Lazica ( ka, ეგრისი, ; lzz, ლაზიკა, ; grc-gre, Λαζική, ; fa, لازستان, ; hy, Եգեր, ) was the Latin name given to the territory of

Colchis In Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia (country), Georgia. Its population, the Colchians a ...

during the Roman/Byzantine period, from about the 1st century BC.

History

By the mid-3rd century, Lazica was given partial autonomy within the Roman Empire and developed into kingdom. Throughout much of its existence, it was mainly a

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 ...

strategic vassal kingdom that briefly came under Sasanian Persian rule 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 f ...

. The kingdom fell to the

Muslim conquest The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He esta ...

in the 7th century. Lazica in the 8th century successfully repelled the Arab occupation and formed part of the

Kingdom of Abkhazia The Kingdom of Abkhazia ( ka, აფხაზთა სამეფო, tr; lit. "Kingdom of the Abkhazians"), also known as Abasgia or Egrisi-Abkhazia, was a Middle Ages, medieval feudalism, feudal state in the Caucasus which was established i ...

from c. 780, one of the early medieval polities which would converge into the unified

kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic ...

in the 11th century.

Ecclesiastical history

In the early 4th century, the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

eparchy (eastern bishopric) of

Pityus Pitsunda ( ab, Пиҵунда, russian: Пицунда) or Bichvinta ( ka, ბიჭვინთა ) is a resort town in the Gagra District of Abkhazia/Georgia. Founded by Greek colonists in the 5th century BC, Pitsunda became an important politi ...

was established in this kingdom, and as in neighboring

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

Christianity was declared as an official religion in AD 319. Other ancient episcopal sees in Lazica include Rhodopolis, Saesina, and Zygana.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'', p. 1013 Bishop Stratophilus of Pityus was among the participants of the

First Council of Nicaea The First Council of Nicaea (; grc, Νίκαια ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325. This ecumenical council was the first effort ...

in 325. The first Christian king of Lazica was Gubazes I; in the 5th century, Christianity was made the official religion of Lazica. Later, the nobility and clergy of Lazica switched from the Hellenic ecclesiastic tradition to the Georgian, and Georgian became the language of culture and education. The Bichvinta Cathedral is one of oldest monuments of Georgian Christian architecture. It was constructed by King

Bagrat III of Georgia Bagrat III ( ka, ბაგრატ III) (c. 960 – 7 May 1014), of the Georgian Bagrationi dynasty, was King of Abkhazia from 978 on (as Bagrat II) and King of Georgia from 1008 on. He united these two titles by dynastic inheritance and, thro ...

(978-1014, an Orthodox saint).W.E.D. Allen, ''A history of the Georgian people'' (1932), p. 276.

Rulers

References

{{Georgia (country) topics Ancient history of Georgia (country) Provinces of the Sasanian Empire Roman client kingdoms Historical regions

History

Ecclesiastical history

Rulers

See also

References