: ... Events Edward the Elder becomes King of England. ... Events City of Mahdia founded in Tunisia Mercian warrior queen Aethelflaed conquers Wales Births Deaths St. ... Events August 20 - Battle of Anchialus: Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria invades Thrace and drives the Byzantines out. ... George II (died 960) was King of the Abkhazians from 916 on. ... Events Edgar the Peaceable crowned King of England. ... Events December 11 - John I becomes Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. ... Events January 10 - Basil II becomes Eastern Roman Emperor, see Byzantine Emperors. ... Theodosius III the Blind (also known as Theodosius the Sorrowed), was King of the Abkhazians from circa 975 to 978. ... Events Badìa Fiorentina, an abbey in Italy, is founded by Willa, Margravine of Tuscany. ...

House of Bagrationi

• Bagrat II, 978-1014

Bagrat III (ca. ... Events February 14 - Pope Benedict VIII recognizes Henry of Bavaria as King of Germany July 29 - Battle of Kleidion: Basil II inflicts not only a decisive defeat on the Bulgarian army, but his subsequent savage treatment of 15,000 prisoners reportedly causes Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria to die of shock...

See also

• Divan of the Abkhazian Kings
• Principality of Abkhazia
• History of Georgia

The Divan of the Abkhazian Kings (Georgian: აფხაზთა მეფეთა დივანი, Ap’xazta mep’eta divan’i, which is often translated as the Chronicles of the Abkhazian Kings) is a short medieval document composed in Georgian in the late 10th or early 11th century. ... The Principality of Abkhazia emerged as a separate feudal entity in the 15th-16th centuries, amid the civil wars in the Kingdom of Georgia that concluded with the dissolution of the unified Georgian monarchy. ... The recorded history of Georgia dates back more than 4,000 years and the Georgian language is one of the oldest living languages in the world. ...

Notes

• Note 1: Alexei Zverev, Ethic Conflicts in the Caucasus… ¹
• Note 2: Graham Smith, Edward A Allworth, Vivien A Law et al, pages 56-58. ²
• Note 3: Abkhaz by W. Barthold [V. Minorsky] in the Encyclopaedia of Islam. ³
• Note 4: The Georgian-Abkhaz State (summary), by George Anchabadze, in: Paul Garb, Arda Inal-Ipa, Paata Zakareishvili, editors, Aspects of the Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict: Cultural Continuity in the Context of Statebuilding, Volume 5, August 26-28, 2000. ⁴
• Note 5: Vakhushti Bagrationi, The History of Egrisi, Abkhazeti or Imereti, part 1. ⁵
• Note 6: Rapp, pages 481-484. ⁶

The Encyclopaedia of Islam (EI) is a scholarly encyclopaedia covering all aspects of Islamic civilization and history. ... Vakhushti Bagrationi (1696-1757) was a great Georgian historian and geographer, as well as one of the founders of the Moscow State University. ...

References and further reading

1. (English) Alexei Zverev, Ethnic Conflicts in the Caucasus 1988-1994, in B. Coppieters (ed.), Contested Borders in the Caucasus, Brussels: VUB University Press, 1996
2. Graham Smith, Edward A Allworth, Vivien A Law, Annette Bohr, Andrew Wilson, Nation-Building in the Post-Soviet Borderlands: The Politics of National Identities, Cambridge University Press (September 10, 1998), ISBN 0521599687
3. Encyclopaedia of Islam
4. (English) Center for Citizen Peacebuilding website
5. (Russian) Вахушти Багратиони. История царства грузинского. Жизнь Эгриси, Абхазети или Имерети. Ч.1
6. S. H. Rapp, Studies In Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts, Peeters Bvba (September 25, 2003) ISBN 9042913185
7. (English) Conflicting Narratives in Abkhazia and Georgia. Different Visions of the Same History and the Quest for Objectivity, an article by Levan Gigineishvili, 2003
8. (English) The Role of Historiography in the Abkhazo-Georgian Conflict, an article by Seiichi Kitagawa, 1996
9. (English) History of Abkhazia. Medieval Abkhazia: 620-1221 by Andrew Andersen
10. Georgiy I Mirsky, G I Mirskii, On Ruins of Empire: Ethnicity and Nationalism in the Former Soviet Union (Contributions in Political Science), Greenwood Press (January 30, 1997) ISBN 0313300445
11. Ronald Grigor Suny, The Making of the Georgian Nation: 2nd edition (December 1994), Indiana University Press, ISBN 0253209153, page 45
12. Robert W. Thomson (translator), Rewriting Caucasian History: The Medieval Armenian Adaptation of the Georgian Chronicles: The Original Georgian Texts and Armenian Adaptation (Oxford Oriental Monographs), Oxford University Press, USA (June 27, 1996), ISBN 0198263732
13. Toumanoff C., Chronology of the Kings of Abasgia and other Problems // Le Museon, 69 (1956), S. 73-90.