Lazica ( ka, ეგრისი, ; lzz, ლაზიკა, ; grc-gre, Λαζική, ; fa, لازستان, ; hy, Եգեր, ) was the Latin name given to the territory of
Colchis
In Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia.
Its population, the Colchians are generally though ...
during the
Roman/Byzantine period, from about the 1st century BC.
History
By the mid-3rd century, Lazica was given partial autonomy within the Roman Empire and developed into kingdom. Throughout much of its existence, it was mainly a
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
strategic vassal kingdom that briefly came under
Sasanian Persian rule during the
Lazic War. The kingdom fell to the
Muslim conquest in the 7th century. Lazica in the 8th century successfully repelled the Arab occupation and formed part of the
Kingdom of Abkhazia
The Kingdom of Abkhazia ( ka, აფხაზთა სამეფო, tr; lit. "Kingdom of the Abkhazians"), also known as Abasgia or Egrisi-Abkhazia, was a medieval feudal state in the Caucasus which was established in the 780s. Through d ...
from c. 780, one of the early medieval polities which would converge into the unified
kingdom of Georgia
The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic ...
in the 11th century.
Ecclesiastical history
In the early 4th century, the
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
eparchy (eastern bishopric) of
Pityus was established in this kingdom, and as in neighboring
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese language, Aragonese and Occitan language, Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a pe ...
Christianity was declared as an official religion in AD 319. Other ancient episcopal sees in Lazica include
Rhodopolis, Saesina, and Zygana.
[''Annuario Pontificio 2013'', p. 1013] Bishop Stratophilus of Pityus was among the participants of the
First Council of Nicaea in 325. The first Christian king of Lazica was
Gubazes I; in the 5th century, Christianity was made the official religion of Lazica. Later, the nobility and clergy of Lazica switched from the Hellenic ecclesiastic tradition to the Georgian, and Georgian became the language of culture and education. The
Bichvinta Cathedral
Pitsunda ( ab, Пиҵунда, russian: Пицунда) or Bichvinta ( ka, ბიჭვინთა ) is a resort town in the Gagra District of Abkhazia/Georgia. Founded by Greek colonists in the 5th century BC, Pitsunda became an important politi ...
is one of oldest monuments of
Georgian Christian architecture. It was constructed by King
Bagrat III of Georgia
Bagrat III ( ka, ბაგრატ III) (c. 960 – 7 May 1014), of the Georgian Bagrationi dynasty, was King of Abkhazia from 978 on (as Bagrat II) and King of Georgia from 1008 on. He united these two titles by dynastic inheritance and, thr ...
(978-1014, an Orthodox saint).
[W.E.D. Allen, ''A history of the Georgian people'' (1932), p. 276.]
Rulers
See also
*
Roman Georgia
*
Laz people
References
{{Georgia (country) topics
Ancient history of Georgia (country)
Provinces of the Sasanian Empire
Roman client kingdoms
Historical regions