Abzhywa ( - "middle people" – Абжьыуа, ''Abƶywa''; also transliterates as Abzhua from

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: Абжуа, Абжива; ka, აბჟუა) is one of the seven historical regions in

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

, and accordingly one of the seven stars on

Flag of Abkhazia The flag of the Republic of Abkhazia was created in 1991 by Valeri Gamgia.Аргун Ю.Г. (''Argun Yu. G.'')О Государственном флаге (''On the state flag'') (XLVIII итоговая научная сессия (11-13 мая) ...

represents Abzhywa. Local residents belong to

ethnographic group An ethnographic group or ethnocultural group is a group that has cultural traits that make it stand out from the larger ethnic group it is a part of. In other words, members of an ethnographic group will also consider themselves to be members of a ...

of (Abzhui Abkhazians).

Territory

Prior to the Russian annexation of the

Principality of Abkhazia The Principality of Abkhazia ( ka, აფხაზეთის სამთავრო, tr) 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 th ...

, Abzhywa constituted its separate administrative district. Later, in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

Abzhywa constituted an ''

okrug An okrug is a type of administrative division in some Slavic-speaking states. The word ''okrug'' is a loanword in English, alternatively translated as area, district, county, or region. Etymologically, ''okrug'' literally means ' circuit', der ...

'' of Abkhazia. It occupied most of the territory of modern

Ochamchire Ochamchire or Ochamchira ( ka, ოჩამჩირე, ; , ''Ochamchyra''; , ''Ochamchira'') is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast of Abkhazia, Georgia, and a center of an eponymous district. According to the 1989 Soviet population census ...

, as well as part of the territory of the

Tkvarcheli District Tkvarcheli District ( ka, ტყვარჩელის რაიონი, , ) is one of the districts of Abkhazia. It has no equivalent Georgian district, as it was newly formed in 1995 from parts of Ochamchira District and Gali District, ce ...

of Abkhazia, between the Kodori and Okhurei rivers.

History

Abzhywa got its name from its middle location among the rest of the historical regions of Abkhazia. Some scholars argue that it was part of the principality of

Apsilae The Principality of Apselia was an ancient people and region located in the area corresponding to modern-day Abkhazia, along the Black Sea. The Apsilians are believed to have descended from the ancient Zygii people who settled in the Black Sea re ...

in the ancient period. During the period of Russian rule in Abkhazia up to 1866, Abzhua was called "Abzhuiskiy district", in 1868-1883 - "Kodori district", in 1919-1930 - "Kodori district". Since 1930, Abzhua officially became known as the Ochamchira region (later -

Ochamchire Municipality Ochamchire Municipality ( ka, ოჩამჩირის მუნიციპალიტეტი, ''Očamčiris municip’alit’et’i'') is an administrative unit in the Georgian Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia. The capital of the municipal ...

). The historical centers of Abjua were the villages of

Mokvi , , other_name = , settlement_type = Village , image_skyline = Mokva_cathedral.jpg , image_caption = Mokvi Cathedral , image_map = , map_caption = Location in Georgia , pushpin_map = Georgia#Geo ...

and . The territory appears as part of Abkhazian principality from the first half of the XVIII century. It was created after the Abkhazian principality annexed the northwestern part of the

Samegrelo Mingrelia or Samegrelo ( ka, სამეგრელო, tr ; ) is a historic province in the western part of Georgia, formerly known as Odishi. It is primarily inhabited by the Mingrelians, a subgroup of Georgians. Geography and climate Mingre ...

principality. The first governor of Abzhua was the son of the Abkhazian prince — , who inherited the middle part of the principality from his father's inheritance, hence the etymology of the toponym.

References

* Maan O. V. Abzhua. Historical and ethnological sketches of the Ochamchira region of Abkhazia. Sukhum, 2006 Regions of Abkhazia Subdivisions of Abkhazia {{Abkhazia-geo-stub