Abkhazians

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Distribution of the Abkhazians in Abkhazia and the region
Abkhaz men, mid-19th century

The Abkhazians ( Abkhazian аҧсуаа / aṗsuaa ) are an ethnic group in the Caucasus who are mainly resident in Abkhazia . As a result of strong emigration, especially from the middle of the 19th century, Abkhazians now live scattered in numerous countries around the world. The Abkhazians mostly speak the Abkhaz language , but smaller parts mainly speak Russian or the language of their respective place of residence.

In 1989, 95,900 Abkhazians lived in the Georgian SSR , 93,300 of them in the then Abkhazian ASSR , and 105,000 in the entire Soviet Union . According to the census carried out by the government of the de facto independent Abkhazia in 2003, 94,500 Abkhazians live in Abkhazia, this number rose to over 122,000 by 2011. There are also over 11,000 Abkhazians living in Russia, and around 3,500 in Georgia (excluding Abkhazia). In addition, there are Abkhaz communities in Ukraine , Turkey , the Middle East ( Syria , Jordan ), European countries and the USA .

Abkhazians and the related Abasins are often viewed as one nation. Their combined number is around 400,000 people in the above countries. A large part of the Abkhazians and Abasins have been living in the Diaspora for several generations, it is unclear how many of them still see themselves as Abkhazians or Abasins as a result of assimilation and acculturation .

The Abkhazians are linguistically and culturally related to the Northern Caucasian Circassians and the Ubyks, but they also have numerous cultural similarities with the Georgians . The centuries of common life of both peoples also had an impact on the Abkhaz language. The Abkhazians call themselves "apsua" (аҧсуа). In most of the world's languages, the term “Abkhaz” or “Apchas” was developed from the Georgian word “Apchasi” (აფხაზი). In Turkish and in some North Caucasian languages, Abkhazians are known as "Abasen".

language

The mother tongue of the Abkhazians is the Abkhazian language, which belongs to the Northwest Caucasian or Abkhazian-Adyg (e) language family . Abkhazian is divided into two dialects: Bsipisch and Abschuisch . They differ mainly in phonetics . The Shuish dialect was taken as the basis of the Abkhazian standard language, which is mainly spoken in Sukhumi and in southwestern Abkhazia. Some of the Abkhazians living in Abkhazia no longer speak the Abkhazian language and speak Russian .

The Abkhaz language is very closely related to Abasin , which is spoken by the Abasins in the North Caucasus ( Karachay-Cherkessia ). These two languages ​​are closely related and form a subgroup of the (northwest Caucasian ) Abkhazo-Adygeic language family . They differ only slightly in terms of lexis and phonetics, so that the subdivision of the two languages ​​can be traced back to the different language areas.

In the Middle Ages, Georgian was the predominant written language in Abkhazia, both among ethnic Georgians and among Abkhazians. Until the 9th century , Greek was the official language for religious purposes only in the Church . Since the 9th century, the Greek language was also replaced by Georgian in the church, because at that time the Orthodox eparchy of the Kingdom of Egrissi-Abkhazia had joined the Georgian Orthodox Church . The wide spread of the Georgian language is attested by the large number of medieval hagiographic and hymnographic works in Abkhazia , written in Georgian. In medieval Abkhazia there were only Georgian-language scripts from the 9th century.

In the Georgian chronicle "The Life of Kartlis" there is an etymological explanation of the byname of the Georgian King Giorgi IV. Lascha . According to this, "Lascha" means " the shining one " in the language of the apsars . Today this language of the apsars is often identified with Abkhazian ; the reason is both the phonetic similarity of the words Apsar and Apsua , as well as the fact that in today's Abkhazian the word alascha means "the light".

Some Georgian historians argue that the Abkhazian language was originally spoken in the North Caucasus and was only spread there after the immigration of Adygean- Abkhazian tribes to present-day Abkhazia in the 17th to 18th centuries. The majority of historians outside Georgia consider this theory to be refuted and assume that the Abkhazians settled in Abkhazia very early on.

In a Russian reference book published in 1895 , in which the inhabitants of the Russian Empire are described, it is said of Abkhazians that socially high-ranking people speak Georgian and others in a special dialect ( Russian на особом наречии ), which is probably the current Abkhaz language.

history

Early history

The oldest settlements in what is now Abkhazia date from the early Stone Age , are around 400,000 years old and belong to the Acheuléen . Since 5. – 4. Millennium BC The population began to work metal . The first bronze products found in Abkhazia date back to the 3rd millennium BC. Dated.

The ethnic origin of the tribes that existed until the 2nd millennium BC BC lived in what is now Abkhazia and other regions of western Georgia , is unclear today. According to most researchers, it is not possible to speak of a specific ethnic group at this time. According to archaeological finds since the 2nd millennium BC BC to antiquity it is assumed that western Georgia was populated by Protokartwelischen tribes of the Colchis culture during this period , which are divided into several subgroups. The Protokartwelian population is attested in this area up to antiquity. The etymological origin of the name of Sukhumi goes back to the old name of the city "Zchumi" ( Georgian ცხუმი ) and comes from the Swan language and means " hornbeam ".

Traditions about the population of Abkhazia up to antiquity have been preserved by several Greek authors, including Hekataios of Miletus , Herodotus , Skylax , and Strabo . From these sources it is clear that the Kolchians settled today's western Georgian area up to the city of Dioskuria (today Sukhumi ); north of Dioskuria, in addition to Kolchians, other tribes such as the Kerkets and Koraxes are mentioned. These tribes are sometimes referred to as sub-ethnic Colchian groups, sometimes as independent ethnic groups that belonged to the Colchis culture.

When Claudius Ptolemy and Flavius Arrian in the 2nd century AD. AD near the present city is. Tuapse a geographical area named "Old Lasika mentioned". Some Georgian and Abkhazian scientists assume that this name must be a reference to the Colchian population in this more northern area already at this time.

Antiquity

In early antiquity, today's Abkhazian region belonged to Colchis (6th century BC to 1st century AD). The ethnic affiliation of the population northwest of Dioskuria is disputed for this time. Swans lived in the northern regions of Colchis and were also widespread as far as Dioskuria.

In chronicles at the beginning of our era, the tribes of the Abasgen , Apsils , Missimians and Sanigen are mentioned. The Missimians and Sanigen are known today as the Kartwelic tribes of the Swan language . The language and origin of the abasgen and apsiles is unclear. It is also controversial since when these two tribes have lived in this area. There is an opinion that they have settled here since earlier times, but were not initially mentioned in the sources because they belonged to the common Colchis culture. According to another theory, the apsiles and Abasgen migrated from the North Caucasus at the beginning of our era. There are also different considerations about the linguistic and ethnic origins of these tribes. Most researchers believe that both were Abkhaz Adygian tribes and the immediate ancestors of the Abkhaz people. This opinion was expressed by several Georgian historians and linguists, such as Nikolos Marr , Ivan Javakishvili , Simon Janaschia , Nikolos Berdsenishvili, Giorgi Melikishvili and others. Few scholars believe that the Abasgen and apsiles were Cartwian tribes and that today's Abkhazians were formed from Adygian-Abkhazian tribes settled in the 17th century. The Georgian historian Meri Inadze draws attention to the "Abzoe" peoples mentioned by Pliny who lived in the North Caucasus and hypothesized that these peoples could also be connected with the Abkhazians. There is also the assumption that the "Abeschla" tribes named in Syrian sources, who settled in the mountainous Asia Minor , could have been ancestors of the Abkhazians in ancient times, but later an important part of this population migrated north.

The apsiles or apsilia mentioned in Greek sources correspond to the "Apschili" and "Apschileti" named in medieval Georgian sources; "Abasg" is a Greek variant for the Georgian word "Apchasi", the current Greek name of the Abkhazians is Greek Αβασγοί = Abasgoi .

After the fall of the Kingdom of Colchis, some principalities politically dependent on the Roman Empire emerged . According to Arrian , these included abasgias and apsiles. Since the 2nd century AD, western Georgia united under the name Lasika , which also included Apsilien (Apschileti) (up to the Kodori River ); north-west of the Kodori was Abasgien (Apchaseti), who were vassals of Lasika.

6th to 8th centuries

Since the beginning of the Middle Ages the kingdom of Lasika was weakened and had to recognize the sovereignty of the Eastern Roman Empire . The great influence of Byzantium on Lasika and his vassals (Abasgen, apsiles) favored the consolidation of Christianity in this region. According to Byzantine sources, the Abasgen and apsiles had been Christian since the 6th century, but had preserved pagan traditions such as the deification of some trees. Among the vassals of Lasika, the Abasgians had the strongest identity, they also had their own kings and princes. In the 6th century Lasika lost its influence on Abasgien, which separated from Lasika and submitted to the Byzantine Empire . From that time on, Abasgia grew stronger and expanded from the borders of ancient Abasgia to the areas of the apsiles, Missimians and Sanigen. As a result of this expansion, the meaning of the Greek word "Abasg" and the corresponding Georgian "Apchasi" expanded to include the entire territory of present-day Abkhazia. Under Byzantine rule, a new state emerged, the Principality of Abasgia , in which the tribes were consolidated in the 7th to 8th centuries. In the 8th century, Greek source mentions of the smaller tribes, such as the Apsils, Sanigen and Missimians, end, and only the Abasgen or Apchasi are mentioned.

In the 8th century the formation of Abkhazia as a feudal principality was completed, mainly from the two presumably Adygian-Abkhazian tribes of the Abasgen and Apsils, but also partly from the Cartwian of the Sanigen and Missimians. They formed the origin of the Abkhazian people, but later other settled tribes also joined them.

From the 7th and 8th centuries the hegemonic expansion of the Principality of Abasgia began throughout western Georgia. The Abkhaz princes maintained contacts with eastern Georgia. In 736 the common army of the Abkhazians and Georgians from eastern Georgia defeated the Arabs at Anakopia (near today's Achali Atoni ) , who after this defeat lost their influence over large parts of Georgia.

9th to 10th centuries

Bagrat III. Bagrationi , the son of Gurgens of Kartlien and the Abkhazian king's daughter Guranducht, the first king of the United Kingdom of Georgia

In the 780s Egrissi, the remains of Lasikas, and the Principality of Abkhazia united and formed the new state of Egrissi-Abkhazia, often just called the Kingdom of Abkhazia . According to Georgian sources, the last representative of the Egrissi dynasty, Artschil , married his niece as the heiress of Egrissis to the Abkhazian prince Levan (later Levan II / Leon II). As a result, Lewan inherited the throne from Egrissi. After this unification, the name Abkhazia referred to the whole of western Georgia and Abkhazians were sometimes referred to as all residents of the Egrissi-Abkhazian kingdom, including ethnic Georgians. Levan broke away from Byzantine supremacy, declared himself an independent king and moved to the new capital Kutaisi .

In the 9th – 10th In the 19th century, the Orthodox eparchy of the Kingdom of Egrissi-Abkhazia split off from the Church of Constantinople and joined the Georgian Orthodox Apostle Church . According to the historian Pavle Ingoroqwa , the aim of this church reform was to spread the Georgian language and literature in Abkhazia and to bring Egrissi-Abkhazia closer to the other Georgian states. Since then, Georgian has been the only church language in Abkhazia, and also the most widely written and possibly also the most widespread everyday language in Abkhazia.

The ethnicity of the princes and kings of Abkhazia from the Anchabadze dynasty is disputed. Some researchers see them as Abkhazians, others as Georgians. Since Abkhazia was formerly a Byzantine vassal, some also assume Greek ancestry. The historian Mariam Lortkipanidze sees this question as unimportant and hypothetical; In their opinion, Abkhazia was a Georgian state religiously, in writing, culturally and politically and thus also its kings Georgian by these standards.

Some historians believe that Cartelian- speaking Georgians formed the majority of the population of the Kingdom of Abkhazia, while the Abkhazians proper formed only a minority in the northwestern part of the state. Abkhazian historians assume the opposite here. However, actual censuses or statistics from this period are not available. In addition, in some Armenian sources from the 10th-11th centuries. In the 17th century the Kingdom of Abkhazia and its population were mentioned under the name Egrissi and Egrissier . The Abkhaz proper thus played an important role in the gradual formation of the unified Georgia.

978 received Bagrat III. Bagrationi (German also: Bagrat III. Der Bagratide) from the dynasty of the Georgian Bagratids the throne of Abkhazia, the son of Gurgens of Kartlien and the Abkhazian king's daughter Guranducht. So he was called Bagrat III. the first king of the United Kingdom of Georgia .

11th to 14th centuries

Georgia in the 13th century; Abkhazia belonged to the Kingdom of Georgia as an administrative region (Saeristawo) Abkhazia.

Since the unification of Georgia at the end of the 10th century, Abkhazia has belonged to the Kingdom of Georgia as an administrative region ( Saeristawo ) Abkhazia . Its chiefs were Eristawi from the Abkhazian dynasty Sharwashidze (Abkhazian also Chachba ). The detailed title of the Kings of United Georgia began with the title "King of Abkhazia" because the first King Bagrat III. first received the throne of Abkhazia and later the rest of Georgia. This fact temporarily favored an even greater expansion of the meaning of the words Apchasi , Abkhaz or Abasg . During this period they were often used to mean Georgians or residents of Georgia (also East Georgia). Georgians and Abkhazians (also Georgia and Abkhazia) were often used as synonyms in sources of this time, especially in Greek , Russian , Persian and Arabic . In the 11th century Georgios Kedrenos described the Georgian King Giorgi I as " Archon of Abkhazia", ​​but his son Bagrat IV. As "Archon of Iberia ", a common name for Georgia at the time. Johannes Skylitzes also calls King Bagrat IV "Archon of Abasgia" when he writes about the campaign of Basil II against Georgia.

Arab and Persian authors also equated Abkhazia and Georgia. The Arab historian Yāqūt al-Ḥamawī from the 13th century writes that the Christian Kurdschi (= Georgians) live in Abkhazia . In Ibn Bibi is Queen Tamar called "Gurdsch" (= Georgians), their state but when Abkhazia with the capital Tbilisi . Georgians and Abkhazians are also synonyms for Nezāmi , Chaqani and others. The Russian Nestor Chronicle from the Middle Ages also states that "Iveria" and "Abchasia" are two names of the same state.

In medieval Georgia there was a notion of the same origin of Georgians and Abkhazians; In fact, the Abkhazians were not perceived by the Georgians as a different people, despite linguistic differences. The Georgian chronicler Leonti Mroweli wrote from the 11th century that the peoples of western Georgia, including Abkhazia, had a common ancestor, Egros . The historian Nikolos Berdsenishvili states that this idea dates back to the 7th to 8th centuries. It should be noted that the Georgian kings never changed their title, which began with “King of Abkhazia”. According to Lortkipanidses, this fact testifies that the Abkhazians were not regarded as a different nation by the Georgians during the time of the United Kingdom of Georgia.

15th to 18th century

The coat of arms of the principality of Abkhazia after the Georgian historian Wachuschti Batonishvili (Bagrationi)

Disintegration of the Kingdom of Georgia and the Principality of Abkhazia

At the end of the 15th century, the united Kingdom of Georgia disintegrated and four new individual states emerged: the kingdoms of Kartli , Kakheti , Imereti and the Principality of Samtskhe . The historical area of ​​Abkhazia was initially still a part of Imereti, which, however, soon disintegrated as well. The newly created principality of Abkhazia with the princes from the Sharwashidze (Chachba) dynasty was de facto independent from 1462, even if it was still formally a vassal of Imeretia. The principality of Abkhazia achieved final independence in 1492. The border between Abkhazia and Odishi ( Mingrelia ) was the Kodori River . Since then, the term “Abkhazia” was no longer used with its broad meaning, but only referred to residents of the Principality of Abkhazia or people of Abkhaz ethnic origin. In the 16th century, Abkhazia came under the influence of the Ottoman Empire,

According to Georgian historians, members of the North Caucasian peoples moved to the South Caucasus in large numbers in the 15th to 17th centuries . During this time there was a difficult social and political situation in what is now Georgia, which was at war with the Persian Safavids and the Ottoman Empire . Parts of the population of mountainous North Georgia are said to have moved to the lowlands, while some mountain regions were gradually abandoned and repopulated by North Caucasian peoples. According to some authors, the Abkhaz mountains were also settled by Adyge-Abkhazian tribes at that time. The original name of these tribes is not clear; but since they lived in Abkhazia, Georgians also called them Abkhazians. The view that Abkhazian tribes only settled in Abkhazia in larger numbers from the 15th century or later is rejected by most ethnologists outside Georgia and attributed to Georgian ethnocentrism . Despite little historical credibility, these theses play an important role in Georgian nationalism and are still used to underpin Georgian property claims. Abkhazian tribes had long before made the majority of the population in Abkhazia.

According to many other authors, on the contrary, part of the original population of Abkhazia, linguistic Abkhazians, moved from Abkhazia to the North Caucasus at this time. This process began as early as the 14th century and intensified after the disintegration of Georgia. As a result, the Abkhazians moved to the Kuban area and formed the new ethnic group of the Abasins . Some older European authors sometimes refer to Abkhazia as "Old" or "Greater Abkhazia" and the area of ​​the Abasins as "Little Abkhazia".

Spread of Islam

The Abkhazians after the Middle Ages, who clearly spoke today's Abkhazian, also had pagan customs. At the same time, the Ottomans tried to spread Islam in this region . That weakened Christianity among the Abkhazians. The process is described in the Georgian written sources, a religious document from the 15th century "Mzneba Sasdschulo" ( Georgian მცნება სასჯულო ) explains z. B. that the Abkhazians are already "far from the commandments of Christ". Another document from the 17th century tells that the Abkhazians "live without true God and faith"

Foreign sources at the time sometimes did not see Sukhumi as an Abkhazian city. According to Archangelo Lamberti, the settlements of Ilori , Mokwi, Dranda and Bedia were inhabited by Mingrelians . After the Italian missionary Zampi, Bitschwinta was not an Abkhaz city either. He wrote that the metropolitan seat of the West Georgian Catholicos was in Bitschwinta, near the Abkhazians. Some scholars believe that medieval European authors only referred to the Islamic part of the Abkhazian population when they used the term “Abkhazians”, whereas the Christian Abkhazians were counted among the Georgians because of their similar religion.

"Abkhazing"

From the 15th century, Abkhazia began attacking other Georgian regions, mainly Mingrelia . All attacks from the 17th to 18th centuries were described by the Georgian historian Wachuschti Batonishvili (Bagrationi). There are also foreign sources such as Jean Chardin's and Archangelo Lamberti's works. At the end of the 17th century, Islamic Abkhazians conquered the north-western part of Mingrelia, the Samursaqano region , today the Gali district . Since then the process of "Abkhazation" of this region began. There are various historical documents about the Abkhazian immigration to Mingrelia. According to Georgian sources, attacks by the Abkhazians on Georgian villages in Mingrelia were followed by the expulsion of the Georgians. Information on the immigration of Abkhazians is also available in Russian sources; 19th century Russian researchers wrote:

«Афхазцы не всегда обитали там, где теперь живут; а предания их многие исторические данные и обычан их указывают, что они пришли с севера и потеснили картвельские племена, пака не остановились у Ингури. "

“The Abkhazians didn't always live where they live now; Their many historical data and customs show that they came from the north and banished Cartelian tribes until they stopped at the Enguri . "

- А. Н. Дьячков-Тарасов

To protect himself from the attacks of Abkhazia, Prince Mingreliens Levan II. Dadiani built the Kelassurier Wall . According to Nikolos Berdsenishvili, the change in the way of life and religion would be connected with the partial ethnic change of the Abkhazians; Pawle Ingoroqwa thinks that the "old Abkhazians" in the 16th-18th centuries Century completely by the "new Adygian Abkhazians", the "Apsua" were replaced. There is also an Abkhazian legend about immigration.

19th to 20th century

Micheil Sharwaschidze (Abkhazian: "Chachba"), last prince of Abkhazia

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire began to annex Georgia. Nine years after the annexation of the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti in 1801, Russian troops invaded Abkhazia and captured Sukhumi in 1810. Other regions of Abkhazia remained outside Russian control for a long time. The Sharvashidze dynasty also remained autonomous to a limited extent. Your principality of Abkhazia was only dissolved after the decades-long Caucasus War in 1864, the last Prince Micheil Sharvaschidze was arrested and exiled to Russia .

Family censuses were held across Georgia in the 19th century. In 1800 there were around 52,000 Abkhazians, 56,600 in 1832 and 60,000 in 1865. In 1886 the census in the Sukhumi district, which corresponded to historical Abkhazia, found 68,773 people, including 34,806 Georgians (mostly Mingrelians ) and 28,320 Abkhazians.

refugees

Pyotr Gruzinsky, "Mountain residents leave the Aul ".
Majority distribution of languages ​​and ethnic groups in the Sukhumi
district in 1886, which roughly corresponds to today's Abkhazia. Green: Abkhazians; in the vicinity of Sukhumi-red: Mingrelians (also east), dotted red: Russians, vertical stripes in blue: Greeks; in the east blue horizontal stripes: residents of the Samursaqano region to the east outside blue diagonal stripes: swans . Light: Black Sea, hardly populated mountain areas and northern neighboring regions.

The annexation was followed by resistance from the Abkhazians to the Russian government. There were large armed uprisings in the years 1821–1827, 1840–1842, 1866/67 and 1877/78. All of these uprisings were suppressed by the Russian government. This was followed by the forced resettlement of some Abkhazians to the Ottoman Empire . After conquering the entire Caucasus in 1864 , Russia banished part of the Caucasian mountain people. Around 700,000 Circassians, Ubyks, Abkhazians, Chechens and Dagestans left their homeland during this time . These Caucasian emigrants are known as " Muhajir ", which in Arabic means "refugee". The number of Abkhazians who emigrated in 1864 is more than 20,000 people; about as many Abkhazians emigrated to Turkey in 1866 after the rebellion was suppressed. After the last unsuccessful uprising in 1877, 30–40,000 refugees left the Caucasus. Overall, the combined number of Abkhazian and Abasin muhajirun (refugees) is 135,000 people.

After suppressing the uprising in 1877, the Russian government punished the Abkhazians, who were officially classified as “guilty people”, which restricted their rights. In some regions of Abkhazia, their settlement has been banned - on the coast and within 25 kilometers of Sukhumi. The status of the “guilty population” was not revoked for the Abkhazians until 1907. The Russian government later prevented the return of some refugees who wanted to resettle in Abkhazia. Russia encouraged the settlement of Greeks , Armenians , Russians and other nations in the areas abandoned by these waves of flight . In these areas settlement was also forbidden for Georgians (with the exception of Mingrelians). According to the Georgian press at the time, the Georgian intelligentsia wanted to stop the process of Abkhazian emigration. The Abkhazian historian Giorgi Dsidsaria wrote a work about the Abkhaz refugees. In 1920 the government of the Democratic Republic of Georgia presented the problem of the Abkhazian refugees to the Triple Entente .

Late 19th century to 1917

A Russian census from 1886 after the first Abkhazian waves of emigration showed that Abkhazia had a population of over 41.2%, the Mingrelians 5.2% and the other Georgians 0.9%, 44.6% were in This census counted the residents of the eastern Samurzaqano region separately, some of whom spoke Abkhazian and some Mingrelian.

According to Giorgi Antschabadze, numerous Georgians settled in Abkhazia in the 19th century, despite Russian resistance. This process intensified especially at the end of the 19th century, when neighboring Mingrelians migrated to the northeast and Muslim Abkhazians were still leaving their homes by the thousands. Anchabadze believes that in Abkhazia the Georgian population was in the minority and gradually became the majority through this process. On the other hand, Lortkipanidze thinks that the Georgians in Abkhazia already formed the majority in earlier times because Abkhazia was long part of the Georgian state or was itself a Georgian state. However, this assumption contradicts Russian censuses from this period, which in 1886 clearly quantified the proportion of Georgians as a minority.

From 1864 to 1883 the Abkhazian area was called the "Sukhumi Military Department". Since 1883 the historical Abkhazia belonged to the Kutaisi governorate under the name "Suchumski Okrug". Some Georgian researchers believe that the Russian administration tried to use this name to eradicate the terms "Abkhazia" and "Abkhazia". During this time the Abkhazian intelligentsia was formed, which was influenced by Russian and Georgian societies. For the Abkhaz language, an Abkhaz alphabet was created, which was developed by Baron Peter von Uslar in 1862 and consisted of 37 Cyrillic letters. It was replaced by a Latin alphabet in the Soviet Union , and the Georgian alphabet was used during the Stalinist era . In 1954, the alphabet that is still used today was finally introduced. Some theological and religious works were translated into Abkhazian, including the Gospel, and the first Abkhaz literary works were created.

20th to 21st century

1917 to 1921

The Democratic Republic of Georgia with the autonomous Abkhazia

In 1917 the Russian Empire dissolved as a result of the February and October revolutions . Several independent states emerged in the Caucasus, including the Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1918 . Some political institutions emerged in Abkhazia, including an elected Abkhazian National Council made up of respected Abkhazians, mostly aristocrats. Part of the Abkhazian people advocated that Abkhazia should become part of the Georgian state, sometimes called "unite with Georgia"; a second part wanted to join forces with the North Caucasian Autonomous Union of the Mountain Peoples , a union of the National Councils of the peoples of the North Caucasus . In May 1917 the social democratic government for Transcaucasia, OSAKOM, announced a land reform in favor of small farmers. Thereupon the Abkhaz National Council, in which many land-owning princes sat, declared that it would join the Autonomous Union of Mountain Peoples. After the Communist Bolsheviks came to power in Russia, the Autonomous Union of Mountain Peoples was conquered by the Red Army in January 1918 . A minority of the North Caucasian and Abkhaz national movement allied itself with the Bolsheviks, who, unlike the White Army, made extensive promises of internal self-determination to the minorities. The Abkhaz National Council, on the other hand, started negotiations with Georgia. Finally, on February 9, 1918, the idea of ​​the united state of Georgia was realized and Abkhazia got an autonomous status in the Democratic Republic of Georgia.

Nestor Lakoba

From 1918 to 1921, demonstrations by the Abkhazians against the Georgian government were frequent. The reason for this was the activities of the Communist Party of Georgia, which was particularly effective in the outskirts of Georgia, among the Abkhazians, especially under Nestor Lakoba . In the DR Georgia the Social Democratic Party, which was formed from the democratically oriented, moderate faction of the RSDLP , i.e. from the Mensheviks , had a strong position. The revolutionary Bolsheviks of the Communist Party were ideologically hostile to them. But since they often found their supporters among Abkhazians and Ossetians , who refused to belong to Georgia, the conflict also took on a national dimension. On February 28, 1918, the Abkhazian Bolsheviks and allies began an uprising against Georgia and fighting broke out between Georgians and the Abkhazians of the National Council on the one hand and the Abkhazians under Nestor Lakoba on the other. In May 1918 the Georgian army marched into Abkhazia under Generals Jugeli and Masnijew. Only in April 1919 could the elections for the autonomous parliament of Abkhazia take place. The Bolsheviks under Lakoba led a guerrilla war against Georgia from the mountains until 1921. That year all of Georgia was captured by the Red Army.

Soviet time

The developments in Abkhazia after the Soviet annexation of Georgia on February 25, 1921 were well described by Nestor Lakoba in his speeches and letters. On March 29, 1921, it was decided to found the Abkhazian Soviet Socialist Republic (independent of Georgia). Lakoba and V. Eschba called for independence on behalf of the Abkhaz people, but neglected the interests of Georgians and other peoples who made up the majority of the population in Abkhazia. The Georgian Bolsheviks agreed to the separation of Abkhazia from Georgia. The Abkhazian SSR was disbanded in 1931 at the request of such Abkhaz leaders and then formed the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic .

Major disputes between Abkhazians and Georgians began as early as the Soviet era. The situation worsened especially after the 1940s. Abkhazian demonstrations particularly increased in 1956, 1967 and 1978. The demonstrators made various demands, including the separation of Georgia, which in response provoked Georgian counter-demonstrations in Abkhazia. Some researchers believe that the Communist Party intensified the conflict between Abkhazians and Georgians in order to better control the region. Nevertheless, it should be noted that in the Soviet era this dispute never became a social and ethnic antagonism ; the numerous mixed Abkhazian-Georgian families and marriages bear witness to this.

Four censuses were held in Soviet Abkhazia:

  • In 1926, 201,016 people lived in Abkhazia, including 67,494 Georgians (mainly Mingrelians and Swans ), 55,918 Abkhazians, 25,677 Armenians , 12,553 Russians , 14,045 Greeks and other peoples;
  • In 1939 Abkhazia had 311,900 inhabitants, 91,900 Georgians, 56,200 Abkhazians, 60,200 Russians, 49,700 Armenians;
  • 1959 - 404,700 inhabitants, including 158,200 Georgians, 61,200 Abkhazians, 86,700 Russians, 64,400 Armenians;
  • In 1970 the population of Abkhazia increased to 487,040 people, 199,600 Georgians, 77,300 Abkhazians, 92,900 Russians, 74,900 Armenians;
  • The last census was in 1989; At that time, 239,900 Georgians, 93,300 Abkhazians, 74,900 Russians and 76,500 Armenians lived in Abkhazia.

After 1990

Abkhazians with the flag of the breakaway Abkhazia

The Georgian-Abkhaz political conflict reached its peak in the 1980s. Since the weakening of the Soviet government, Abkhazians began to form national political movements and again demanded the independence of Abkhazia on behalf of the Abkhaz people. After the first fighting in July 1989, the Soviet Union declared a state of emergency in Abkhazia. The political clashes turned into an ethnic conflict, which was followed by the war in Abkhazia from February 1992 to October 1993 . 4,040 Abkhazians (1,820 civilians) and 9,000 Georgians were killed in the war. In the end, Abkhazian separatist paramilitary units had conquered almost all of Abkhazia. The war was followed by ethnic cleansing and expulsions of Georgians from Abkhazia. Some of the refugees were also Abkhazians. This caused a decrease in the population of Abkhazia and a change in the ethnic distribution. On January 1, 1992, there were 535,061 people in Abkhazia, compared to 145,586 in 1997. Until the war, the proportion of Georgians was 45.76% (244.872 people), the Abkhazians 17.73% (94.767 people). The ethnic cleansing increased the proportion of Abkhazians to 36.98%, but the number temporarily fell to 53,993 people. To this day, Abkhazia is governed by a government that proclaimed itself to be independent, but is only recognized by very few states and is therefore not recognized internationally.

The government-in-exile of the internationally recognized Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia believes that the Abkhazians who fled Abkhazia to Georgia during the war, like other refugees, have no way of returning home because the separatists regard them as national traitors. The autonomous government named emigration mostly to Russia as the cause of the decrease in the number of Abkhazians in Abkhazia, which was caused by difficult housing conditions and crime in present-day Abkhazia.

After 2000, few Abkhazians returned home from abroad, but mostly did not stay in Abkhazia for long. The Kaukasiologist Mamuka Areschidze writes that a small group of Abkhazians from Turkey already took part in the Abkhaz-Georgian war. After the war, few descendants of Muhajiren returned to Abkhazia from Turkey and Syria , but many of them soon left Abkhazia.

According to the Georgian census in 2002, there were 3,527 Abkhazians living in Georgia outside Abkhazia (Georgian censuses in Abkhazia could only take place in the Kodori Valley ). According to the census of the separatist government in 2003, 94,500 Abkhazians lived in Abkhazia. According to another census in 2011, there are said to be 122,069 Abkhazians (50.7%) and 46,367 Georgians (19.2%).

economy

Agriculture

In agriculture, animal husbandry and field management are particularly developed under the Abkhazians ; as well as beekeeping and hunting . Maize is first grown from the grain , but barley , Phaseolus beans and a little wheat are also grown. Wine production also plays an important role in the agriculture of the Abkhazians . The most important zone for viticulture in Abkhazia is the area around the river Bsipi , in today's municipality of Gudauta (after the de facto division of the Gudauta district). In this region alone, more than thirty grape varieties were widespread at the beginning of the 20th century (there are twice as many in the whole of Abkhazia). Since the late 19th century, the North American grape variety Isabella was grown in Abkhazia , which yielded large harvests and became an important competitor for the local varieties; many of them gradually disappeared.

In the Abkhaz villages, the residents also do horticulture; apples , pears , peaches , apricots , hazelnuts , walnuts , figs , cherries, plums and other fruits grow here . Vegetables are also grown , including cabbage and potatoes , which were popular in Abkhazia in the 19th century. Cotton and hemp , which almost every family draws , are particularly common . Since the 20th century, the Abkhazians also began to cultivate tobacco , tea and citrus plants.

In Abkhazia, domestic cattle , such as cows and buffalos and other horned animals , such as domestic goats and domestic sheep, are widespread, and horses and donkeys are also used. Another area of ​​animal husbandry is pig production , which has declined since the spread of Islam and in Abkhazia only occurs in regions that are sparsely populated or not populated by ethnic Abkhazians. Domestic cattle are from the end of spring to the end of summer on the mountain pastures, which the Abkhazians use on the southern slope, but also on the northern slope of the western Caucasus . In other seasons, the willows on the beach and in the foothills are also used.

In the 19th century, hunting for dolphins also played a role in the Abkhazian economy , and Greek and Turkish merchants bought their fat. During the hunt, the Abkhazians used boats that were carved from one piece of wood. The Abkhazian dolphin hunt in the 1830s was described by the Russian traveler F. Tornau .

Craft

Until the middle of the 19th century, handicrafts were not completely separated from agriculture in Abkhazia. The tools, dishes, cloths, clothes and burqas , weapons and other everyday products were made by the Abkhaz families themselves. Abkhazian artisans working for the market were relatively rare. From these craftsmen z. B. for Abkhazia and the neighboring regions of Georgia and the North Caucasus made armaments , ships and goldsmiths work. Famous were high-quality weapons, shotguns, swords and daggers made in Abkhazia, which were often adorned with gold or silver . Protective clothing was produced in Abkhazia until the beginning of the 19th century. The German orientalist Heinrich Julius von Klaproth , who traveled to Georgia from 1807 to 1809, wrote that particularly high-quality chain armor was produced on the Abkhazian coast.

Shipbuilding also has a long history in Abkhazia. The etymology of some of today's Abkhazian toponyms (e.g. “Location of the ship carving”, “Location of the shipbuilding” etc.) are related to shipbuilding. The French traveler Jacques François Gamba, who traveled to the Caucasus in the 1820s, wrote that in Abkhazia the local population was much more adept in shipbuilding than in the Chobi and Phasisi area . Abkhazians mainly built small rowing and sailing ships with flat bottoms for 80 to 100 people. However, Abkhazian shipbuilders could also build larger ships; According to a source, at the beginning of the 19th century, the Abkhazian prince Keleschbeg Sharwaschidze gave the Ottoman sultan a large ship with 60 cannons that was built by the Abkhazians. Since the rule of Russia on the Black Sea in the second part of the 19th century, the Abkhazian shipbuilding ended.

society

structure

An Abkhazian tawadi, photo by Dimitri Yermakov

At the beginning of the 19th century, the social and economic development of the Abkhazians was at the stage of transition between the patriarchal-feudal societies of the western Georgian lowland regions and the society of the Northwest Caucasus. The feudal relations in the coastal country of Abkhazia were relatively better developed. The feudal lords were also the most important social class in the mountainous region, but the remnants of the tribal and communal order were better preserved there than in the coastal region.

At the head of the Abkhazian feudal society was the prince ( Abkhazian аҳ ) from the Sharvaschidze family, also called Chachba in Abkhazia. The high nobility formed the "Tawadi" (Abkhazian аҭавад , from Georgian თავადი ), the lower level of the nobility were the "Asnauri" (Abkhazian аамсҭа , Georgian აზნაური ), who were mainly vassals of princes, princes and Tawadi.

Between the feudal lords and peasants there was still a social class, the Ashnaqma (from the Georgian shinaqma , შინაყმა). They mainly formed the military forces of the feudal lords, or had economic or administrative functions with the feudal lords, which is why they are sometimes compared with medieval knights or ministerials .

The non-privileged society was divided into the following groups:

  1. Anchaiu - free residents of the community;
  2. Amazurasgu - upper level of dependent peasants who had received few rights and peculiar privileges;
  3. Achoiu - dependent farmers;
  4. Achaschala - the servant in a family.

The Anchaiu were the most numerous class in the Abkhaz non-privileged society. In 1869 the number of Anchaiu was 47 thousand, the total population of Abkhazia was 65 thousand. Although they were legally free farmers, they often had to pay taxes to the feudal lords. This exploitation has sometimes been disguised as a sign of voluntary respect or a gift. In 1807 this social hierarchy was abolished by the Russian reforms. The prerequisite for the bourgeoisie , the urban bourgeoisie, was formed, but this process was slow in Abkhazia and the remnants of feudalism were long preserved.

family

An Abkhazian girl, 1881. In the background: a woven house that was typical of the non-privileged Abkhazian class in the 19th century

Until the late Middle Ages , Abkhazians lived in large patriarchal families . From the 19th century onwards, large families were replaced by small monogamous families, which are still common today. Even today tribal-patronymic relationships are preserved.

Marriage relationships among Abkhazians were strictly regulated by custom. Marriage was not only forbidden within a patronymic tribe, but also in two or more tribes of common origin. This ban also applied to the tribes of the mother and grandmother, but this rule was often lifted. The marriage prohibition also applied among families joined by adoption. The breaker of these rules has been driven from the tribe.

Abkhaz families were patriarchal and the man always had a dominant position in the family. It was the right and duty of the father of the family , the head of the family, to make the final decision. When property was divided, the eldest and youngest son had some privileges. The women who were obedient to the husband or the father held a lower position in the family and were not equal to men. They had no right to the inheritance, but they were protected from unfair actions by the man through the adat . In such cases, the women were helped by their relatives.

Although men and women were not equal in the family who played women in the Abkhaz society an important role and was appreciated, especially older women. Unlike in other Islamic societies, Abkhazian women never covered their faces , took part in village meetings, were allowed to invite guests regardless of whether they were men, etc. It was shameful for a man to use rude words in the presence of women. The rule of blood revenge did not apply to women either.

habitat

The Abkhazian villages always covered a large area, often ten square kilometers each. A village mainly comprised a few neighborhoods. Such widely spaced houses are still typical of the Abkhaz villages today. The villages are not in an unwooded location, but mainly in the forest area. The forest used to have a defensive function for the settlements.

An old Abkhaz house is a round or square house woven from rod with a thatched roof and walls plastered with clay . The wealthier families lived in the square houses with round roofs. It should be noted that the wealthy families had built two apartments in the courtyard: a larger house for guests and a smaller one for their own family. This emphasizes the tradition of hospitality among Abkhazians. A small mud house was often built in the courtyard for the newlyweds. In addition, there was often a separate kitchen house in the Abkhazian courtyard, which had a floor and in the center of which the fire was lit. The family members spent most of their time in this kitchen house.

The Abkhazian courtyard was bordered by a plaited fence or a fence built from logs , and sometimes also by a water channel. In addition to the residential and kitchen houses, the farm also contained agricultural areas, small pastures , forests and a family cemetery . These settlements have many similarities with the North Caucasian Circassian settlements, but the influence of the general West Georgian building culture is clear, which is connected with the geographical settlement area of ​​the Abkhazians.

The houses of the nobles differed from the rural mud houses in terms of size, building materials and planning. The apartments of the strong feudal lords were castle buildings. They were mainly by a strong curtain wall protected by towers, by a deep trench along the curtain wall.

From the middle of the 19th century, Abkhazians began to build so-called Oda houses, which were typical of western Georgia. In the beginning, Abkhazians used these houses for guests. In present-day Abkhazia , two-story houses with several rooms , already made of stone or brick , are common.

lifestyle

"Abkhazians", picture by Grigori Gagarin

Information about the early modern lifestyle of the Abkhazians is provided by the Italian traveler Giovanni Giuliano da Luca, who traveled to western Georgia in 1630. He writes that Abkhazians live scattered on the Black Sea coast and have the same lifestyle as the Circassians . The Abkhazian language is similar to the neighbors' languages; they have no written law or scripture . The religion is Christianity , but Christian traditions are not followed. For them the forests are their home; if a place is chosen it will never be left again. The Abkhazians dress like the Circassians, but cut their hair differently. In the forest they have small herds and little material for clothing; they eat the fruits of the forest and drink of honey produced wine . Durum wheat is not grown and salt is not used. It should be noted that when Giovanni reported this news, he wrote "Abbazza" as the title, but used other terms in the text - "Abcasa" or "Abaca".

According to Archangelo Lamberti, who lived in Abkhazia for twenty years in the 17th century, Abkhazians did not live in cities ; a tribe gathered and lived together in the mountains. What is interesting in Lamberti's reports is that these tribes do not harass strangers, only attack one another. Lamberti also reports that trade is unknown to this people, they have neither money nor goods. Giovanni da Luca and the 17th century Ottoman historian Evliya Çelebi also report that Abkhazians did not use money . Later, in the 1820s, the French traveler Jacques François Gamba also wrote that Abkhazians had no use for gold and silver coins; these coins are often found in Abkhazia, but the Abkhazians remelt them.

religion

The Christianity spread among the Abkhazians in the 7th century under the influence of Byzantium from, but was in the 15th and 16th centuries by the religious policy of the Ottoman Empire partially displaced; a large part of the Abkhazians converted to Sunni Islam at this time . Since then there has been both a large Muslim and a large Christian community. To this day, the influence of the old pagan beliefs has remained strong.

The diaspora

The Russian Tsar gave the Abkhazians a short-term ultimatum to leave their homeland, but should they not intend to do so, they would have to agree to be resettled north of the Caucasus at a location determined by the Tsar. Furthermore, all Abkhazians were forbidden to settle near the coast, the expropriated houses and land in the said areas were handed over to Russian officials and Russian and Georgian settlers so that they had an incentive to move to Abkhazia.

The uprisings of the Abkhazian peasants in 1866 and 1877 against social and colonial oppression were very important, after their defeat the violent mass deportation of Abkhazians, Circassians , Chechens , Avars , Ossetians and other peoples of the Caucasus to Turkey and the states of the Orient followed. There, as well as in Europe and the USA, there is now a strong Caucasian diaspora .

Individual evidence

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  2. Georgian census 2002 (PDF; 32 kB)
  3. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ეთნოსები საქართველოში, აფხაზები, გ. ანჩაბაძე, თბილისი, 2008 (Ethnic groups in Georgia, Abkhazia, G. Anschabadse. Tbilisi, 2008) ( Memento from January 28, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 1.5 MB)
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  49. ქრონიკები და სხვა მასალა საქართველოს ისტორიისა, შეკრებილი თ. ჟორდანიას მიერ, II Tbilisi, 1897, p. 261
  50. არქანჯელო ლამბერტი, სამეგრელოს აღწერა, ლ. ასათიანის რედაქც., Tbilisi, 1938, pp. 120, 158
  51. ჟან შარდენის მოგზაურობა სპარსეთსა და აღმოსავლეთის სხა ქვეყნებში (ცნობები საქართელოს შესახებ), ფრანგულიდან თარგმნა, გამოკვლევა და კომენტარები დაურთო მზია მგალობლიშვილმა, Tbilisi, 1975, p. 137
  52. ^ Wachuschti Bagrationi, Leben Kartlis, IV, Tiflis, 1973, pp. 842, 863
  53. И. Г. Антелава, Очерки истории Абхазии XVII - XVIII вв., Сухуми, 1951, pp. 30–34
  54. И. Г. Антелава. Очерки истории Абхазии XVII - XVIII вв., Сухуми, 1951, p. 42
  55. ქართული სამართლის ძეგლები, III, Tiflis, pp. 670–671
  56. А. Н. Дьячков-Тарасов. Бзыбская Абхазия, Известня Кавказского отдела Императоского Руского географическогио обТества5, S. XVIII, 65
  57. T. Beradze, Georgische Sowjetenzyklopädie, Volume 5., Tiflis, 1980, p. 462
  58. Ш. Инал-Ипа. абхазы, Сухуми, 1960, с. 36-38
  59. a b c Georgian Genealogy, Abkhazians in Georgia (English, Georgian)
  60. The inhabitants of the Samursaqano region spoke partly a dialect of Abkhazian , partly a dialect of Mingrelian , cf. the Russian article on the Samusaqano region in Brockhaus-Efron around 1900: Copy from Wikisource (Russian). The linguistically undecided category "Samursakanians" only existed in the 1886 census, not in the 1897 census, but in which significantly more "Mingrelians" were counted. See results of the census results in Abkhazia for 1886 and 1897 .
  61. Legend of the map cf. General map of Kutaisi Governorate: Map of Kutais
  62. Г. А. Дзидзария, Махаджирство и проблемы истории Абхазии XIX столетия, Сухуми, 1982, p. 373
  63. Censuses in Abkhazia: 1886, 1926, 1939, 1959, 1970, 1979, 1989, 2003 . The addition of the Samurzaqanians to the Abkhazians in the first table is a mistake, they have been linguistically mixed for a long time, cf. first footnote of the previous chapter, the ethnolinguistic map by the Caucasus historian Zuziev for the years 1774-1783 and the ethnolinguistic map 1886-1890 (in both cases in the east of Abkhazia, shaded in Abkhaz and Mingrelian).
  64. Wolfdieter Bihl : The Caucasus Policy of the Central Powers. Vol. II Vienna 1992, p. 275
  65. on the events cf. Wolfdieter Bihl : The Caucasus Policy of the Central Powers. Vol. 2 Vienna 1992, pp. 272-283.
  66. cf. also Naira Gelashvili: Georgia. A paradise in ruins. Berlin 1993, pp. 66–77 (The title explains itself because it was written immediately after the war about the overthrow of Swiad Gamsachurdia and the simultaneous secession of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.)
  67. Werner Zürrer: Caucasus 1918-1921. The struggle of the great powers for the land bridge between the Black and Caspian Seas. Düsseldorf 1978 (Several pages that, in addition to other events, are repeatedly devoted to the conflict in Abkhazia.)
  68. Н. Лакоба. Статьи и речи, Сухуми, 1987
  69. All results of the population censuses in Abkhazia since 1886 (Russian)
  70. Human Rights Watch : GEORGIA / ABKHAZIA: VIOLATIONS OF THE LAWS OF WAR AND RUSSIA'S ROLE IN THE CONFLICT (PDF; 457 kB)
  71. Demographic situation in Abkhazia
  72. Interesting.ge, History of Abkhazia  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / interesting.ge  
  73. Where are Muhajirs returning, April 20, 2012. ( Memento of the original from December 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.for.ge
  74. The Muhajirs return from Syria, March 23, 2012.
  75. "სხვისი ჭირით" მოსარგებლე მარიონეტები, 24 საათი, January 24, 2012. ( Memento from June 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  76. Last table, second column of numbers and fourth and fifth (Georgians and Mingrelians are counted separately there, whereby the number of Georgians also includes many Mingrelian Georgians who see themselves as Georgians.)
  77. К. Д. Мачавариани, Абхазские вина // Его же, Очерки и рассказы (Из наблюдений разных годов). Батум, 1909, p. 116
  78. Ф.Ф. Торнау, Воспоминания кавказского офицера, Москва, 2000, p. 85
  79. Статистический взгляд на Абхазию // "Тифлисские ведомости" .orld24, 25 и 26'1831, გვ. 324
  80. Клапрот Генрих-Юлиус. Путешествие по Кавказу и Грузии, предпринятое в 1807-1808 гг. // Адыги, балкарцы и карачаевцы в известиях европейских авторов XIII-XIX вв. / Составление, редакция переводов, введение и вступительные статьи к текстам В.К.Гарданова. Нальчик, 1974, p. 266
  81. ჟაკ ფრანსუა გამბა. მოგზაურობა ამიერკავკასიაში, Georgian translation by Msia Mgaloblishvili. Tbilisi, 1987, p. 89
  82. Т. Н. Берадзе, Мореплавание и морская торговля в средневековой Грузии. Тбилиси, 1989, p. 177
  83. Акты, собранные Кавказской Археографической комиссиею. Том IV. Тифлис, 1870, p. 450.
  84. Ш. Д. Инал-ипа, Абхазы (историко-этнографические очерки), Сухуми, 1960. p. 334
  85. Ш. Д. Инал-ипа, Абхазы. В разделе: «Народы Грузинской ССР» / / Народы Кавказа. II. Москва, 1962, p. 405
  86. a b c d როლანდ თოფჩიშვილი, კავკასიის ხალხთა ეთნოგრაფია, ეთნიკური ისტორია, ეთნიკური კულტურა, აფხაზები, თბილისი, 2007, გვ. 213  ( Page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Ronald Topchishvili, Ethnography of Caucasian Peoples, Ethnic History, Ethnic Culture, Abkhazia, Tiflis, 2007, p. 213) (PDF; 1.7 MB)@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.nplg.gov.ge  
  87. ი. ტაბაღუა, საქართველო ევროპის არქივებსა და წიგნთსაცავებში, III, თბილისი, 1987, გვ. 169-171
  88. ი. ტაბაღუა, საქართველო ევროპის არქივებსა და წიგნთსაცავებში, III, თბილისი, 1987, გვ. 154
  89. ი. ტაბაღუა, საქართველო ევროპის არქივებსა და წიგნთსაცავებში, III, თბილისი, 1987, გვ. 169
  90. არქანჯელო ლამბერტი, სამეგრელოს აღწერა, ლ. ასათიანის რედაქც., თბილისი, 1938, გვ. 168
  91. ლამბერტი, დონ არქანჯელო. სამეგრელოს აღწერა. გამოსაცემად მოამზადა და წინასიტყვაობა დაურთო პროფ. ილ. ანთელავამ. თბილისი, 1991, გვ. 28
  92. ილ. ტაბაღუა, საქართველო ევროპის არქივებსა და წიგნსაცავებში / XIII-XX სს. პირველი მეოთხედი /. ტ. III (1628-1633). თბილისი, 1987, გვ. 170
  93. ევლია ჩელების «მოგზაურობის წიგნი». თურქულიდან თარგმნა, კომენტარები და გამოკვლევა დაურთო გ. ფუთურიძემ. ნაკვ. I, ქართული თარგმანი. თბილისი, 1971, გვ. 103
  94. ჟაკ ფრანსუა გამბა, მოგზაურობა ამიერკავკასიაში. ფრანგულიდან თარგმნა, კომენტარები დაურთო მ. მგალობლიშვილმა. ტ. I, თბილისი, 1987, გვ. 88
  95. Timothy L. Gall (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 4 - Europe. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pp. 15-16.

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Web links

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Wiktionary: Abkhazia  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations