The Adjarians ( ka, აჭარლები, Ačarlebi) are an ethnographic group of Georgians living mainly in Adjara in south-western

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and speaking the Adjarian dialect of the

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

language. The Adjarians had their own territorial entity, the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, founded on 16 July 1921 as the Adjara ASSR. After years of

post-Soviet The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

stalemate, the region was brought closer within the framework of the Georgian state in 2004, retaining its autonomous status. Adjarian settlements are also found in the Georgian provinces of

Guria Guria ( ka, გურია) is a region (''mkhare'') in Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 113,000 (2016), with Ozurgeti as the regional capital. Geography ...

Kvemo Kartli Kvemo Kartli ( ka, ქვემო ქართლი, az, Aşağı Kartli) or "Lower Kartli", is a historic province and current administrative region ( mkhare) in southeastern Georgia. The city of Rustavi is the regional capital. Location K ...

, and Kakheti, as well as in several areas of neighbouring

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

History and Religion

Many Adjarians converted to Islam in the 16th and 17th centuries when the Ottomans ruled over southwestern Georgian lands. The Georgian population of Adjara had been generally known as Muslim Georgians until the 1926 Soviet

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

listed them as ''Adjarians'', separate from the rest of Georgians, counting 71,426 of them. In subsequent censuses (1939–1989), they were listed with other Georgians, as no official Soviet census asked about religion. In the 1920s, the suppression of religion and compulsory collectivization led to armed resistance against Communist authorities by Adjarians. The collapse of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and the re-establishment of Georgian independence accelerated the Christianization of Adjarians, especially among the young.George Sanikidze and Edward W. Walker (2004), ''Islam and Islamic Practices in Georgia.'' Berkeley Program in Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies.

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

, Berkeley Institute of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies. However, a number of Adjarians, particularly in and around

Khulo Khulo ( ka, ხულო ) is a townlet ('' daba'') in Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia, 88 km east of the regional capital Batumi, in the upper valley of the Adjaristsqali River. The town and adjoining 78 villages form the ...

, remain Sunni Muslim. According to census data recently published by the Department of Statistics of Adjara, 54% are Christians, and 39% Muslim.Autonomous Republic of Adjara, Department of Statistics.
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Language

The Adjarians speak Adjarian, a

Georgian dialect Georgian (ქართული ''kartuli'') is a Kartvelian language spoken by about 4 million people, primarily in Georgia but also by indigenous communities in northern Turkey and Azerbaijan, and the diaspora, such as in Russia, Turkey, Iran, E ...

related to the one spoken in the neighbouring northern province of

, but with a number of Turkish

loanword A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because t ...

s. Adjarian also possesses many features in common with the

Zan languages The Zan languages, or Zanuri ( ka, ზანური ენები) or Colchidian, are a branch of the Kartvelian languages constituted by the Mingrelian and Laz languages. The grouping is disputed as some Georgian linguists consider the two ...

(

Mingrelian Mingrelian may refer to: *the Mingrelians *the Mingrelian language Mingrelian or Megrelian (, ) is a Kartvelian language spoken in Western Georgia (regions of Mingrelia and Abkhazia), primarily by the Mingrelians. The language was also called kol ...

and Laz), which are

sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

to Georgian and are included in the Kartvelian language group.

Famous Adjarians

* Emzar Paksadze (b. 1972), famous lawyer from adjara * Aslan Abashidze (b. 1938), former leader of the Adjarian Autonomous Republic * Memed Abashidze (1873–1941), Muslim Georgian politician * Rostom Abashidze (b. 1935), Greco-Roman wrestler *

Tbeli Abuserisdze Tbeli Abuserisdze ( ka, ტბელი აბუსერისძე) (c. 1190 – 1240) was a medieval Georgian scholar and religious writer. His merits A son of Ivane Abuserisdze, '' eristavt-eristavi'' ("archduke") of Khikhata ( Upper ...

(1190–1240), Georgian writer and scientist * Niaz Diasamidze (b. 1974), singer and composer *

Nino Katamadze Nino Katamadze ( ka, ნინო ქათამაძე; born 21 August 1972) is a Georgian jazz singer and artist. Biography Nino Katamadze was born in Kobuleti, Adjara, Soviet Georgia in 1972. In 1990, she entered the vocal department of t ...

(b. 1972), jazz singer *

Sopho Khalvashi Sopho Khalvashi ( ka, სოფო ხალვაში ; born 31 May 1986 in Batumi, Adjara, Georgia), also sometimes known as simply Sopho, is a Georgian musician of Laz heritage. Biography She claimed third prize at the commercial song ...

, Georgian singer * Ahmed-Pasha Khimshiashvili (1781–1836), ruler and military leader under the Ottoman Empire * Selim Khimshiashvili (1755–1815), ruler under the Ottoman Empire *

Konstantin Meladze Konstantin Shotayevich Meladze (russian: Константин Шотаевич Меладзе, ka, კონსტანტინე მელაძე) (born 11 May 1963 in Batumi) is a Ukrainian-Russian composer and producer. He is the older b ...

(b. 1963), Russian composer *

Valery Meladze Valerian Shotayevich Meladze, ka, ვალერიან შოთას ძე მელაძე (born 23 June 1965), known professionally as Valery Meladze , is a Georgian singer and a Meritorious Artist of Russia. He is the brother of c ...

(b. 1965), Russian singer *

Zurab Noghaideli Zurab Nogaideli ( ka, ზურაბ ნოღაიდელი) (born 22 October 1964) is a Georgian businessman and a politician who served as the Prime Minister of Georgia from February 2005 until he resigned, citing health problems, on 16 ...

(b. 1964), former

Prime Minister of Georgia The prime minister of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პრემიერ-მინისტრი, tr) is the head of government and chief executive of Georgia. In Georgia, the president is a ceremonial head of state and mai ...

, (2005–2007) * Ulvi Rajab (1903–1938), Azerbaijani actor * Levan Varshalomidze (b. 1973), former leader of the Adjarian Autonomous Republic * Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (b. 1954) President of Turkey * Lasha Gobadze (b. 1994) Georgian sport wrestler * Shmagi Bolkvadze (b. 1994) Greco-Roman wrestler from Georgia. * Amiran Shavadze (b. 1993) Georgian Greco-Roman wrestler *

Nebahat Çehre Hilal Nebahat Çehre (; born 15 March 1945), is a Turkish actress, model, and singer who was crowned Miss Turkey 1960. She is best known for her protagonist roles as Firdevs Yöreoğlu on the Kanal D drama series '' Aşk-ı Memnu'' (2008–10) ...

(b. 1944) Turkish-Georgian actress, model, and singer *

Murat Cemcir Murat Cemcir (born November 30, 1976) is a Turkish actor of Georgian descent who appears regularly in Turkish films and on television, primarily in comedies. Career Cemcir appeared in the film '' Çalgı Çengi'' with Ahmet Kural in 2011. He ...

(b. 1976) Turkish actor * Haidar Abashidze (b. 1966) Georgian politician, journalist, and educator *

Gürkan Uygun Gürkan Uygun (born 27 May 1974) is a Turkish actor of Georgian descent. He joined theater in his high school years. He started his career as an amateur actor in 1990. Then he received training at the Dormen Theater. In 1996, he made his debut o ...

(b. 1974) Turkish actor of Georgian descent *

Beyazıt Öztürk Beyazıt Öztürk (born 12 March 1969), also known as Beyaz, is a Turkish television personality, standup comedian and actor. He is the host of '' Beyaz Show'', a popular Turkish talk show. In 2018, he became one of the judges on '' O Ses Türkiy ...

(b. 1969) also known as Beyaz, Turkish television personality, standup comedian and actor * Sherip Khimshiashvili (b. January 1833) was a Muslim Georgian nobleman (bey) of the Khimshiashvili from Adjara in the Ottoman service.

Notes

References

*Nugzar Mgeladze (Translated by

Kevin Tuite Kevin Tuite ( Irish: ''Caoimhín de Tiúit''; born April 3, 1954) is a full Professor of Anthropology at the Université de Montréal. He is a citizen of both Canada and Ireland.

)
Ajarians
''World Culture Encyclopedia''. Accessed on 1 September 2007. {{Authority control Adjara People from Georgia (country) by ethnic or national origin

History and Religion

Language

Famous Adjarians

See also

Notes

References