Lesser Abkhazia ( Georgian: ჯიქეთი, Jiqeti) was the term used to refer to those lands of

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 ...

that were not subject to the direct control of the ruling Shervashidze dynasty. The area was part of the Black Sea Governorate during

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 ...

rule.

History

The territory was part of the

Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia (), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a Middle Ages, medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in Anno Domini, AD. It reached Georgian Golden Age, its Golden Age of political and economic strength during the reign ...

between 10th and 15th centuries. After the Russian-Circassian War, the bulk of the mountaineers relocated to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, while the depopulated coastline was gradually colonized by Christian settlers of various ethnicity. Loo temple

Sadzen was an ill-defined region on the eastern shore of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

which used to be settled by the Sadz people, hence the name. In the mid-19th century, it came to be known in Russian and Western literature as Lesser Abkhazia. According to

Ivane Javakhishvili Ivane Alexandres dze Javakhishvili ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილი; 23 April 1876 – 18 November 1940) was a Georgian historian and linguist whose works heavily influenced the Kartvelian studies, modern scholarship of the ...

it is a historical part of

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 ...

, The northern part of Sadzen today forms part of Greater Sochi, while the southern part falls within the borders of

. The

Sochi conflict The Sochi conflict was a three-party armed conflict which involved the counterrevolutionary White Russian forces, Bolshevik Red Army and the Democratic Republic of Georgia, each of which sought control over the strategic Black Sea town of Sochi ...

took place in Sadzen in 1918-1920.

References

History of Kuban Historical regions of Georgia (country) Regions of Abkhazia Subdivisions of Abkhazia {{Abkhazia-geo-stub

History

See also

References