In pre-Hellenistic Greco-Roman geography, Colchis was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi located on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia.
Caucasian Albania is a modern exonym for a former state located in ancient times in the Caucasus: mostly in what is now Azerbaijan. The modern endonyms for the area are Aghwank and Aluank, among the Udi people, who regard themselves as descended from the inhabitants of Caucasian Albania. However, its original endonym is unknown.
The Darial Gorge is a river gorge on the border between Russia and Georgia. It is at the east base of Mount Kazbek, south of present-day Vladikavkaz. The gorge was carved by the river Terek, and is approximately 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) long. The steep granite walls of the gorge can be as much as 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) tall in some places.
In Greco-Roman geography, Iberia was an exonym for the Georgian kingdom of Kartli, known after its core province, which during Classical Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages was a significant monarchy in the Caucasus, either as an independent state or as a dependent of larger empires, notably the Sassanid and Roman empires. Iberia, centered on present-day Eastern Georgia, was bordered by Colchis in the west, Caucasian Albania in the east and Armenia in the south.
The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, and are sometimes collectively known as the Caucasian States. The total area of these countries measures about 186,100 square kilometres. the South Caucasus and the North Caucasus together comprise the larger Caucasus geographical region that divides Eurasia.
Tubal, in Genesis 10, was the name of a son of Japheth, son of Noah. He is known to be the father of the Caucasian Iberians according to primary sources. Later, Saint Jerome refashioned the Caucasian Iberia (Georgia) into the Iberian Peninsula and Isidore of Seville consolidated this mistake.
The Georgians, or Kartvelians, are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, Greece, Iran, Ukraine, the United States and European Union.
Mesrop Mashtotslisten (help·info) was an early medieval Armenian linguist, composer, theologian, statesman and hymnologist. He is venerated as a saint in the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. He is best known for inventing the Armenian alphabet c. 405 AD, which was a fundamental step in strengthening Armenian national identity. He is also considered to be the creator of the Caucasian Albanian and Georgian alphabets by some scholars.
Gugark was the 13th province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia. It now comprises parts of northern Armenia, northeast Turkey, and southwest Georgia.
The Svans are an ethnic subgroup of the Georgians (Kartvelians) living mostly in Svaneti, a region in northwest Georgia. They speak the Svan language and are mostly bilingual also in Georgian. Both these languages belong to the Kartvelian language family. In the pre-1930 Soviet census, the Svans were afforded their own "ethnic group" (natsional'nost) category. The self-designation of the Svan is Mushüan, which is probably reflected in the ethnonym Misimian of the Classical authors.
The Maeotians were an ancient people dwelling along the Sea of Azov, which was known in antiquity as the "Maeotian marshes" or "Lake Maeotis". They are often considered to be the ancestors of the Circassians.
Utik was a historic province of the Kingdom of Armenia and a region of Caucasian Albania after the splitting of Armenia in 387 AD by Sassanid Persia. Most of the region is located within present-day Azerbaijan immediately west of the Kura River while a part of it lies within the Tavush province of present-day northeastern Armenia.
Timote (Timothy) Gabashvili (1703–1764) was a Georgian travel writer, traveler, diplomat, cartographer, religious and public figure. He was the first to describe the Georgian antiquities of Jerusalem on his visit to the Holy Land in the 1750s.
The Heniochi were an ancient tribe inhabiting northwest shores of Colchis and some say Phasis area. Their country was called Heniocheia.
Caucasian campaign of Pompey was a military campaign led by Pompey that took place in 65 BC and was a consequence of the third Mithridatic War fought over Georgian lands and its neighboring frontiers. Rome sought to expand its influence and establish itself as the overlord of the Middle East. After conquering the Kingdom of Pontus and receiving the subjugation of Tigranes II of Armenia the Romans marched on the Kingdom of Iberia, whose king, Artoces had been an ally of Mithridates VI of Pontus, Rome's premier enemy during the 80's, 70's and early 60's BC.
Marwan ibn Muhammad's invasion of Georgia took place from 735 to 737. It was initiated by the Umayyad Caliphate. The goals of the campaign are disputed among historians. The Georgian historiography insists its main purpose was to finally break the stiff Georgian resistance against Arab rule, however, the western historians such as Cyril Toumanoff, and Ronald Suny, view it as a general campaign directed at both the Byzantine Empire, who exerted dominion over Western Georgia, and the Khazars, whose repeated raids affected not only Iberia and the whole Caucasus, but had in 730 reached Arab lands all the way to Mosul.
The Byzeres were a people of the Southern Caucasus mentioned in Urartean sources as Uiterukhi or Uitirukhi. Sardur II conquered their lands, appointed a deputy and made it a province. According to the Ancient Greek sources, Byzeres inhabited near the southeast coast of the Black Sea, south of the Ch'orokhi River and partly the Pontic Mountains as well. The name of the historical region Odzrkhe is derived from the name of this tribe – Vidzerukh/Viterukh/Odzr(a)khe/Odzrkhe.
Leon I of Abkhazia, hereditary prince (Eristavi) of Abkhazia, ruling between 720–740 and a vassal to the Byzantine Emperor. The Divan of the Abkhazian Kings mentions that his reign took place in the 1st half of the 8th century. During his reign Leon actively battled invading Arabs and had close diplomatic contacts with the prince of Iberia and Kakheti, Archil. He also had significant relations to the Byzantine emperor Leo III the Isaurian, to whom he sent a letter asking for help against the forces of the Umayyad Caliphate. In answer, the Emperor confirmed his hereditary rule over the Kingdom of Abkhazia and suggested that he should accept Archil as his overlord and suzerain and by doing so, battle the Muslims with united forces. Leo III also bestowed the title of Archon upon the Abkhazian King. This meant that the Byzantines accepted Leon I's rule over the lands of Egrisi, Jiketi and Sanigia. The ties between Archil and Leon I were also strengthened by Leon's marriage with Gurandukht, the daughter of Archil's brother Mirian of Kakheti.
Lala Mustafa Pasha's Caucasian campaign was a military expedition launched in 1578 by Lala Mustafa Pasha, a grand-vizier of the expanding Ottoman Empire. It is also considered a part of the larger conflict, Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–90).
