Imerkhevians ( ka, იმერხეველები), are an ethnographic subgroup of

Georgians The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, G ...

who speak Imerkhevian dialect (''imerkheuli'') of

Georgian language Georgian (, , ) is the most widely-spoken Kartvelian language, and serves as the literary language or lingua franca for speakers of related languages. It is the official language of Georgia and the native or primary language of 87.6% of its p ...

, which shares many common features with the neighboring Adjarian. Tuite, Kevin (1998)
''Kartvelian morphosyntax: number agreement and morphosyntactic oritntation in the South Caucasian languages''
p. 178. Lincom Europa. Imerkhevians are indigenous population of

Artvin Province Artvin Province ( tr, ; ka, , ''Artvinis p’rovincia''; Laz: ართვინიშ დობადონა ''Artviniş dobadona'') is a province in Turkey, on the Black Sea coast in the northeastern corner of the country, on the border w ...

, historical region in northeastern part of

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

. The Imerkhevians are

Sunni Muslims Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

, closely integrated with the Turkish society. Almost all are bilingual in

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 ...

and Turkish. Reflecting some internal differentiation persisting in Turkey's Georgian community, the Imerkhevians claim a different origin from the Georgians in the

Borçka Borçka ( lzz, ბორჩხა, translit=Borçxa; ka, ბორჩხა, translit=Borchkha or ) is a town and district of Artvin Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey, on the border with Georgia. Borçka is reached by a winding road up ...

area, who have adopted an inclusive Adjar identity. The first who brought the local culture to a scholarly attention was

Nicholas Marr Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr (, ''Nikolay Yakovlevich Marr''; , ''Nikoloz Iak'obis dze Mari''; — 20 December 1934) was a Georgian-born historian and linguist who gained a reputation as a scholar of the Caucasus during the 1910s before embarking o ...

, who, while on an expedition in Shavsheti in 1910, collected folk literature and ethnographic information from several villages along the

Imerkhevi Imerkhevi (, ) is a valley in the north of the Şavşat district in the Artvin Province of Turkey, along the border with Georgia (country), Georgia. There are 15 villages in this area, inhabited by ethnic Georgians, who speak a local Georgian dial ...

river.

Geographical distribution

The majority of the Imerkhevians today live in an area they call

, the name of the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Imerkhevian. The population of Imerkhevi is largely composed of ethnic Georgians, who inhabit 14 hamlets around Meydancık, formerly known as Diobani. These settlements have both official Turkish and unofficial Georgian names.

References

{{Ethnic groups in Turkey Ethnic groups in Turkey Peoples of the Caucasus People from Georgia (country) by ethnic or national origin

Geographical distribution

See also

References