Somkhiti ( ka, სომხითი ) was an ambiguous geographic term used in medieval and early modern

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 ...

historical sources to refer to Armenia on one hand and to the Armeno-Georgian marchlands along the river valleys of

Debed The Debed ( hy, Դեբեդ) or Debeda ( ka, დებედა) is a river in Armenia and Georgia. It also serves as a natural boundary between Armenia and Georgia at the village Sadakhlo, Georgia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . The ...

and

Khrami , name_etymology = , image = Khrami River Kirach Muganlo.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = The Khrami near Kirach Muganlo, Georgia , map = KhramiRiver800px.svg , map_size = , map_ ...

on the other hand. In the 18th century, "Somkhiti" was largely replaced with "Somkheti" (სომხეთი, ) as a Georgian

exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...

for Armenia, but it continued, for some time, to denote the frontier region which is currently divided between Lori, Armenia, and

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 ...

, Georgia. This patch of land was sometimes referred to as "Georgian Armenia" in the 19th-century

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an sources."Georgia", in ''

Encyclopædia Metropolitana ''The Encyclopædia Metropolitana'' was an encyclopedic work published in London, from 1817 to 1845, by part publication. In all it came to quarto, 30 vols., having been issued in 59 parts (22,426 pages, 565 plates). Origins Initially the proje ...

'', ed. by Edward Smedley, Hugh James Rose and

Henry John Rose Henry John Rose (3 January 1800 – 31 January 1873) was an English churchman, theologian of High Church views, and scholar who became archdeacon of Bedford. Life Born at Uckfield, Sussex, he was a younger son of William Rose (1763–1844), th ...

(1845), p. 538.

Etymology

The term "Somkhiti"/"Somkheti" is presumed by modern scholars to have been derived from "Sukhmi" or "Sokhmi", the name of an ancient land located by the

Assyria Assyria ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the ...

n and

Urartian Urartian or Vannic is an extinct Hurro-Urartian language which was spoken by the inhabitants of the ancient kingdom of Urartu (''Biaini'' or ''Biainili'' in Urartian), which was centered on the region around Lake Van and had its capital, Tushpa, ...

records along the upper

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Eup ...

. G. Melikishvili, ''Nairi-Urartu'' (Tbilisi, 1954), pp. 418-19, cited in

Suny, Ronald Grigor Ronald Grigor Suny (born September 25, 1940) is an American historian and political scientist. Suny is the William H. Sewell Jr. Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Michigan and served as director of the Eisenberg In ...

(1994), ''The Making of the Georgian Nation'', p. 344, n. 20. Indiana University Press, . According to Professor

David Marshall Lang David Marshall Lang (6 May 1924 – 20 March 1991), was a Professor of Caucasian Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He was one of the most productive British scholars who specialized in Georgian, Armenian and ...

References

Geographic history of Armenia Geographic history of Georgia (country) {{Georgia-hist-stub

Etymology

See also

References