The Abasgoi or Abasgians ( grc, Αβασγοί, Abasgoi, and grc, Ἁβασκοί, Abaskoi; la, Abasci, Abasgi; ka, აბაზგები, Abazgebi; compare Abkhaz ''Абазаа'' "the

Abaza people The Abazin, Abazinians or Abaza ( Abaza and Abkhaz: Абаза; Circassian: Абазэхэр; russian: Абазины; tr, Abazalar; ar, أباظة), are an ethnic group of the Northwest Caucasus, closely related to the Abkhaz and Circassi ...

") were one of the ancient tribes inhabiting western region of

Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...

, who originally inhabited lands north of Apsilae, corresponding to today's

Ochamchira District Ochamchira District is a district of the partially recognised Abkhazia. Its capital is Ochamchire, the town by the same name. The district is smaller than the Ochamchire district in the de jure subdivision of Georgia, as some of its former terri ...

. In 550, during the

Lazic War The Lazic War, also known as the Colchidian War or in Georgian historiography as the Great War of Egrisi was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire for control of the ancient Georgian region of Lazica. The Lazic War lasted fo ...

, the Abasgians revolted against the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire and called upon

Sasanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

assistance. General

Bessas Bessas is a commune in the Ardèche department in southern France. Population See also *Communes of the Ardèche department The following is a list of the 335 communes of the Ardèche department of France. The communes cooperate in t ...

however suppressed the Abasgian revolt. By the 6th century Abasgia shifted to the north and occupied territory between Gumista and Bzyb rivers, while another tribe, the

Sanigs The Sanigs ( ka, სანიგები) were a tribe inhabiting Western Georgian/ Abkhazia during antiquity. Their ethnic identity is obscure and is the subject of a controversy. They are first attested in the works of Pliny, Arrian and Memn ...

, lived to the north of them. In the time of

Arrian Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; la, Lucius Flavius Arrianus; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander and philosopher of the Roman period. ''The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best ...

, they were said to live on the banks of the Abascus or Abasgus river, an otherwise unidentified river flowing into the

Euxine The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

. The Abasgoi are considered the ancestors of modern Abkhaz,

Abazin The Abazin, Abazinians or Abaza ( Abaza and Abkhaz: Абаза; Circassian: Абазэхэр; russian: Абазины; tr, Abazalar; ar, أباظة), are an ethnic group of the Northwest Caucasus, closely related to the Abkhaz and Circassi ...

and the Georgian ethnonym ( ka, აფხაზი ''apxazi'') "Abkhaz" is derived from the name «abasgi, abaza». They are mentioned by

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

and

; the 6th-century

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

historian

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gener ...

wrote that they were warlike, worshiped

tree deities A tree deity or tree spirit is a nature deity related to a tree. Such deities are present in many cultures. They are usually represented as a young woman, often connected to ancient fertility and tree worship lore.Heinrich Zimmer, ''Myths and Sym ...

and provided eunuchs to

Justinian Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

's court.

References

Sources

* {{Historical regions of Georgia Ancient peoples of Georgia (country) Tribes in Greco-Roman historiography History of Abkhazia