Abzhywa ( ab , Abzhuaa - "middle people" – Абжьыуа, ''Abƶywa''; also transliterates as Abzhua from
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
: Абжуа, Абжива; ka, აბჟუა) is one of the seven historical regions in
Abkhazia, and accordingly one of the seven stars on
Flag of Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a region in the Caucasus that is under the effective control of the partially recognised self-declared Republic of Abkhazia. The ''de jure'' majority internationally recognized Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia claims to be its legitimat ...
represents Abzhywa. Local residents belong to
ethnographic group of (Abzhui Abkhazians).
Territory
Prior to the Russian annexation of the
Principality of Abkhazia
The Principality of Abkhazia ( ka, აფხაზეთის სამთავრო, tr) emerged as a separate feudal entity in the 15th-16th centuries, amid the civil wars in the Kingdom of Georgia that concluded with the dissolution of t ...
, Abzhywa constituted its separate administrative district. Later, in 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. ...
Abzhywa constituted an ''
okrug
An ''okrug, ; russian: о́круг, ókrug; sr, округ, okrug, ; uk, о́круг, о́kruh; be, акруга, akruha; pl, okręg; ab, оқрҿс; mhr, йырвел, '' is a type of administrative division in some Slavic states. Th ...
'' of Abkhazia.
It occupied most of the territory of modern
Ochamchire
Ochamchire or Ochamchira ( ka, ოჩამჩირე, ; ab, Очамчыра, ''Ochamchyra''; russian: Очамчира, ''Ochamchira'') is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast of Abkhazia, Georgia, and a centre of an eponymous district.
Acc ...
, as well as part of the territory of the
Tkvarcheli District of Abkhazia, between the
Kodor and
Okhurei rivers.
History
Abzhywa got its name from its middle location among the rest of the historical regions of Abkhazia. Some scholars argue that it was part of the principality of
Apsilae in the ancient period. During the period of Russian rule in Abkhazia up to 1866, Abzhua was called "Abzhuiskiy district", in 1868-1883 - "Kodori district", in 1919-1930 - "Kodori district". Since 1930, Abzhua officially became known as the Ochamchira region (later -
Ochamchire Municipality).
The historical centers of Abjua were the villages of
Mokva , ka, მოქვი
, other_name =
, settlement_type = Village
, image_skyline = Mokva_cathedral.jpg
, imagesize =
, image_caption = Mokvi Cathedral
, image_map =
, map_caption ...
and .
The territory appears as part of Abkhazian principality from the first half of the XVIII century. It was created after the Abkhazian principality annexed the northwestern part of the
Samegrelo principality. The first governor of Abzhua was the son of the Abkhazian prince — , who inherited the middle part of the principality from his father's inheritance, hence the etymology of the toponym.
Literature
Maan O. V. Abzhua. Historical and ethnological sketches of the Ochamchira region of Abkhazia. Sukhum, 2006
References
Regions of Abkhazia
Subdivisions of Abkhazia
{{Abkhazia-geo-stub