Georgian Daily, Georgia
May 30 2009
Abkhazia ` Indispensable Part of Georgia (according to historical records)
May 30, 2009
Speech of Dr. George Otxmezuri, Associate Professor, Ivane
Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University at symposium on
Georgia at the Crossroads of European and Asian Cultures Culture as a
tool for the mutual understanding and intercultural dialogue
The Harriman Institute at Columbia University
New York, NY
May 4, 2009
Abkhazia (Apkhazeti) is a Georgian historical-geographic province like
Kakheti, Samegrelo, Svaneti and Kartli among others. Located in the
extreme north-west region of western Georgia, it stretches from the
south slope of the Caucasian Ridge to the Gumista River (to the north
of Sokhumi). An Abkhaz (Apkhaz) denoted a resident of Abkhazia, like a
Kakhetian signified a person living in Kakheti, a Kartlian meant a
person living in Kartli and Svanetian a person residing in Svaneti.
Colchis is the name with which the Greeks referred to the state
located on the territory of western Georgia in the late 2nd millennium
BC and the early 1st millennium BC. The name can be found in Assyrian
and Urartian cuneiform inscriptions from the period between the 12th
to the 8th century BC.
Despite the application of the term Lazica in relation to western
Georgia, Roman and Byzantine historians highlighted that the Laz were
the same as the Colchians. For example, the 2nd century writers Arrian
and Claudius Ptolemy mention a geographic entity Lazica located at
Nikopsia (what is now Tuapse). Arrian calls it `old Lazica’, which is
truthful evidence of the presence of Colchian-Laz population on this
place from ancient time. The 6th century Byzantine historian Procopius
of Caesarea noted: `Colchis, which is now called Lazica’, meaning that
Lazica Kingdom was an immediate successor of Colchis.
The etymology of Egrisi, an old Georgian name of western Georgia, is
related to the Enguri River. Like Colchis and Lazica, it denoted the
whole of western Georgia and its population.
Opinions differ in historiography with respect to the ethnic origin of
the Abkhazs and their original place of habitation. There are scholars
who consider them to be north Caucasian tribes who settled on the
territory of Georgia (present-day Abkhazia) in the 18th century, while
others claim that they are the Abazgs and Apshils referred to in the
1st and 2nd century Georgian and Greek sources and that the Abkhazs as
mentioned in the feudal period are the ancestors of contemporary
Abkhazs (Apsuas) and that they lived in this region from ancient
time. Both viewpoints as versions have a right to existence since
there is no direct reference to the ethnic origin of the Abazg-Apshils
in the historical records. The only point that can be debated is that
beginning from the 2nd century BC to the Antiquity, Colchian culture
was spread on the whole territory of western Georgia (this is
witnessed by archaeological evidence) and the Abazg-Apshils and
Abkhazs living in the Antiquity and the Middle Ages in one part of
this territory culturally and historically were Georgians. It is also
to be taken into consideration that according to Georgian chronicles,
in the 8th century the Abkhazs and Apshils were two different
neighboring tribes with their own administrative-territorial
units. During the raid led by Murwan the Deaf (735-737), Arab
commander-in-chief `ravaged the Apshils’ city of Tskhumi’ (Juansher),
while at the end of the same century, under the reign of Leon II, of
eight principalities making up `the Kingdom of the Abkhazs’, the
principalities of Abkhazia and Tskhumi were mentioned separately
(Prince Vakhishti Bagrationi).
According to Georgian historical records (there are no other sources)
erismtavari (governor) Archil of Kartli, who had no offspring,
arranged for the marriage of Gurandukht, the daughter of his elder
brother Miri, who had died in the battle against Murwan the Deaf at
Anakopia, to King Leon I of the Abkhazs and handed to the latter a
crown sent to Miri by the Byzantine emperor. This dynastic marriage
led to the unification of Egrisi and Abkhazia. Since then `Leon obeyed
Archil to the end of his life’. Slightly earlier Leon I had
incorporated Apshileti From that time on there is no mention of the
Apshils in written records.
The unification of western Georgia was one side of the process
unfolding across Georgia in conditions of struggling against external
enemies. Around the same time, Kakheti (780s), Tao-Klarjeti (late 8th
and early 9th century) and Hereti (9th century) were formed.
At the end of the 8th century, the ruler of this united west Georgian
state, nephew of Leon I, Leon II took advantage of the difficult home
and foreign affairs in Byzantine Empire, set free from its vassalage
and declared himself king. The state founded by Leon II, which
encompassed the whole of western Georgia and stretched from Nikopsia
to the Chorokhi gorge and from the Black Sea to Likhi Ridge, was
referred to as `the Kingdom of the Abkhazs’ and their kings, as the
`Kings of the Abkhazs’ in 11th century and later Georgian written
sources. It was then that the concept of Abkazia expanded to include
entire west Georgia. Abkhazia proper came to denote one part of
it. Similar facts have many times been noted in the history of
Georgia. For example, in the 4th century, the west Georgian state
consolidated on the initiative of the Lazi, was called Lazica; united
united under the hegemony of Kakheti in the 780s, in parallel with the
`Kingdom of the Abkhazs’, Kakhet-Kukhet-Gardabani was called Kakheti
Bishopric.
`The Kingdom of the Abkhazs’ is a Georgian, namely a west Georgian
state, inhabited chiefly by the Georgian population. This is the
assertion of not only Georgian historians, but also of the best-known
Abkhaz historians, Z. Anchabadze and G. Dzidzaria.
Different viewpoints are expressed with respect to the ethnic
affiliation of `the kings of the Abkhazs’. Some scholars consider them
to be Greek since they were descendants of the rulers of Byzantine
Empire (archonts), while others associate them either with the
non-Georgian Abkhazs or the Georgian Abkhazs. All of these three
opinions are propositions. However, it is of note that 10th century
Armenian historian Hovhannes Draskhanakertsi (Catholicos John) refers
to this state as Egrisi, and the kings – the kings of as the
Egrs. Being a contemporary of these events, he thus identifies this
state, Egrisi, with western Georgia, and its kings as Georgians. 12th
century Armenian historian Vardan the Great calls them descendants of
Vakhtang Gorgasali, i.e. for him, these are Georgians, descendants of
king of Kartli. It is also to be mentioned that it is not only their
ethnic background (though it is also of interest), but their national
self-consciousness that is essential for history. Judging by their
national self-consciousness and state-building efforts, 9th-11th
century kings of the `Kingdom of the Abkhazs’, i.e. western Georgia,
are Georgian kings of the Georgian state. It is essential that with
its language, writing system, culture, religion and policy the Kingdom
of the Abkhazs was a truly Georgian state, and its kings ` Georgians
considering the same features. Their Georgian national
self-consciousness and the mode of public thinking can be illustrated
by the decision of Leon II, who undertook to move the capital of the
state from the fortified city of Anakopia in the Kingdom of the
Abkhazs to Kutaisi, one of the ancient Georgian cities and an
important Georgian cultural centre.
The most obvious manifestation of the efforts of the kings of the
Abkhazs aimed at building a single Georgian state was an
ecclesiastical policy pursued by them after gaining political
independence.
The Patriarchate of Constantinople periodically made up lists of
subordinated eparchies, the so-called `notations’, which provide
information on the large-scale church reforms implemented by the kings
of the Abkhazs.
>From the end of the 9th century, the western Georgian ecclesiastical
centres (Sebastopol from the 10th century) incorporated into the
Patriarchate of Constantinople were no more mentioned in the
notations. It was on the initiative of the kings of the `Abkhazs’ that
these centres withdrew from the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of
Constantinople and later united with the rest of western Georgian
eparchies under the Catholicos of the Abkhazs. Later, again with the
efforts of the kings of the `Abkhazs’ and the support of the Mtskheta
Catholicate, they became subordinated to the Mtskheta See and united
with the all-Georgian Church. After this act, Catholicos Ioane IV of
Kartli (1080-1001) was conferred with the title of Patriarch and came
to be referred to as the Patriarch of Kartli and the Whole of the East
(i.e. of all Georgia) (Parkhali inscriptions). This is how the
consolidation of the Georgian Church came to an end, which preceded
and prepared grounds for the political unification.
With the aim of eliminating Greek influence, the kings of the Abkhazs
abolished the Episcopal Sees founded by Constantinople and established
new, Georgian bishoprics instead. For example, Giorgi II founded
Chkondidi Bishopric, Leon III ` Mokvi and Bagrat III ` Bedia. These
bishoprics served as Georgian cultural centres. E.g. Mokvi Church had
a rich library. Of the manuscripts surviving to our day, of particular
note is an illuminated Gospel copied in 1300 by Daniel Mokveli (Daniel
of Mokvi). The manuscript testifies to the high level of writing
tradition at Mokvi. Patriarch Dositeo of Jerusalem (who visited Mokvi
in 1659) noted that according to the inscriptions on the church, the
walls were painted in the reign of King Davit Aghmashenebeli (David
the Builder). The well-known Georgian historian, T. Zhordania wrote
that Mokvi inscriptions were deliberately erased by `ill-wishers’ of
Georgia and the `ignorant’. There is only one photo negative of the
inscriptions commemorating `Archbishop Grigol of Mokvi’ that
survives. Comments of the Mokvi manuscripts and Georgian historical
records preserve names of 12th-17th century Mokvi archbishops.
If the Kingdom of the `Abkhazs’ had not been a Georgian state and its
kings Georgian kings, the Church would not have separated from the
Patriarchate of Constantinople and if separated, would have
established itself as an Abkhazian Church proper instead of
consolidating with and subordinating itself to the Catholicate of
Mtskheta; Neither Georgian liturgies would have been established.
Beginning from the 9th century the Georgian language became dominant
in the Kingdom of the Abkhazs: Georgian became an official language
and the one used by the Church. Inscriptions on churches, stone
blocks, bridges and other structures were all made in Georgian. The
history of the kings of the Abkhazs Apkhazta Mepeta Divani was written
in the Georgian language at the royal court.
Ancient inscriptions on the territory of Abkhazia date from the 9th
century. The disruption of the united Georgian feudal monarchy and the
political, economic and cultural decline of Georgia beginning from the
17th century, which followed the Ottoman aggression of western
Georgia, is evident in the epigraphic works in Abkhazia. From that
time onwards less and less inscriptions were made in
Abkhazia. However, neither other language inscriptions were
made. According to the historical evidence, liturgy in western Georgia
and in Abkhazia in particular was held in Georgian and church donors,
architects, masons and the congregation, i.e. the local population
belonged to the Georgian ethno-cultural world. This evidence also
supports the statement made in the work of the 10th century eminent
Georgian ecclesiastical figure, Giorgi Merchule, according to which
`And Kartli consists of that spacious land in which the liturgy and
all prayers are said in the Georgian language’, i.e. Kartli (Georgia)
includes Abkhazia.
Between the 9th through the 11th century the Kingdom of the Abkhazs
was together with other Georgian kingdoms and principalities actively
engaged in the efforts aimed at the consolidation of all Georgian
lands into a single state. Beginning from the 860s, it even played a
dominant role. The inscriptions at Armazi, Samtsevrisi, Eredvi,
Tsirkoli, Kumurdo and other churches confirm the supremacy of the
authority of Giorgi I, Constantine II, Giorgi II and Leon III in Shida
(Inner) Kartli and Javakheti.
Appointed by Demetre III (967-975) as eristavi (governor) of Kartli,
Ioane Marushisdze put forth a plan of the consolidation of Georgia,
which was realized under the leadership of Davit III of Tao and thanks
to the relentless efforts of Ioane Marushisdze himself. Bagrat
Bagrationi, Bagrat III (978-1014) was crowned king of the `Abkhazs’
and `Georgians’ in Kutaisi. The first title which Bagrat received was
the `King of the Abkhazs’ (978). The name of Bagrat III was added to
the Apkhazta Mepeta Divani. By doing so, Bargat III formally confirmed
the legitimacy of his royal authority in western Georgia. Upon the
death of Davit III (+1001), his titled was extended to include the
`King of Kartvelis (Georgians)’, and after taking Kakhet-Hereti
(1008-1010) he was referred to as the `King of the Abkhazs
(i.e. western Georgia), Kartvelis (i.e. Kartl-Meskhi), Kakhs and
Hers’, title that Georgian kings retained unchanged. The fact that the
king of `the Abkhazs’ was the first mentioned in the title explains a
large number of instances when in foreign sources `Abkhazia’ and
`Abkhaz’ were used to denote `Georgia’ and `Georgian’ respectively,
and the kings of the Georgian feudal monarchy, Giorgi I, Bagrat IV,
Davit Aghmashenebeli, Tamar and others were referred to as either
Abazg/Abkhaz, or Gurji, or Iberi.
Across Abkhazia, namely Sokhumi, ran a road which had a great trade
and political importance. This is why a single-span bridge was built
over the Besleti River, which fully meets contemporary standards of
bridge construction and has a capacity to bear a chain of vehicles
with a total weight of eight tons. The bridge preserves an inscription
glorifying Bagrat III. Similar bridges also survive in other Georgian
regions: in Rkoni (Shida Kartli) and Dondalo (Achara).
Beginning from the 11th century to the early 18th century, before
establishing as an independent principality, Abkahzia was incorporated
into united Georgia, Imereti kingdom and Odishi principality on
various grounds. Abkhaz eristavis and later mtavaris (rulers) were
from the Shervashidze feudal house.
Difficult home and foreign affairs in Georgia created favorable
conditions for the settlement of the north Caucasian tribes, the
Apsuas. Affected by their raids and the Ottoman aggression,
Catholicos-Patriarch Evedemon I Chkhetidze of Abkhazia (1557-1565) had
to move the centre of the Catholicate from Bichvinta to Gelati
(Bichvinta Church was built under Bagrat III, at the end of the 10th
and beginning of the 11th century. The church preserves 16th century
mural fragments. In the 19th century, the walls of the church were
whitewashed by the Russians).
Apsua is a name given by the contemporary Abkhazs to themselves. They
refer to themselves as `Apsua’, their language the `Apsua language’,
and their state ` `Apsni’. Until the 17th century the Apsuas lived on
the Kuban River in the north Caucasus. According to the 1st century
Roman historian, Pliny, the place of living of the `Absoe’,
i.e. `Apsua’ is in the north Caucasus. In the same place is located
Absvas regi, i.e. `the land of the Apsua’ and their fortress Akva on a
map drawn up by the Italian cartographer Jacopo Gastaldi in 1561. A
map of western Georgia, made in 1738, already shows Akva, an Abkhaz
(Apsua) name of Tskhumi in place of an old Georgian city of Tskhumi
(Sokhumi). A map of western Georgia, made in 1738, has Akva, an Abkhaz
(Apsua) name of Tskhumi instead of Tskhumi (Sokhumi). Nearby is
Tskhumi Fortress (the original of the map is kept in Moscow
ЦÐ`Ð’Ð`Ð? ВУÐ?, and a copy in
the National Centre of Manuscripts RT IV, #1, Tbilisi). That the
initial homeland of the Apsuas was in the highlands, is obvious from
folk legends (they had no script of their own). The Apsuas brought
their own names, religious traditions and customary laws to
Georgia. It is therefore that if before that time nobody
distinguished, either from the social or religious point of view,
between the land inhabited by the Abkhazs and the population of
Georgian and western Georgia proper, in particular, beginning from the
1630s the situation changed markedly. In the 14th century there were
no Abkhazs (Apsuas) living in Tskhumi. According to the bishop of
Sokhumi Catholic Mission, Pietro Gerladi, in 1330 Tskhumi was
inhabited by the Georgians, Muslims and Jews. The Abkhazs may have
lived in Tskhumi at that time, but for Geraldi they are Georgians. The
works of the foreign writers who were contemporaries or witnesses of
these events (Italian Giovanni and Luke, Archangelo Lamberti, Turkish
Evlia Chelebi and others) highlight that the way of life, dressing and
the spoken language the Abkhazs (Apsuas) was different from those of
the Georgians and similar to those of the Circassians.
In the middle of the 17th century, Abkhazia still included Dranda,
Mokvi, Ilori, Bedia, Bichvinta and villages on the other side of the
Enguri River. To protect from the intruding Abkhazs, Levan II Dadiani
(1611-1657), ruler of Samegrelo, fortified and expanded Kelasuri wall,
but the defense of the country under the Ottoman rule and the
political aggression, appeared to be more and more difficult. Apart
from that, from the 17th through the 18th century Ottoman Turkey tried
to incite confrontation between the Georgians and the Abkhazs by
spreading Islam.
This is how gradually the Apsuas occupied part of Abkhazia ` a
historical Georgian region. Contemporaries called them the Abkhazs
because they lived in Abkhazia. According to medieval Georgian Law,
foreigners who establish themselves on the Georgian land became local
(but not aborigine). It was through Georgian that the name `Abkhaz’
entered Russian and other languages.
After the abolition of the Kingdom of Abkhazia by the Russians (1864),
Abkhazia was incorporated into Kutaisi province, first under the name
of `Sokumi Military Department’ and later, in 1883, as `Sokhumi
District’. Thus the name `Abkhazia’ (Apkhazeti) was removed not by
Georgians, as some scholars claim, but by the Russians. The Georgians,
on the contrary, restored the name Abkhazia in the Georgian Democratic
Republic (1918-1921), an independent state of the Georgians
established after the fall of the empire (1918) and in line with the
constitution of the country, granted a status of autonomy to it. The
autonomy was recognized by the government of the Russian Soviet
Federal Socialist Republic (RSFSR) under the Treaty of 7 May 1920.
After the establishment of the Soviet rule in Georgia (1921) the
status of Abkhazia was changed several times. On the request of Abkhaz
Bolsheviks and with the support of Georgian Bolsheviks and Soviet
Russia, the Soviet Socialist Republic of Abkhazia was declared in
1921. In November of the same year it was recognized as a republic
associated with Georgia. Under the constitution of the Soviet Union of
1924, Abkhazia was an Autonomous Republic of Georgia, which is how it
is referred in all other documents. This status was finally formalized
in 1931, at the 6th Assembly of the Abkhazian Councils.
It is also to be noted that the area taken up by Abkhazia was less
than required for granting a status of an autonomous republic under
the Soviet legislation. Therefore, District of Samurzakano-Gali, fully
inhabited by the Georgians, was added to Abkhazia.
Protests voiced by the population have not been taken into account. It
is also of note that the Apsuas (the Abkhazs) always made the minority
of the Abkahzian population, which is supported by the data official
census. According to the final census (1989), they accounted for
17-18% of the population of Abkhazia, and Georgians – 45%. The rest
part of the population was made up by the Greeks, Russians, Armenians
and others. Between 1918 and 1920 and towards the end of the 1980s
anti-Georgian demonstrations, provoked by the Russians, were held,
which ultimately led to the establishment of the separatist regime
with the immediate intervention of Russia. The Russian `role’ once
again became apparent during the August 2008 events.
Today the Abkhazs are an established nation, who have no other country
apart from Georgia (Abkhazia proper). It goes without question that
living in Abkhazia together with the Georgians is their legitimate
right and that their interests and rights (national, political and
social) must be protected. However, it is also to be highlighted that
Abkhazia is an indispensable part of Georgia and the only homeland to
the 250 thousand Georgians against whom genocide was perpetrated and
who had to flee their homes.
Despite the tragedy that happened, the Georgians and the Abkhazs can
still live together. The best way would be to start negotiations
without mediators and work out principles and criteria, equally
acceptable both to the Georgians and the Abkhazs, based on which
normal living conditions could be restored in Abkhazia. Everyone must
understand that Abkhazia is Georgia and that the Georgian nation will
never reconcile with the withdrawal of Abkhazia from the jurisdiction
of Georgia.
n=com_content&task=view&id=11940&Itemi d=132