Lesser Abkhazia (Georgian: ჯიქეთი, Jiqeti) was the term used to refer to those lands of Abkhazia that were not subject to the direct control of the ruling Shervashidze dynasty.
Lesser Abkhazia
ჯიქეთი | |
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Lesser Abkhazia Map highlighting the historical region of Lesser Abkhazia Lesser Abkhazia Lesser Abkhazia (Southern Federal District) | |
Coordinates: 43°35′N 39°43′E / 43.583°N 39.717°EAn approximate geographical area. | |
Country | Georgia |
Mkhare | Abkhazia |
Capital | Tbilisi |
The territory was part of the Kingdom of Georgia between 10th and 15th centuries.
After the Russian-Circassian War, the bulk of the mountaineers relocated to the Ottoman Empire, while the depopulated coastline was gradually colonized by Christian settlers of various ethnicity.
Sadzen was an ill-defined region on the eastern shore of the Black Sea 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 it is a historical part of Georgia.[1]
The northern part of Sadzen today forms part of Greater Sochi, while the southern part falls within the borders of Abkhazia.[2] The Sochi conflict took place in Sadzen in 1918-1920.