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Negroids

"There seems to have been a Negroid component (which predates the Arab slave trade) along the Black Sea region"

Reference is needed... I did follow link in the text... But there's only "but modern history has no knowledge of such an expedition by any Egyptian pharao, though black communities are known to have existed in the area" there:(

And i dont see the sources for this statement. Pretty unclear one, i say:) "are known to have existed"... Some genetic evidence in modern people? Archaeological? --83.237.111.41 04:32, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

Just in case, here's a bit of further information and a possible source. I can see that this theme has already been addressed in the article. I'm just placing this here in case anyone feels that some details can be pulled and used in the history section. If anyone finds this distracting or prefers I not do it, just let me know and I'll stop. Here's the text:

Patrick T. English, "Cushites, Colchians and Khazars", in Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 18, No. 1 (Jan., 1959), pp. 49-53

The article discusses the question of the possible presence of blacks in ancient Colchis. It is available online for a fee.

The original reference in Herodotus is as follows:

Herodotus, The Histories (English Edition, translated and ed. A.D. Godley)

II, 104

For it is plain to see that the Colchians are Egyptians; and what I say, I myself noted before I heard it from others. When it occurred to me, I inquired of both peoples; and the Colchians remembered the Egyptians better than the Egyptians remembered the Colchians; the Egyptians said that they considered the Colchians part of Sesostris' army. I myself guessed it, partly because they are dark-skinned and woolly-haired; though that indeed counts for nothing, since other peoples are, too; but my better proof was that the Colchians and Egyptians and Ethiopians are the only nations that have from the first practised circumcision. The Phoenicians and the Syrians of Palestine acknowledge that they learned the custom from the Egyptians, and the Syrians of the valleys of the Thermodon and the Parthenius, as well as their neighbors the Macrones, say that they learned it lately from the Colchians. These are the only nations that circumcise, and it is seen that they do just as the Egyptians. But as to the Egyptians and Ethiopians themselves, I cannot say which nation learned it from the other; for it is evidently a very ancient custom. That the others learned it through traffic with Egypt, I consider clearly proved by this: that Phoenicians who traffic with Hellas cease to imitate the Egyptians in this matter and do not circumcise their children.

II, 105

Listen to something else about the Colchians, in which they are like the Egyptians: they and the Egyptians alone work linen and have the same way of working it, a way peculiar to themselves; and they are alike in all their way of life, and in their speech. Linen has two names: the Colchian kind is called by the Greeks Sardonian; that which comes from Egypt is called Egyptian.

The editor mentions, in a footnote to 104: "It has been inferred from this passage that Herodotus was twice in Colchis and twice in Egypt, which is unlikely, if not impossible. He may well have seen Egyptians in Asia Minor, before his travels in the Black Sea, which almost certainly preceded his visit to Egypt."

I wonder if anyone has bothered to see what the oldest words for linen are in the Kartvelian, Northern and North-Eastern Caucasian languages? --Picatrix (talk) 21:26, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

I would like to point out to you guys that you need to read the --Mwenemucii (talk) 21:02, 18 November 2010 (UTC)The Histories of Herodotus of Halicarnassus.The book is quite ancient and gives what I consider the correct account of the dispute.I would also like to bring to your attention that Kemet(ancient Egypt as it was later to be called by the Greeks) was a inhibited by a black race(Negro) who had earlier came from East Africa(The Cradle of mankind).These people advanced from Ethiopian Highlands and followed Nile colonising it valleys along the way.Earlier,they had several chiefdoms scattered along the Nile.Then there were two kingdoms;lower and upper.This was way before they borrowed writing form even an earlier Kingdom of Ethiopia where they had come from.Later one of the Chiefs named Mani united all the chiefdoms and hence founded Kemet or ancient Egypt as one big Kingdom,that is when writing was starting to develop and it is up to where present day academia has been able to interpret the writings.However,by oral narrations of Kemet priests to Herodotus,the ancient Egyptian Empire was around 11,000 years old by the time Herodotus was writing the book!This means this Nile Valley has been settled for roughly 8,000 years before ancient Egypt surfaced with all its splendour.These black people were held in the highest regard by the antiquity for their wisdom,bravery and their perfection of inquiry into nature(Science).Herodotus goes ahead and gives an account of how the third pharaoh of the united kingdom of Egypt went expedition after another to EUROPE and ASIA and subdueing them to his will.Thus,the area around black sea was settled by Exhausted Kemet Negro Solders around 3000B.C.By the time Herodotus is writing this history,Greeks are busy copying everything Egyptian from gods such as Apollo(Horus),Jupiter(Ammon)etc, culture,mannerism and science.As a Greek,he acknowledges so. Please read the above text for wholesome history of known ancient world.You can also read:Diodorus Siculus The Library of History' 'Bold text''''Bold text'''' —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mwenemucii (talk • contribs) 20:51, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

Strange line

"The kingdom of Colchis, which existed from the sixth to the first centuries B.C.E is presented as the first Georgian state. A second Georgian tribal union emerged in the 13th century BC on the Black Sea coast under creating the Kingdom of Colchis in the western Georgia."

I understood nothing! Why 6-1cc BC? As i understand, it existed long before... Why 'second'? What is the first? ...Iberia? I come to this just now. Somebody who understand - please, make it clear and correct. And then delete this section from the discussion:-) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.237.111.41 (talk) 04:46, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

Official Georgian Propaganda

We have created this article as an very good academic article, but you as officers of the Assimilationist Georgian Goverment, have alterated and converted as Georgian official propaganda text from that academic article by your quackish bad claims.

You can get round wikipedist editors, now.

But you can't never camouflage historical facts and historical documentary materials evermore. You can't never camouflage archaic classicals, so Procopius , Jordanes , Agathias , Xenophon, Joannes Laurentius Lydus and others on Web.. And you can't deny these facts to the end of time..

For example, Cyril Toumanoff is your invalid references that you are using on three paragraphs.. Who is Cyril Toumanoff? He is a Georgian prince from 20.century and his real name Cyril Toumanishvili ! This is very absurd reference. Why didn't use archaic references for this archaic subject? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dauernd (talk • contribs) 13:34, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

While accusing others of fascism and racism, you’ve demonstrated yourself as an overt xenophobe and your unprovoked attack is a testimony to that. There is no sense in discussing the content-related issues with you until you learn to respect others and engage in a normal conversation. Kober 16:41, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Kober, there is no protection needed. That user is involved in outright vandalism and spread of hate massage. This article is well sources from various scholarly publications which are clearly visible in the reference section. Protection shall be given against anon changes but not for disputing a well sourced material. Also that user should be blocked from editing after blunt racist attacks. Iberieli (talk) 16:27, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

I requested semi-protection for anonymous vandalism but the admin decided to fully protect the page. That guy, using various accounts and Turkey-based ip addresses, has long been crusading across Misplaced Pages pages insulting Georgians and accusing them of fascism and racism, characteristically capitalizing these words. Next time he appears, I will file a checkuser case and request an admin involvement. --Kober 16:44, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

p.s I also checked his reference: Agathias (AD.536-594): The Histories (Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae, Procopius (AD.500-565) : History of the Wars, translated by H.B. Dewing (New York: Macmillan, 1914). Its a false reference, i reviewed the Chronicle of Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae, Procopius nothing of that kind is written there (mind you its an ancient manuscript and according to that vandal, it mentions "Laz-Mingrelian" state, funny because word Mingrelian is a modern one). Anywhere is a fake reference and used to support false information. Iberieli (talk) 16:49, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

Sure. And the passage refers to the early history of Colchis, i.e. before the differentiation of proto-Kartvelian into Georgian and Laz-Mingrelian (Zan) languages. Lazoi and Lazica are much later terms, and the Classical sources do not know the word Mingrelia as it is a medieval Georgian variation of the earlier ethno/toponym Egrisi. According to that user, Cyril Toumanoff, an outspoken critic of all kind of nationalist bias in the Caucasian history writing, appears to be a "Georgian fascist". That's simply ridiculous. --Kober 16:57, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

Indeed Kober, he is a simply blunt vandal who has his strong anti-Georgian bias and is trying to undermine credible information with deletions, racist attacks on the Georgian users. Iberieli (talk) 23:33, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

1-Why can't you reply to questions above that about your reference alteration, and why do you delete that questions? 2-What time is your office hours in foreign ministry of Georgia?(I wonder it realy)Dauernd (talk) 17:23, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Please stop your puerile accusations and personal/ethnic attacks. Nobody is going to waste their time challenging your trollish comments here. Go and read WP:Civility if you really want to join Misplaced Pages community.--Kober 05:21, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Dauernd, for the upteenth time, we urge you to stop ethnic attacks and discuss content-related problems on talk page. --Kober 15:16, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Why do you delete my questions above? Why did you alter orjinal form of this article for yourself ethnical fanaticism? Dauernd (talk) 15:34, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Again, please stop personal and ethnic attacks. Your questions have not been deleted and have actually been answered. Nobody seems to understand what you actually say. --Kober 15:37, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

I say that want scientific thrue information in Misplaced Pages and not assimilationist etnich fanaticsm.Dauernd (talk) 15:48, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Could you be more specific? And don't accuse others of "ethnic fanaticism" and "fascism". This may bring about sanctions.--Kober 15:50, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

You are as one each Georgian Nationalist ignore other South Caucasian people's existence in all your contributions. This is only an "ethnic fanaticism" and not Wikipedism. This is reality shown and not accusing.Dauernd (talk) 16:03, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Look, I asked you several times to tone down and engage in a normal discussion. Next time, your case will be brought to an admin board. --Kober 16:27, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Unfortunately, the relevant parts of the Wiki - not only this entry - are badly contaminated with Georgian nationalist propaganda. The aim is obviously to misinform the unaware public from outside the region in order to impose on them the Georgian view of the history of the Caucasus -and of the modern political situation. The discussions here prove, however, that this is not an always easily achievable goal -- Viacheslav A. Chirikba.

Removal and Replacement of Citation for Abasci

I recently noticed that Colchis article had a "citation needed" indicated for the statement that the ancient Abasci may have been ancestors of the modern day Abaza. I therefore provided a reference. The next day Kolkhuri-bichi removed it for no good reason I can determine. I am replacing the citation and providing it in full here. Before anyone removes it I would like to know what justification they have for this.

"The first known mention of one of these tribes, namely the (gens) Absilae (or Apsilae), occurs in the Naturalis historia of Gaius Secundus Pliny Major (first century AD). The modern continuation of this ethnonym is the Abkhazians' self-designation Apswa (= 'Aps(y)-wa). In the second century Arrian has the Greek Apsilai, whilst seventh century Georgian attests apshil-eb-i = Armenian apshel-k 'Abkhazians'."

and

"The name of the other ancient Abkhazian tribe, Abasgoi/Abaskoi, first attested in Arrian, is preserved in the form Abaza, which is the modern self-designation of the Abazinians (cf. also Turkish abaza 'Abkhazian (-Abazinian)', Old Armenian avaz and Old Russian obezu 'Abkhazian'). Conceivably the Greek plural Abasgoi has its source in Circassian abaze-khe, plural of abaze, which today signifies in Circassian only 'Abazinian(s)'.

The modern name by which the Abkhazians are known in Russian and other European languages came via Georgian, where apkhaz-i "Abkhazian" appears relatively late, in the Middle Ages; its original form was most probably *abazkh-i (cf. Greek Abasgoi). The transformation of *abazkh-i into apkhaz-i could have occurred in Mingrelian (as was suggested at the start of the 20th century by Marr), where metathesis (transposition of sounds) is a regular phenomenon in consonant complexes."

These citations are from The Abkhazians, Ed. George Hewitt, 1998. Saint Martin's Press, pp 44-45. --Picatrix (talk) 12:53, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

George Hewitt is not a reliable source. Iberieli (talk) 17:56, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

George Hewitt is Professor of Caucasian Languages at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, and is the author of grammars of both Abkhaz and Georgian as well as numerous articles on the languages and politics of the Caucasus. The publication he edited was published by St. Martin's Press, a reputable imprimatur. Furthermore, this work is part of a recognized series on the peoples of the Caucasus and the Black Sea, edited by Nicholas Awde.

According to the School of Oriental and African Studies website, where he is listed as a member of the Department of the Languages and Cultures of Near and Middle East, his publications include:

Authored Books

Hewitt, George (2005) Georgian: a learner's grammar (2nd edition). Routledge.

Hewitt, Brian (2005) Abkhazian Folklore (with grammatical introduction, translation, notes, and vocabulary). Lincom.

Hewitt, George (2005) Georgian: A Learner's Grammer (Revised 2nd Edition). Routledge.

Hewitt, George (2005) Abkhazian Folktales (with Grammatical Introduction, Translation, Notes, and Vocabulary). München: Lincom.

Hewitt, George (2004) Introduction to the Study of the Languages of the Caucasus. München: Lincom.

Hewitt, Brian (1996) Georgian: A learners grammar. Routledge.

Hewitt, Brian (1995) Georgian: A Structural Reference Grammar. Benjamins J.

Chapters in Books

Hewitt, George (2008) 'Similarities and Differences: some verbal contrasts between Georgian and Mingrelian.' In: Huber, Brigitte and Volkart, Marianne and Widmer, Paul, (eds.), Chomolangma, Demawend und Kasbek, Festschrift fuer Roland Bielmeier. Germany: Peter Schwieger, pp. 657-676.

Hewitt, Brian (2005) 'Towards a comparative syntax of the Kartvelian languages.' In: Haug, D and E.Welo,, (eds.), Haptachahaptaitis: Festschrift for Fridrik Thordarson. Norway, pp. 119-138.

Hewitt, Brian (2005) 'Caucasian Languages, and Georgian, and Abkhaz, and Georgia: the language-situation.' In: Brown, K, (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Language and Linguistics (2nd edition). Elsevier.

Hewitt, Brian and Khiba, Z (2002) 'A selection of the Abkhaz corpus -- 10 stories translated from the Abkhaz Nart epic.' In: Colarusso, J, (ed.), John Colarusso's Nart Sagas from the Caucasus. Princeton University Press (USA), pp. 321-379.

Hewitt, Brian (1999) 'Morphology revisited: some pecularities of the Abkhaz verb.' In: van, H, (ed.), Studies in Caucasian Linguistics: Selected papers of the Eighth Caucasian Colloquium. Research School of Asian African and Amerindian St, pp. 197-208.

Articles

Hewitt, George (2007) 'Abkhaz comparatives.' Archiv Orientalni, 75 (2). pp. 215-237.

Hewitt, George (2005) 'The Syntax of Complementation in Abkhaz.' Iran and the Caucasus, 9 (2). pp. 331-79.

Hewitt, George (2005) 'North West Caucasian.' Lingua, 115 (1-2). pp. 91-145.

Hewitt, Brian (2001) 'Review-article of Svante Cornell 'Small Nations & Greta Powers'.' Royal Society for Asian Affairs, vol. XXXII.2 . pp. 196-199.

Hewitt, Brian (2001) 'Convergence in language-change: morpho-syntactic in Mingrelian (& Laz).' Transactions of the Philological Society, vol. 99.1 . pp. 99-145.

Hewitt, Brian (2001) 'Review-article of Anita Budett (ed.) Caucausian Boundaries 1802-1946 (Archive Editions).' Central Asian Survey, vol. 20.2 . pp. 229-248.

Other Hewitt, Brian (1998) The Languages of the Caucasus: scope for study and survival. SOAS.

I cannot imagine by what generally accepted standard you would assert that this individual is not a reputable source. In the absence of any reasonable justification I am restoring the citation. However, if you can provide me with a reasonable basis for claiming that this individual is not a reputable source, I will be happy to consider your point of view. --Picatrix (talk) 18:28, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

He is well known for his anti-Georgian bias (he is married to Abkhaz wife and officially supports separatist regime in Sukhumi). Thats why i consider him unsuitable as a reference. This claim should be supported by other sources, otherwise its just a Hewitt claim. As you can see, there are multiple sources on the article supporting one claim. Same should be used for that sentence, in order to support its reliability. If you can find alternative source (rather than Georgianophobe scholar who has obvious bias) support for Hewitt claim, then we can count the statement as reliable and well referenced. Thanks. Iberieli (talk) 03:18, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for your reply. You clearly recognize that there are two sides to the discussion. You frame them as pro-Georgian and anti-Georgian. You seem to feel that only pro-Georgian bias should be allowed. But this is an article about ancient Colchis, not modern Georgia. In any case we can at least agree that there is controversy. However, it seems that you wish to treat the subject as settled within this article and to dismiss the other viewpoint(s) as nonsense from "Georgianophobes". As for Hewitt having a Abkhazian wife, I cannot see how that disqualifies him as a reliable reference. By this logic if Hewitt had a Georgian wife and supported the current Georgian government he would be acceptable. This sort of pseudo-justification will get us nowhere. Misplaced Pages readers don't need to know about the details of partisan academic sniping between Georgian or Abkhazian scholars with nationalist agendas. However, they should be informed that there is a lively debate surrounding exactly who the inhabitants of ancient Colchis might have been. While you push back hard against any suggestion that Colchis be associated with ancestors of Abkhazians, this article constantly reiterates the theme of seamless and total identity between ancient Colchis and modern Georgia. In fact it really does show a fairly transparent Georgian nationalist bias, and I feel sure that any reasonable editor who bothers to look into the subject will see this. Bear in mind that the Oxford Classical Dictionary, which certainly provides a reputable standard, does not go into constant discussion of the relationship between ancient Colchis and modern Georgia. In fact the text does not mention Georgia (or Abkhazians) at all. The article on Colchis admirably confines itself to the actual subject by stating

"The local population seems to have been fragmented: many peoples are known, though classical writers are usually satisfied with all-embracing terms, 'Colchi', 'Heniochi', and later 'Lazi'."

On the other hand the word Georgia or Georgian appears in this article no less than 49 times.

I suggest the following compromise for your consideration:

1. After the list of ancient tribes mentioned, we can simply place the sentence "The question of any possible relationship between these ancient tribes and people inhabiting the corresponding regions today remains highly controversial." We can then footnote it as follows:

Footnote: Because of ongoing conflicts regarding territory and cultural identity in Georgia, and the Caucasus in general, questions regarding the ethnic and linguistic characteristics of populations living in the area known as Colchis in antiquity are highly controversial.

A variety of scholarly arguments (some reputable, some pseudo-academic) have been advanced suggesting that either Georgians or Abkhazians (or a combination of the two in varying proportions) have the best claim to cultural dominance or control of territory based on anthropological studies, archaeological finds (e.g. 'dolmens'), and linguistic research (e.g. word reconstructions, analysis of toponyms, association of ancient textual references with modern population segments).

Bearing this controversy in mind, certain identification of scarcely-attested tribes in ancient times with one or another population segment in the Caucasus today is extremely difficult, if not impossible. However some scholars have argued that evidence of languages spoken by groups in or near ancient Colchis (often place names) can be associated with the languages of modern population segments, suggesting ancestry.

Proposed ancestry for languages spoken by groups today living roughly within the region of ancient Colchis includes the ancient Hattians and/or Kaskians of Asia Minor (Forrer 1919, Bleichsteiner 1923, Melikishvili 1960, Diakonov 1967 and 1968, Inal-Ipa 1976, Ardzinba 1979, Ivanov 1985); the Hurrians and Urartu of the Armenian plateau and surroundings (Diakanov and Starostin 1986); The Absilae or Apsilae (mentioned by Pliny the Elder) as direct ancestors of the Abkhazians (Chirikba 1991, Hewitt 1993 and 1998), and the Misimianoi mentioned by Agathias in the 6th century (Inal-Ipa 1976).

If you feel that the list of possible ancestors is incomplete we can simply add the viewpoints that you feel are missing, including them in the same basic format. I am not suggesting we remove the constant and unnecessary nationalistic references to Georgia. All I'm asking is that you allow an alternative point of view to appear in a footnote, not even in the primary text. Is this compromise acceptable? --Picatrix (talk) 13:20, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

Im sorry but I asked you for the supporting source for Hewitt claim and not for some compromises, nobody disputed Georgian identity of Colchis (there are plenty of sources which support that), but your claim carries a dubious assessment of the ethnic component which is not mentioned in any scholarly publication but only in Hewitts work. Frankly, I dont care who is he married to, however, I am aware of his bias and cant consider him as a neutral source. Please also dont quote Arzimba (its obvious biased reference from separatist rebel leader) . Im well aware of Kaskians, Hattians but please find any source from scholarly publication to support Hewitts claim that Abaza's of today are descendants of ancient Colchians (as there are plenty of references which support Mingrelian connection with Colchians). For example, there are numerous sources supporting the claim that Colchis is considered as an early Georgian state. Similarly, lets have more than one source on Abaza claim to balance the article. Plus, i dont see any "nationalistic" references of Georgia, the references are taken from scholarly publications which you can see in the reference section. I would highly advice for you to review the sources and again support Hewitts claim fir secondary or tertiary source. There is no compromise needed when the text is supported by number of good references. Iberieli (talk) 23:31, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

I agree with Iberieli. Hewitt is notoriously one-sided and frequently manipulates historical facts in order to upheld Abkhaz secessionist cause. Please note that most of the contributors to his book are Abkhaz authors who hold various positions in the separatist regime. Hewitt did not even consult his colleagues and former mentors from Georgia, with whom he worked in the 1970s, to let them represent a Georgian vision of the subject in question. This is simply dishonest. Georgians wrote about Abkhazia and studied its land and peoples over a millennium before the Soviet campaign for eradication of illiteracy created the first native Abkhaz scholarship.

Back to the subject of the current discussion, from what I see here a sort of uncertainty is created by an ambiguity of the term “Colchian”. Colchians were a proto-Georgian\Kartvelian tribe, a product of the assimilation of the migrating Anatolian elements such as Kaskai (Kaskians) with local ethnic elements. In its larger sense, “Colchian” may mean all inhabitants of Colchis, including Abasgoi and Apsilae. Another issue is that ancient authors did well not distinguish the tribes and their territories along ethnic lines. Thus, many terms they applied were in fact collective and it is now near to impossible to identify them either 100% proto-Abkhaz or 100% proto-Georgian (see Talbert et al, Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World, p. 1227), partly because of the frequent relocation of tribes within Colchis or from beyond its borders. Here’s passage from Studies in Christian Caucasian History by the most prolific Western scholar of the Caucasus Prof. Toumanoff:

whatever the subsequent, additional migration, Colchis can be justly regarded as not a proto-Georgian, but a Georgian (West Georgian) kingdom. Toumanoff, p. 69.

--Kober 05:54, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Gentlemen, I appreciate your taking the time to reply. However the real issues here are basic:

1. There are other people living in what is now Georgia who hold different opinions from the ones that you hold. You dismiss these points of view because you claim they are not neutral. For some of you, if I have not misunderstood, it seems that only a point of view that asserts a complete identity between the inhabitants of Colchis two thousand years ago and the inhabitants of Georgia today is a "neutral" view. Consider this: sometimes in academic discussions there are two points of view and they are not neutral. Sometimes they are competing or antagonistic. Misplaced Pages does not (so far as I know) mandate neutrality on the part of a cited source, only on the part of the authors of articles. If I write an article about Russian imperialism in the 19th century I can cite Georgians who oppose it and Russians who justify it. The duty of an author of encyclopedia articles is to provide the reader with a summary of points of view regarding the subject of a particular article. What I am trying to say is that you don't need to approve of Hewitt or Cirikba for them to be included. All that is necessary is that their works meet Misplaced Pages's standards. They represent a point of view held by people in the region in question, relevant to discussions of the location in antiquity. This view has been published and can be referenced. Instead of allowing for this view to be represented you continue to indicate that it is unacceptable because it is held by "separatists". These are political criteria, not academic criteria. If I apply these same criteria to Georgian scholarship from a Russian perspective then legitimate and valuable studies could be dismissed because they were created by Georgian "separatists". Even though I know the Russian claim to have legitimately taken Georgia and held it in the early 19th century based on an 'invitation' from the Georgians is absurd, I would still be willing to represent that point of view in an article if it could be cited.

2. Constantly referring to ancient Colchis as Georgian is like referring to ancient Rome as Italian, ancient Carthage as Tunisian, or ancient Palestine as Israeli. It reflects a fundamental confusion of terms (ethnic, national and territorial) and results from a frantic desire to justify a nationalistic claim based on 19th century standards of criteria admitting of recognition of a state.

3. The population of Colchis in antiquity and the population of Georgia today are mixed. This is the scholarly consensus. The possibility that ancient references mention tribes that could be the ancestors of today's Abkhazians and Abaza is real, and this point of view has been published by a reputable source. I did not write the passage about Abasci in this article. I came across a note that said "citation needed". I then placed the citation. Instead of being thanked for working on this article and sharing your interest in ancient Colchis I have had my footnote removed without justification, after replacing I saw it removed again with a dismissive note, I then suggested a compromise and I've been told no compromise is possible. Before moving along in dispute resolution I would like to ask if any of you can suggest another compromise so that such a process will not be necessary. --Picatrix (talk) 13:25, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Picatrix, I'm getting bit frustrated and also tired. I completely understand your arguments and thanks for the interesting reading I would appreciate if you include references for your claims rather than claiming that there is consensus among scholars on any given topic, consensus between who? what? when? how? reference please). However, I do not require a detailed explanation on neutrality and on simple facts. I just made a simple request, to find additional source (besides Hewitts) on Abazg connection with ancient Colchians (and im not saying there were none, just want to verify the information so this article looks balanced). Thats all i asked. When I add some sentences to this article (look at history of editing of this article) I always use multiple sources (and although i would love to use Georgian scholars who are no less professional in their field, I insert sources from western scholars to avoid any further misunderstandings). Also I did not dispute your statement (there is no resolution needed and no compromises), I just asked you for additional source. But if you cant find one, than we can say that " according to George Hewitt Abazg tribes are descendants of ancient Colchians. Just as i wrote: According to the renown scholar of the Caucasian studies Cyril Toumanoff: "Colchis appears as the first Caucasian State to have achieved the coalescence of the newcomer, Colchis can be justly regarded as not a proto-Georgian, but a Georgian (West Georgian) kingdom." Thats all. Again for dispute resolution, you need a solid dispute which we don't have here (I dont know why you think we have a dispute, its simple discussion). Also i did not say compromise is not possible, i said there is need for one because im not against your statementIberieli (talk) 16:12, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for your reply. I only suggested that you appeared unwilling to compromise because I have already provided an additional reference to the Abasci/Apsilae question in my second posting in this exchange, above. However in your reply to that post you continued to offer me your personal opinions about what sources you felt were appropriate for this article. Once more, and more completely:

Chirikba, V., "On the etymology of the ethnonym 'apswa' "Abkhaz", in The Annual of the Society for the Study of Caucasia, 3, 13-18, Chicago, 1991

I have already provided a reference for my claim that there is scholarly consensus among academics regarding the fact that the population of ancient Colchis was mixed. Please see my citation above from the peer-reviewed standard English language reference work on the classical world, The Oxford Classical Dictionary. I excerpted the text for you and provided the source. This also again, and more completely:

"The local population seems to have been fragmented: many peoples are known, though classical writers are usually satisfied with all-embracing terms, 'Colchi', 'Heniochi', and later 'Lazi'."

The Oxford Classical Dictionary, Third Edition, Ed. Hornblower and Spawforth, Colchis, 1999, Oxford University Press

We can simply leave the actual article text as it is, with the footnote in the same place. We can provide the Chirikba citation along with the Hewitt citation. However it would be very misleading to state that "according to Hewitt Abazg tribes are descendants of ancient Colchians". No one has stated anything of the kind. The point is that if the interpretation of some scholars is correct, ancient sources confirm the presence of Abkhazians as a distinct people (gens) as early as the first century CE in the territory known in ancient times as Colchis. It is counter-productive to confuse the name of an institutional state, the general designation of a territory and the self-designation of a people as such. As I mentioned above, the text of this article confuses these designators constantly. This problem should be addressed.

I suggest the following footnote for your consideration:

According to some scholars, ancient tribes such as the Absilae (mentioned by Pliny, 1st century CE) and Abasgoi (mentioned by Arrian, 2nd century CE) correspond to the modern Abkhazians (Chirikba, V., "On the etymology of the ethnonym 'apswa' "Abkhaz", in The Annual of the Society for the Study of Caucasia, 3, 13-18, Chicago, 1991; Hewitt, B. G., "The valid and non-valid application of philology to history", in Revue des Etudes Georgiennes et Caucasiennes, 6-7, 1990-1991, 247-263). However this claim is controversial and no scholarly consensus has yet been reached."

Thank you again for your willingness to discuss this subject. --Picatrix (talk) 19:50, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

So let me get it straight, you are using Abkhaz sources for that claim? Than, what keeps me from bombard this article with Georgian sources? Chirikba, Arzimba and Bagapsh is not a reliable or neutral source. I have no objections to Hewitt but definately not Abkhaz separatist sources can be used in this article. I asked you more than couple times to find NEUTRAL sources, not Georgian, not Abkhaz but sources from western scholars. Sources by Chirikba, Arzimba and other separatist daydreamers, are not reliable or be considered as scholarly. Again, you may use freely any reference but make sure you mention an important detail that it is according to Abkhaz side and not by any "scholarly consensus". Anyway, Ed. Hornblower and Spawforth don't mention Abazg or moder day Abkhaz do they? While Suny, Toumanof, Rosen, Allen, Land all mention about Colchian connection to early or proto-Georgian tribes. With all due respect please use neutral scholars such as you did already, Ed. Hornblower and Spawforth but avoid using any biased Abkhaz referenced which are highly questionable and controversial. Otherwise, we wouldn't get anywhere. I recommend to consult this book by well known Colchis scholar David Braund: Georgia in Antiquity: A History of Colchis and Transcaucasian Iberia, 550 BC-AD 562. As for your footnote, its all up to you. If you think its reasonable please insert it. But again, I dont think we should use Chirikba or Arzimba if we are talking about scholars. Iberieli (talk) 22:48, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

I have added the citation. I have also indicated that this interpretation is controversial. Finally, I have added the viewpoint of a Georgian scholar, regarding the same issue. I hope that this serves to balance the citation. --Picatrix (talk) 17:01, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

Thank you very much for your research and contribution, we also should work on the history section, which desperately needs additional information. Thanks again, Best. Iberieli (talk) 17:08, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

Category

Since this is listed as a location in greek mythology, I figured it needs to put in the general greek mythology category too. I don't have an account so I can't do it because the article's protected, but I wanted to point it out.--24.255.171.220 (talk) 17:55, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

Overuse of the word "Georgian"

In the first paragraph of this page, the word "Georgian" is used seven times alone. It reads rather ridiculously. Granted, the fact that Colchis was in modern Georgia is of vital note, but the repetition of the word is absurd. (Midnightblueowl (talk) 16:04, 8 November 2008 (UTC))

Seven times in the opening paragraph is just the tip of the iceberg. You will see that in the discussion above, concerning whether or not any mention of Abkhazians could be made, that "the word Georgia or Georgian appears in this article no less than 49 times." At the time I did not waste further energy dealing with the nationalistic subtext that exists beneath the entire article. However, I certainly agree that the article should be edited so that the nationalism is a little less puerile and blatant. --Picatrix (talk) 19:09, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

A misrepresentation of a passage in Argonautica?

"Apollonius of Rhodes states that the Egyptians of Colchis preserved as heirlooms a number of wooden tablets showing seas and highways with considerable accuracy.". Where does this occur? I have two translations at my elbow, but I can find nothing about Colchians as Egyptians nor wooden tablets. Part of the elaborate modern Georgian founding mythology?--Wetman (talk) 07:22, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

The quote is taken from Britannica 1911 which can hardly be considered part of modern Georgian founding myth-making:

Herodotus, who states that they, with the Egyptians and the Ethiopians, were the first to practise circumcision, believed them to have sprung from the relics of the army of Sesostris, and thus regarded them as Egyptians. Apollonius Rhodius (Argon, iv. 279) states that the Egyptians of Colchis preserved as heirlooms a number of wooden ?? (tablets) showing seas and highways with considerable accuracy. Though this theory was not generally adopted by the ancients, it has been defended, but not with complete success, by some modern writers. It is quite possible that there was an ancient trade connexion between the Colchians and the Mediterranean peoples.

(LoveToKnow link)

Another quote from more recent source The History of Cartography by John Brian Harley, David Woodward (1987), p. 158:

Although the allusion is literary and refers to an earlier period, a passage in the epic of Aplonius Rhodius (fl. Ca. 267-260 BC) extends the practice outside Athens, claiming that the Colchians, on the southeast coast of the Black Sea, were originally colonists from Egypt. “They preserve,” he says, “the engravings of their fathers on pillars, on which are marked all the ways and the limits of the sea and land as you journey on all sides round."

(Google Books link)

--Kober 12:22, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

Georgian myths about Colchis.

The article states that Colchis was an ancient Georgian state and makes a reference, inter alia, to p. 91 of this book which is about Georgian myths and symbols.

Why not to make a reference to sources, if any? Apswaaa (talk) 13:02, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

For my part I'd welcome source citations and a more balanced treatment of the history of this region. At present, however, the content suggests an editorial bias in favor of identifying the historical Colchis with modern Georgia, which involves a fundamental confusion I have already addressed on this talk page (above). Unfortunately, if you want to see something changed, you'll have to undertake it yourself. --Picatrix (talk) 17:22, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

According to Suny, Colchis was a western Georgian state, but he doesn’t cite any sources.

Unfortunately, I can’t check David Braund’s Georgia in Antiquity. — Apswaaa (talk) 13:29, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

More sources are here. "Georgian" here does not necessarily imply that all tribes living in the area in question were ethnically Georgian. Scholars define Colchis as "West Georgian" to make it clear that the dominant group in Colchis were (proto-)Georgian tribe(s). According to the foremost Western scholar of the medieval Caucaus, Cyril Toumanoff of Georgetown University:

Colchis appears as the first Caucasian State to have achieved the coalescence of the newcomer and the autochton; so that, whatever the subsequent, additional migrations, Colchis can be justly regarded as not a proto-Georgian, but a Georgian (West Georgian) kingdom." (Toumanoff, 1963, Studies in Christian Caucasian History‎, p. 69)

--Kober 13:42, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

We need ancient sources, not just statements of modern scholars.

Shnirelman on p. 341 writes: “ancient sources let us talk only about a not big political formation in the lower reaches of r. Phasis”, and refers to Braund’s Georgia in Antiquity, p. 91. — Apswaaa (talk) 15:09, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

Huh! "ancient sources"? Are Herodotus and Pliny supposed to make such identifications? This is exactly the prerogative of modern scholars. Ethnogenesis is studied retrospectively. --Kober 15:32, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

Why not? Herodotus identified Colchians as Egyptians...

The article begins with the words “In ancient geography...”, that’s why references to ancient sources would be quite appropriate. Bald statements about ancient Georgian kingdom are not very convincing. — Apswaaa (talk) 19:31, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

This article is well sourced based on the scholarly publications by Toumanoff, Braud, Lang and others, therefore, it is much convincing. On the other hand your arguments are not convincing and i dont see any reason to doubt the sources which are mentioned and are sited by the article. Iberieli (talk) 04:58, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

Unfortunately, I can’t check all the sources used in this article. This one is used 5 times in spite of the fact that the author considers claims about Colchians to be Georgian national mythology. — Apswaaa (talk) 11:09, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

I'm interested in seeing more sources. There is no reason not to provide mention of ancient as well as modern theories regarding the relationships between past and present populations (when they can be established). Furthermore, briefly mentioning some of the (notable) wild antique claims in the context of a broader discussion would go a long way towards showing how long a history wild claims about the population(s) of the region has. Toumanoff can certainly be used, but his confusion of specifically linguistic and ethnic terminology (e.g. "proto-Georgian" in reference to a people), as well as his (unintended?) vagueness when it comes to the distinctions that should be made between topos and ethnos, do not encourage me to give his comments special treatment over those of any other sanctified and blessed academic. Let's gather the best sources we can and consider rewrites or the addition of new content. --Picatrix (talk) 19:16, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

Unfortunately for matters at hand, what little we know of ancient Colchis (Abkhazian Kolkhida) does not help us to decide the ethnicity of the Colchians. The name ‘Medea,’ itself looks to be Greek for ‘Guardian(ess)’, but it has a suspicious Iranian look to it. That of her father, ‘Aietes’, appears to be built upon the Ionian Greek root for ‘eagle’, while that of her halfbrother, ‘Apsyrtos’, could equally well be a Greek derivative reflecting Old Babylonian absu ‘the abyss’ or an Old Abkhazian */a-p´sw-art./ the-Abkhaz-pronoun suffix, based on an old root for mortal and a suffix now seen only in pronoun constructions. Clearly we are drawing near neither to Georgian nor Mingrelian, but possibly to some ancient dialect of Abkhaz. If anything can be concluded from such evidence, however, it is that ancient Abkhazia, while Abkhazian, was also to some extent multi-ethnic. Apswaaa (talk) 17:35, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

(Criticism & a modest constructive proposal) As user Picatrix has repeatedly pointed out, this article is prey to certain category mistakes. I would have liked to learn more about what contemporary historians know about Colchis, rather then to learn what a certain group of people likes to relate Colchis to. The only immediate and undisputed connection of Colchis to Georgia seems to be the territory. The article should state that Colchis was situated in a region on the eastern shores of the Black Sea that belongs to present day Georgia. The ethnicity of the Colchians is unknown, a continuity of their state to medieval or modern states cannot be stated in any institutional sense. Whoever wants to make Colchis a precursor of modern day Georgia ("the first Georgian state"), needs a rather vague notion of precursorship and ought to make this notion explicit. The agenda of Iberieli and Kober in endlessly substituting 'Georgian' for other discriptions is obvious. However, there seems a peaceful way out by observing the categories. Languages have a classification in contemporary linguistics, places have names as well. All we know about Colchis is a few ancient sources plus some archeology. Such an article should also discuss what scholars speculate about, e.g. the ethnicity of ancient Colchis, hitherto unknown. But in this discription the term 'Georgian' wouldn't appear either, because there were no Georgians, Russians, Germans or English at the time, but entirely different ancient peoples. However there might be a further Section 'History of Interpretation of ancient Colchis'. And here all this may appear, interpretations that claim a continuity with Georgia, others that claim a connection with Abkhazians etc. The history of interpretations is a relevant part of what can be said about many ancient places. Colchis may be a bit more concrete than Troya, but still it is far and obscure enough to be a fertile ground for projections, which are interesting in their own way. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.220.73.120 (talk) 21:00, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

p.s. (Criticism & a modest constructive proposal) Obviously most of the first sentence of the article should be moved to a section like the one I proposed ('History of Interpretation of ancient Colchis'). Maybe the users would be able, independent of their stance on how 'Georgian' Colchis was, to agree about restructuring the article accordingly. None of your claims would be lost, they would only no longer appear as what they are not, namely undisputed facts about Colchis. Proposal:

In ancient geography, Colchis or Kolkhis (Georgian and Laz: კოლხეთი, ǩolxeti or "ǩolxa" ; Greek: Template:Polytonic, Kolkhís) was an ancient kingdom and region on the eastern shores of the Black Sea, in present day Western Georgia.

p.p.s. Sorry for failing to sign: StBorn (talk) 22:01, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

This article is well sourced, with numerous scholarly references which directly support the statements made in the article. Moreover, these statements of Colchis being proto-Georgian, Georgian state and so on is taken from those scholarly sources. Please provide sources and references for your claims next time. Iberieli (talk) 04:33, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

“For all their curiosity the Ancient Greeks were peculiarly uninterested in the diversity of languages attested among the many peoples with whom their travels brought them into contact, all of whom were classified as ‘barbarians’. Specifically, they have left us no evidence of the languages spoken by those tribes their writers named as residing along the east coast of the Black Sea, which they loosely termed Colchis, descibed by the Mingrelian scholar Dzhanashia (1988.295) as ‘more a geographical than political term, and even then with uncertain boundaries,’ though for Strabo (1st century B.C.) it extended roughly from Pitsunda (northern Abkhazia) to Trebizond (Turkey).” (http://www.apsny.ru/special/word/abkhazia_broxup_1993.pdf, p. 3) Apswaaa (talk) 08:24, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

კოლხეთი

Is Geo კოლხეთი a neologism? I can’t find it here. — Apswaaa (talk) 12:38, 14 September 2009 (UTC)

Colchis is known as Colchis in all of the sources that I have ever dealt with. It is most likely an indigenous name for the kingdom that was taken by others, this is why they all sound the same: Colchis (English), Colcheti(Georgian), Colchida(Russian) etc. I do not know what meskhi.net is so I cannot tell you why you cannot find Colchis there.--ComtesseDeMingrélie 19:23, 13 March 2011 (UTC)

Didn’t you notice ნიკო ჩუბინაშვილი’s dictionary there? ))) Apswaaa (talk) 21:54, 13 March 2011 (UTC)

Colchis is in Romania, not Georgia

Colchis = Colți (fangs)-because of the basaltic "fangs of the dragon", Buzău county http://www.pelasgians.org/website4/20_00.htm Bigshotnews 12:19, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

Total nonsence. I guess, that's cleared. TheMightyGeneral (talk) 22:16, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

Yet another Georgia-related article of marvel:D

I looked at the flag of Ulster, and it made me think of both Abkhazian and Georgian flags, and I thought...

Why don't we all start calling Ulster an "Ancient British kingdom" from now on?

Ulster is so anciently British, that nothing is as British as the ancient Ulster. British in all ancient maps of the United Kingdom. Ulster, the cradle of the British language. Populated by proud Britons since nobody knows when. Ulster, the ancient citadel of the British Christendom. Ulster, motherland of the British dynasty. And, generally, home of all things British.

• Just like we do with the ancient Georgian kingdom of Colchis, eh?
  • Colchis is doubtlessly Georgian in all ancient maps of Georgia (remember those huge letters GEORGIA in one corner of those Roman and Byzantine maps, right in front of THE UK on the opposite corner of Europe).
  • Colchis, the cradle of the Georgian language. Just like with Ulster, and the British language. Nothing to add here, actually.
  • Colchis, populated by proud Georgians since prehistoric times, including all the Achba dynasty of Abkhazian Kings of Abasgia (to those reading Byzantine authors) and all other Abasgians. Well, everybody knows all Abkhazians are Georgians, right? Even Abkhazians themselves would recognize it one day. Probably.
  • Colchis, the ancient 'citadel of the Georgian Christendom. Uh, well, since this half of "Georgia" was mainly Muslim during half of the second millennium, - not exactly as ancient and citadelic as Ulster, but still...
  • Colchis, motherland of the Georgian dynasty. This time for real, lol. Been a home for the good old Roman/ Armenian Bagratid "Georgian" dynasty with all those "Ashots" and "Sumbats" and "Gurgens". Wouldn't, say, Fergus, or even Ciothruadh sound like an wonderful British name for the King of the United Kingdom to you?:)
  • Colchis, home of all things Georgian. Even now, people we know as "Georgians" themselves call their country "Sacolchtvelo", "a country of Colchians", and name themselves "Colchtvels", which means "Colchians". Just as true as Britons routinely calling themselves "Ulsterish". Er, sorry, "Gaeilge".

Thankfully, we're not going that far yet with Ulster:) FeelSunny (talk) 16:26, 2 April 2012 (UTC)

No, that's definitely not my talkpage. WP:SD does not apply to this. So, you should look through the rules more closely. Do you really expect a serious response to your masterpiece of soapboxing?--Kober 16:49, 2 April 2012 (UTC)

No, dear, I do not expect an answer at all. Least of all, a "serious" one, especially from one of the authors. I can only admire the article. Knowing, of course, that it's drifted beyond any discussions so very long ago, I'm afraid. FeelSunny (talk) 16:57, 2 April 2012 (UTC)

First off, I'm not your "dear". If you don't expect an answer at all, then it appears to me your only purpose is soapboxing. Then you can bring your masterpiece to any of myriads of runet forums where your warm feelings towards Georgia will be kindly shared. Also, I'd recommend that you look through some basic textbook stuff before juxtaposing the religious affairs of Colchis with Islamization of "half of Georgia" (sic) "during half of the second millennium" and calling the Bagratids an "old Roman" dynasty. Best, --Kober 17:12, 2 April 2012 (UTC)

Well, my not dear, maybe I would receive some answers from the others? From those who did not yet contribute to this masterpiece?

• Maybe they would kindly explain how the Kingdom of Colchis "unified" with the Kingdom of Iberia (information from the lead of this marvellous article) and "contributed significantly" (even more lovely, contributed after unification) to the "medieval Georgian statehood"? I presume that "medieval statehood" and "unification of kingdoms" happened to Georgia before the VI c. BC, when the Kingdom of Colchis was finally conquered - and ceased to be? Or did we all miss something, and this "medieval statehood" of the "unified Georgia" happened under Rome? Or Pontus? So many questions...
• And maybe they would answer what was the capital of the Georgian "Kingdom of Colchis" and the name of the King of the Kingdom of Colchis at the moment of unification? Hopefully he/ she became the King/ Queen of the Georgia United in the VI c. BC - and not the other King, that of the Kingdom of Iberia?
• And maybe they would explain how the Kingdom of Lazica that existed on the territory of this marvellous "Kingdom of Colchis" between the VI c. BC and the VII c. AD (that is, most of the time covered by this wonderful article about the "Colchis kingdom") isn't even mentioned?
• And how so happened that this Kingdom of Lazica happened to appear in the "Georgian kingdom of Colchis", if Laz people didn't even speak Georgian?

Oy vey, so many questions...FeelSunny (talk) 18:04, 2 April 2012 (UTC)

Well, it's somewhat refreshing to see that you're beginning to learn how to use talk page. It's just the beginning, though. Back to the article...

The main issue with this article is that it illustrates Colchis as a monolithic state formation as if it had even a semblance of definite borders, government, identity, etc. In fact, Colchis was pretty much a fluid concept in geographical and political no less than in ethnic terms. I'd been trying to tilt the prose toward this point based on the researches by the likes as Melikishvili, Janashia, Braund, etc. before I abandoned this article to the mercy of puerile nationalists and equally puerile wanna-be anti-nationalists. Of course, the Kingdom of Colchis never unified with the Kingdom of Iberia to form Georgia. Their "successors" did, but that's another story. Interestingly, some of the early modern European literati, including, e.g., the 17th-century Frenchman Chardin, still referred to the western parts of Georgia, specifically, the Principality of Mingrelia, as Colchis.

Lazica should be mentioned as well as ethnic and cultural penetration from Iberia/eastern Georgia in the Late Antiquity/Early Middle Ages. Why is Colchis characterized as Georgian? Well, probably because when the earliest Colchian federation formed in the Chorokhi valley, Georgians, Lazi, and their kindred all spoke the same, proto-Kartvelian, language. At least, this early ethno-political unity is way too explicitly characterized as "-Georgian" in the seminal works by, say, Vladimir Minorsky and Cyril Toumanoff.

P.S. Now, what about your homework? Do you still think that the Bagratids were "old Romans"?--Kober 18:41, 2 April 2012 (UTC)

Firstly, about Bagratids. Bagratids themselves claimed to originate from the Roman Empire, more precisely Judea. Claiming they were descendants of David. This doesn't change the fact that, by the time they started to rule in Colchis, they well became Armenians, of course.

As to all the other questions, Kober, I start to think you probably did not read my last post...

1. The article's lead in this very moment reads, I quote, "The Kingdom of Colchis contributed significantly to the development of medieval Georgian statehood after its unification with the eastern Georgian Kingdom of Iberia." I.e. Misplaced Pages article you (I believe) very heavily edited right now says Georgia was created by the "unification" of the Kingdom of Colchis and the Kingdom of Iberia. "Kingdoms", not "regions". Which is a very refreshing point of view, if you ask me. Especially, if you take into account this site is being extensively used by history students across the world...
2. Another thing is, the article implies Colchis region was Georgian and existed as Georgian till the unification of Georgia - which is quite funny if you know about 1) Laz kingdom that succeeded the "Georgian" Colchis (from your post looks like you've heard about it), 2) Aqbkhazian Kingdom (not yet mentioned anywhere, I guess), and 3) the time of formation of ethnos of Kartvelians, and the nation of Sakartvelo. And of how the word "Georgia" came into being. It's again quite refreshing to see "Georgian kingdoms" existed in the VIII c. BC and even before. "Georgian", not "proto-Georgian"/ "proto-Kartvelian".
3. When you say, I quote again, "when the earliest Colchian federation formed in the Chorokhi valley, Georgians, Lazi, and their kindred all spoke the same, proto-Kartvelian, language" - don't you yourself see your answer is a perfect reason to ask 1) why don't we call Colchis a "Laz" kingdom instead then, and 2) who exactly were those "Georgians" if their Georgian language hadn't yet form?
4. To put it very simple, Kober: do you really not see the article confuses "Kingdom of Colchis" with the "Region of Colchis" all the time? Did you check the timeline of the history of Georgia to the right? Didn't you mention how the space you edit is named there - "Kingdom of Colchis"? And, finally, don't you understand you guys write about "Georgians" all the time - in the Ist millenium BC?

Oh my. FeelSunny (talk) 20:01, 2 April 2012 (UTC)

First of all, the Bagratid claim of Davidic origin does not make them "old Romans". And, yes, go back to textbooks. They never ruled in Colchis.

1, 2. Reread my previous post regarding my views and the share of my contributions to the current version. Regarding Abasgia, when it, as a kingdom, came into existence, the contemporary sources hardly ever mentioned the term Colchis to describe the region in question. For your knowledge, Abasgia/Abkhazeti was also a fluctuating geographic, political and ethnic term reflecting the changes of political landscape and dynastic expansion.

3. Description of Colchis as a Georgian entity is not my brainchild. I quoted at least two leading scholars using the term "proto-Georgian" (verbatim).

4. Reread my previous post and probably you will find the answers to your rhetorical questions. --Kober 20:25, 2 April 2012 (UTC)

• @"does not make them "old Romans" - whatever, call them Jewish, if you like. BTW, you keep on misquoting me, I called them an "good old Roman/ Armenian dynasty", not "old Romans".
• @"go back to textbooks. They never ruled in Colchis." - you serious? You - really - think so? I mean, Kober, you're Georgian? Do you know where the capital of David the Builder's realm was - before he conquered Tbilisi? Do you know what was the capital of the ancient "Kingdom of Colchis"? And you ask me to "go to textbooks"?
• @"previous post regarding my views" - I did not comment on your views, I fully agree with all your thoughts about nationalists and anti-nationalists and the like. But I commented on the article. And it says exactly what I quoted. None of my questions were rhetoric, unfortunately.
• The problem is, we have an article that claims that "Georgians", and not "proto-Georgians" existed in 1st millennium BC, and had a kingdom that lasted (seemingly) until the 2nd millenium AD, when Georgia was united.
• "an ancient Georgian state kingdom and region", "unification with the eastern Georgian Kingdom of Iberia", "early Georgian tribes" (like Laz?) - this from the lead alone. first early Georgian state, including other Kartvelians such as Laz (this one really hilarious, so now all Laz, Mingrelians and Svan people are "Kartvelians"?), present day Bzyb River, Abkhazia, Georgia (did I miss the "gov.ge" in the address?) - that's from the first chapter. And so on. A reminder, the article is about the Colchis Kingdom, that existed in 6-1 c. BC.

From what I see, 1) you guys need to create two articles about two things, the region and the kingdom; 2) stop pretending Georgians came into being before Rome was built; and 3) stop calling everybody around Kartvelians - they did nothing wrong to be deprived of their own ethnicity. Call them Georgians, at least.

To sum up, comparing the article - as it is now - to a story about the Ancient British kingdom of Ulster - is a compliment.FeelSunny (talk) 21:13, 2 April 2012 (UTC)

FeelSunny - you are nothing more than a Georgian hater who can't bear keeping his marvelous theories to himself.

Dear Dj777cool, a good old ad hominem is really a cruise control to compromise.FeelSunny (talk)

first of all - Georgians,Mingrelians,Lazs,Svans speak languages descended from Proto-Kartvelian language. Secondly, Georgians are more genetically related to each other than any Russian (who are descendants of not only Slavs but also from Germanic, Turco-Mongolic and Scytho/Sarmatian peoples), no offense. Being the oldest population of the Caucasus, they are certainly way older than Romans, with their oldest state (Diauehi) founded in the 2nd Millenium BC. As for your clever use of Davidic theory to discredit authenticity of Georgian history, this theory is rejected by modern georgian historians and are not unique in fact - armenian Mamikonians, for instance claimed descent from the imperial house of china and Kurdish Zakarids who were known as Mkhargrdzeli (meaning long armed) claimed descent from Artaxerxes II of Persia. Depriving ethnicity?? If you think that Lazs, Mingrelians and others were forcibly Georgianized you are really pushing the limits, because Linguistic and Genetic studies revealed that they are the integral part of a single nation, not the other way around. Keep in mind that Georgians/Kartvelians are equal in any sense and stop propagating your mad theories. --Dj777cool (talk) 12:16, 7 April 2012 (UTC)

Now to your nice message.

Firstly, I must admit, I do not despise racists as much as some people do, just dislike them to a reasonable extent. In other case, I'd probably wouldn't bother to answer your message at all.

Secondly, I do understand, though not share, of course, the logic behind trying to offend others with your theories of ethnogenesis of Russians from Turco-Mongols and Sarmathians. But it is rather quite amusing to see a person from Georgia that 1) finds descending from Sarmathians and Turco-Mongols offending, and, moreover, 2) thinks that he is "better" than Russians in this respect:) Overall, I'd recommend to you: 1) reading some articles about haplogroups before teaching others about their genes:), and 2) reading a brief history of your own country, to understand if Georgians can really be proud of being the all-so-white-Nordic-Aryans.

Secondly, no "Georgians" existed before Romans, sorry. No, no, no. No "Georgian state of Diauehi" never-ever existed, sorry again to disappoint, dear. No "Georgian state" of Colchis ever existed either, sorry. Because both these we at best "proto-Georgian" tribal states. Do you know what "proto-" means, Dj777cool?

If you don't understand this fact, I'm afraid there's nothing else to discuss. It's more important than your views on who Laz and Mingrelians are, it's more important than your ideas about the history of the region, etc. The article just should not be talking about Georgians in the 1st millenia BC.

P.S. Being a racist is always a disgrace to your nation.FeelSunny (talk)

FeelSunny - No,no,no.. I don't find the descent from turco-Mongolic peoples despicable, I just want to illustrate that the Russians are extremely heterogenous. You being a Russian, criticizing and separating genetically interwoven Georgian people is a real shame. I don't care what you think about the early Georgian statehood, because your ideas are just theories, thank god. By offending Georgian statehood, you are naturally offending the Georgian nation along with it, so choose words carefully.. I don't consider Georgians to be superior to any nations, and support racial equality. Criticizing the history of other nations than yours comes easy. While I do not think of Georgians as superior than Russians, I clearly see that they are far more Ancient. Perhaps this is the reason of your strong dislike, if not hate of their history and claims. --Dj777cool (talk) 11:15, 9 April 2012 (UTC)

Dear Dj777cool, don't get into deep conversation with this truly ridiculous and poor Russian. He is not worth it believe me. Just because some Russian is saying unfounded unsourced foolishness it doesn't make this poor guy right. So you don't get this seriously about it. There are tons of these kind of guys who feel pathetically sad when they see that they weren't even on earth when Georgians had their state into the very antiquity. So you gotta understand this kind of pathetic people. He's not worth it. He's just some Ivan from Russia, mad at Georgians and Georgia and keeps it's Georgianophobe deeds where he moves around. Just pity this guy and don't get surprised to see people like this on Wiki. They may be a lot around here. --GeorgianJorjadze (talk) 11:17, 9 April 2012 (UTC)

GeorgianJorjadze, your last message is racist, as well as an attempt to personally insult me as an editor. I ask you to self-revert this edit now, and apologize. Otherwise I will have to take the matter further.FeelSunny (talk) 15:01, 9 April 2012 (UTC)

1. Marc Van de Mieroop, A History of the Ancient near East, C. 3000–323 BC, p 265

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