Khevi ( ka, ხევი) is a small historical-geographic area in northeastern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. It is included in the modern-day Kazbegi district, Mtskheta-Mtianeti region ( mkhare). Located on the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus mountains, it comprises three gorges of the rivers Truso, Tergi ( Terek) and Snostsq’ali. The landscape of Khevi is dominated by alpine meadows dotted with

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

, mountain passes and

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

s, and the Mount Kazbek (locally known as Mkinvartsveri, i.e. “ice-capped”), a dormant 5047-meter high

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

. The area is a popular tourist destination. It is a part of the projected Khevi-Aragvi Biosphere Reserve. Among the important cultural sites of Khevi are the Gergeti Trinity Church (fourteenth century), Garbani Church (ninth to tenth century), Sioni Basilica (ninth century) and castle, Betlemi Monastery Complex (ninth to tenth century), and Sno fortress. The name of this province, literally meaning "a gorge", comes from the ancient and early medieval district of Tsanareti known to the Georgian annals as Tsanaretis Khevi, i.e. the Tsanar Gorge. People of Khevi were called Mokheves (Mokhevians). History, traditions and lifestyle of the Mokheves are very similar to those of other mountaineers of northeastern Georgia. Since ancient times, Khevi has been of great strategic and military importance due chiefly to its immediate neighborhood to the Darial Pass, which connects the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

with the

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...

. Free of typical feudal relations, locals lived in a patriarchal community governed by a '' khevisberi'' (i.e. "gorge elder") who functioned as a judge, priest and military leader. The Khevian mountainous communities were regarded as direct vassals of the Georgian crown, except for the period ranging from the end of the seventeenth century to 1743, when the area was placed under the control of the semi-autonomous Duchy of Aragvi. The fierce resistance offered by the Mokheves to the attempts of the Aragvian lords has been greatly reflected in local folklore as well as in classical Georgian literature. The establishment of Russian rule in Georgia (1801) was met with hostility by the mountaineers, who staged an uprising in 1804, which was promptly suppressed by the Tsarist military. However, the people of Khevi retained their medieval traditions and a unique form of society until the harsh

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

rule changed their lifestyle through permanent repressions, forcibly relegating several families to the lowlands.

References

External links

Photos of KheviThe Guide to Khevikhevi.ge

{{coord, 42.6975, N, 44.519, E, type:adm3rd_source:itwiki, display=title Former provinces of Georgia (country) Historical regions of Georgia (country) Nature conservation in Georgia (country) North Caucasus

See also

References

External links