Meskheti
Historical Region in Samtskhe-Javakheti, Georgia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Meskheti (Georgian: მესხეთი [me̞s̪χe̞t̪ʰi], Turkish: Meshetya) or Samtskhe (Georgian: სამცხე [s̪ämt̪͡s̪ʰχe̞]), also known as Moschia in ancient sources, is a mountainous area in southwestern Georgia.
GeorgiaMeskheti/Samtskhe
მესხეთი/სამცხე | |
|---|---|
Map highlighting the historical region of Meskheti in Georgia | |
| Country | Georgia |
| Mkhare | Samtskhe-Javakheti |
| Capital | Akhaltsikhe |
| Meskheti is not an official subdivision of the Georgia; it constitutes a historical region only. | |
History
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The ancient tribe of Meskhetians is the first known inhabitants of the modern Samtskhe-Javakheti region.[1]
Between the 2nd millennium BC and the 4th century BC, Meskheti was part of the kingdom of Diauehi. It was subsequently, until the 6th century, part of the Kingdom of Iberia.
During the 10th-15th centuries, this region was a part of the united Georgian Kingdom. In the 16th century it was the independent Principality of Samtskhe until it was occupied and annexed by the Ottoman Empire.
In 1829-1917 the region was a part of Tiflis Governorate, and then briefly (1918–1921) part of the Democratic Republic of Georgia. Between 1921-1990 it was a part of the Soviet Union, as the Georgian SSR.
Meskheti is now part of the Samtskhe-Javakheti region, together with Javakheti and Tori.
Demographics
Ethnic groups
Georgians
Meskhetians or Meskhs (Meskhi) are an ethnographic subgroup of Georgians who speak the Meskhetian dialect of the Georgian language, which among Georgia's regional dialects is relatively close to official Georgian. Meskhetians are the indigenous population of Meskheti, a historical region in southern Georgia.[2][3] Today they are mainly followers of Georgian Orthodox Church, while part of them are Catholics.
Meskhetian Turks
Meskhetian Turks are the former inhabitants of the Meskheti region of Georgia along the border with Turkey. They were deported to Central Asia during November 15–25, 1944 by Joseph Stalin and settled within Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Of the 120,000 forcibly deported in cattle-trucks a total of 10,000 perished.[4] Today they are dispersed over a number of other countries of the former Soviet Union. There are 500,000 to 700,000 Meskhetian Turks in exile in Azerbaijan and Central Asia.[5][6] Most Meskhetian Turks are Sunni Muslims.