Samurzakano ( ka, სამურზაყანო, ''samurzak'ano'') is a historical region in southeastern
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 ...
, in western
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 ...
.
['' Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia'', v. 9, p. 37, Tb., 1985.] It is populated by
Mingrelians
The Mingrelians (; ka, მეგრელები, tr) are an indigenous Kartvelian-speaking ethnic subgroup of Georgians that mostly live in the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti (; ka, სამეგრელო, tr) region of Georgia. They also l ...
.
History
Samurzakano was established as a
fief
A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
of one of the branches of the Chachba family in the early 18th century. It included the territory of the contemporary
Gali district and part of
Ochamchire district.
The ''Georgian Soviet Encyclopaedia'' wrote "in 1705 three brothers of the Abkhazian ruling family, surnamed Chachba (in Georgian
Shervashidze) divided up their territory, one taking the north (from
Gagra to the
R. Kodori), the second the central Abzhywa region (from the
Kodori to the
R. Ghalidzga), and the third, Murzaqan, the southern part (from the Ghalidzga to the
R. Enguri), and so this province, which was roughly equivalent to the modern Gali District, became known as Samurzaqano."
/ref>
Gallery
.
References
{{Historical regions of Georgia
Historical regions of Georgia (country)
History of Abkhazia
Regions of Abkhazia
Kartvelian studies