Misimians ( ka, მისიმიელები) were a mountainous indigenous tribe in ancient

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

. Along with the

Sanigs The Sanigs ( ka, სანიგები) were a tribe inhabiting Western Georgian/Abkhazia during antiquity. Their ethnic identity is obscure and is the subject of a controversy. They are first attested in the works of Pliny, Arrian and Memnon o ...

they are thought of as the ancestors of the modern day

Svan people , native_name = , native_name_lang = , image = File:Kartvelian languages.svg , caption = Distribution of the Svan language in relation to other Kartvelian (South Caucasian) languages. , population = –80,00 ...

, who constitute a subethnos of the

Georgian people The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, ...

. They bordered the

Apsilae The Apsilae were an ancient tribe inhabiting the territory of Apsilia, in modern Abkhazia. Location The tribal territory was located on the Black Sea coast of the northwest Caucasus, between present day town of New Athos and the village of Tsebelda ...

tribe. According to Agathias Scholasticus both tribes were subjects of the Lazic king. Misimians are known for participating in

Lazic War The Lazic War, also known as the Colchidian War or in Georgian historiography as the Great War of Egrisi was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire for control of the ancient Georgian region of Lazica. The Lazic War lasted ...

. Etymologically the name "Misimians" corresponds to the Svan self-designation Mushüan. The Misimians occupied part of the

Kodori gorge , ab, Кәыдырҭа , photo = , photo_caption = , map = Caucasus mountains#Georgia#Abkhazia , map_image = , map_caption = , location = , country_type = International ...

and, according to some Georgian authors, were "doubtlessly" a Svanian tribe. It follows, therefore, that Svans lived in the

Kodori Gorge , ab, Кәыдырҭа , photo = , photo_caption = , map = Caucasus mountains#Georgia#Abkhazia , map_image = , map_caption = , location = , country_type = International ...

as early as in the Antiquity.N. Lomouri, Museum of Georgian Art, "ABKHAZIA IN THE LATE ANTIQUE AND EARLY MEDIEVAL EPOCHS "

References

Ancient peoples of Georgia (country) Tribes in Greco-Roman historiography Sub-ethnic groups {{Georgia-stub