Lesser Abkhazia

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. The area was part of the Black Sea Governorate during Russian rule.

Lesser Abkhazia ჯიქეთი
Historical region
Djiketi and Apkhazeti, 1766 map.
Lesser Abkhazia Map highlighting the historical region of Lesser Abkhazia Show map of Abkhazia Lesser Abkhazia Lesser Abkhazia (Southern Federal District) Show map of Southern Federal District
Coordinates: 43°35′N 39°43′EAn approximate geographical area.
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Krasnodar Krai

History

Territory within the Kingdom of Georgia (Dutchy of the Abkhazes).

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.

A ruined medieval Sadz church in Loo, modern-day Sochi.

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.

See also

• Principality of Abkhazia
• Ubykhia
• Upper Abkhazia