The Principality of Apselia was an ancient people and region located in the area corresponding to modern-day
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 ...
, along the Black Sea. The Apsilians are believed to have descended from the ancient Zygii people who settled in the Black Sea region. The earliest known historical references to Apselia are from the writings of
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...
(1st century CE) and Flavius Arrian (2nd century CE), who referred to the region as Apsilae (Greek: Αψιλαι).
The legal and cultural foundations of Apselia were established during the reign of King Julian (Julianus). During the Roman Empire period, under Emperor Trajan (98-117 CE), Apselia became an official administrative region. However, by around 730 CE, Apselia came under the control of the stronger Abasgoi Principality, and by the second half of the 8th century, the region of Apsilae disappears from historical records. Apselia eventually became part of the Kingdom of Abkhazia after the inclusion of additional territories.
The region has been a subject of political and ethnic debate, with scholars questioning whether the Apsilians are the ancestors of the modern-day Abkhazians or the Georgians. They are also considered to be the ancestors of the Apsuas, a subgroup of the Abkhazian people.
Location
The tribal territory was located on the Black Sea coast of the northwest
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
near the estuary of Kodori. The settlements of Sebastopolis and Tibeleos (associated with Tsebelda by George Hewitt) were located in their territory.
Identity
The ''Apsilae'' may have been the ancestors of the
Abkhaz people
The Abkhazians or Abkhazes are a Northwest Caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in Abkhazia, a disputed region on the northeastern coast of the Black Sea. A large Abkhaz diaspora population resides in Turkey, the origins of which lie in the ...
(in Abkhaz Аҧсуаа ''Apswa'').
Their culture is known as the
Tsebelda culture
Tsebelda culture is a late antiquity to early medieval archaeological culturePliny of the 1st century AD, as well as of
Flavius Arrianus
Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; ; )
was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander, and philosopher of the Roman period.
''The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best source on the campaigns of ...
in the 2nd century (). The territory became an official division of the Roman Empire under
Trajan
Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...
(98-117). It was absorbed by the surrounding, more powerful principality of the
Abasgoi
The Abasgoi or Abasgians (, Abasgoi, and , Abaskoi; ; ka, აბაზგები, Abazgebi; compare Abkhaz "the Abaza people") were one of the ancient tribes inhabiting western region of Abkhazia, who originally inhabited lands north of Aps ...
, in approximately 730 AD, and the Apsilae are no longer recorded after the second half of the 8th century. Later, and after the inclusion of other territories and people including Misiminia, it became the
Kingdom of Abkhazia
The Kingdom of Abkhazia ( ka, აფხაზთა სამეფო, tr; ) was a medieval feudal state in the Caucasus which was established in the 780s. Through dynastic succession, it was united in 1008 with the Kingdom of the Iberians, f ...