Nigali or the Nigali valley ( ka, ნიგალი, ნიგალის ხევი, ''nigalis khevi''), also known, through a subsequent metathesis, as Ligani (ლიგანი) or Livana (ლივანა; tr, Livâne)

Toumanoff, Cyril Cyril Leo Toumanoff (russian: Кирилл Львович Туманов; 13 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Russian-born Georgian historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armenia, ...

(1963). ''Studies in Christian Caucasian History'', p. 439.

Georgetown University Press Georgetown University Press is a university press affiliated with Georgetown University that publishes about forty new books a year. The press's major subject areas include bioethics, international affairs, languages and linguistics, political sc ...

. is a historical district on the lower course of the Çoruh or Chorokhi river, currently divided between

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 ...

and

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 ...

History

The land known as ''Nigal'' first appears as one of the districts 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 ...

in the 7th-century Armenian geography attributed to

Ananias of Shirak Anania Shirakatsi ( hy, Անանիա Շիրակացի, ''Anania Širakac’i'', anglicized: Ananias of Shirak) was a 7th-century Armenian polymath and natural philosopher, author of extant works covering mathematics, astronomy, geography, chronol ...

. Hewsen, Robert H. (1992), ''The Geography of Ananias of Širak: Ašxarhac'oyc', the Long and the Short Recensions'', p. 210. Reichert, In the 8th century, Nigali became part of an appanage of the Georgian Bagratid family. It was bounded by

Adjara Adjara ( ka, აჭარა ''Ach’ara'' ) or Achara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara ( ka, აჭარის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა ''Ach’aris Avt’onomiuri Resp’ublik’a'' ...

on the north-east, Shavsheti on the east, and

Klarjeti Klarjeti ( ka, კლარჯეთი ) was a province of ancient and medieval Georgia, which is now part of Turkey's Artvin Province. Klarjeti, the neighboring province of Tao and several other smaller districts, constituted a larger region wit ...

on the south. The medieval Georgian sources also make mention of Niali, which is likely a corruption of Nigali.Rapp, Stephen H. (2003), ''Studies in Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts'', p. 398. Peeters Publishers, The early 18th-century Georgian scholar Prince

Vakhushti Vakhushti ( ka, ვახუშტი, tr) (1696–1757) was a Georgian royal prince ('' batonishvili''), geographer, historian and cartographer. His principal historical and geographic works, '' Description of the Kingdom of Georgia'' and the '' ...

refers to it as Ligani and locates the district on either bank of the Chorokhi as far as Art'vani (now

Artvin Artvin (Laz language, Laz and ; hy, Արտուին, translit=Artuin) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in northeastern Turkey about inland from the Black Sea. It is located on a hill overlooking the Çoruh, Çoruh River near the Deriner Dam ...

). In 1530, the area was conquered from Georgians by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, which administered it as the ''

kaza A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...

'' or ''

sanjak Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian language, Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησι� ...

'' of Livâne. It had the sub-district of Maçahel administratively dependent on it. In 1878, Nigali was part of the territory ceded by the Ottomans to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

in the Treaty of Berlin. It was included in the Artvin circuit (''uchastok'') of the Batum Oblast. Following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(1914–1918) and the short-lived independence of

(1918–1921), Nigali was divided between Turkey and recently Sovietized Georgia in accordance with the 1921 treaties of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and

Kars Kars (; ku, Qers; ) is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. Its population is 73,836 in 2011. Kars was in the ancient region known as ''Chorzene'', (in Greek Χορζηνή) in classical historiography ( Strabo), part of ...

. Beridze, Eter (2009)
ნიგალი
("Nigali", with En., Rus., Turk. summaries), pp. 8-10. Shota Rustaveli State University, .

Current division

Currently, the Turkish portion of Nigali comprises parts of 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 ...

Murgul Murgul ( Laz and Georgian: მურღული/Murghuli) is a town and district of Artvin Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. Previously known as ''Damar'' and ''Göktaş'' Murgul is on a tributary of the Çoruh River, with mountains ...

, and

districts of the

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 ...

. The Georgian-speaking element is still present in this area, but knowledge of the Georgian language is weakening among the younger generation. Beridze, Eter (2009)
Языковая ситуация в Нигальском ущелье
("Linguistic situation in the Nigali valley"). ''Vlast' i Obshchestvo'' 1: 71-82. The Georgian portion consists of only 9 villages administered as part of the

Khelvachauri Municipality Khelvachauri ( ka, ხელვაჩაურის მუნიციპალიტეტი, ''Khelvachauris Municiṕaliťeťi'') is a municipality in Georgia's southwestern autonomous republic of Adjara with a population of 52,737 people (20 ...

of the

Autonomous Republic of Adjara Adjara ( ka, აჭარა ''Ach’ara'' ) or Achara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara ( ka, აჭარის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა ''Ach’aris Avt’onomiuri Resp’ublik’a'' ...

References

{{Subregions of Tao-Klarjeti Historical regions of Georgia (country) Sanjaks of the Ottoman Empire Divided regions Geography of Adjara History of Artvin Province Tao-Klarjeti

History

Current division

See also

References