GREEK City of Dioskourias (in the north of Kolchis, Dioskourias was a Milesian foundation, and provided a great market-place for the peoples of the surrounding area) Bronze 14mm (2.2 grams) Struck 225-125 B.C. Reference: Sear 3629; B.M.C. 13.5,1 Caps of the Dioskouroi, each surmounted by star. Thyrsos; ΔΙ- ΟΣ / ΚΟΥ - ΡΙΑ / Δ - ΟΣ across field.

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In Greek and Roman mythology, Castor and Pollux (in Greek, Kástōr and Polydeúkēs - Κάστωρ καὶ Πολυδεύκης) were the twin sons of Lēda and Zeus/Tyndareus (Pollux's father was Zeus, Castor's was Tyndareus), the brothers of Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra and the half-brothers of Timandra, Phoebe, Heracles and Philonoe. They are known collectively in Greek as the Dioskouroi or Dioscuri (Διόσκουροι), "sons of Zeus", and in Latin as the Gemini ("twins") or Castores. Castor means "beaver" in both Greek and Latin, and polydeukes means "much sweet wine".^[1] They are sometimes also termed the Tyndaridae (Τυνδαρίδαι) in reference to their alternative fatherhood by Tyndareus.

In the myth the twins shared the same mother but had different fathers which meant that Pollux was immortal and Castor was mortal. When Castor died, Pollux asked Zeus to let him share his own immortality with his twin to keep them together and they were transformed into the Gemini constellation. The pair were regarded as the patrons of sailors, to whom they appeared as St. Elmo's fire.

Sukhumi (Abkhaz: Аҟəа, Aqwa; Georgian: სოხუმი, Sokhumi; Russian: Сухум or Сухуми, Sukhum or Sukhumi) is the capital of Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast, which has been recognized as an independent state by Russia, Venezuela and Nicaragua, and is regarded by all other UN member states as an autonomous republic within Georgia. Georgia considers the territory to be under Russian military occupation^[2] The city suffered heavily during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in the early 1990s.

 Naming

In Abkhaz, the city is known as Аҟəа (Aqwa) which according to native tradition signifies water.^[3]

In Georgian, the city is known as სოხუმი (Sokhumi) and in Russian as Сухум (Sukhum) or Сухуми (Sukhumi). The etymology of these forms is disputed. The city was earlier known in Turkish as Sukum-Kale, which can be read to mean 'water-sand fortress'.^[4][5] Alternatively, it has been proposed that the city had already before been known as Tskhumi in Georgian, and that all these forms (including the Turkish) find their origin herein. Tskhumi in turn then is derived from the Svan language word for 'hot'^[6], or the Georgian word for 'hornbeam tree'^{[citation needed]}. The competing etymologies have been used as putative evidence in the argument over the ethnicity of Sukhumi's historical inhabitants.^{[citation needed]}

The ending -i in the above forms represents the Georgian nominative-suffix.^{[citation needed]} The town was initially officially described in Russian as Сухум (Sukhum), until 16 August 1936 when this was changed to Сухуми (Sukhumi). This remained so until 4 December 1992, when the Supreme Council of Abkhazia restored the original version,^[7] even though Сухуми is also still being used.

In English, the most common form today is Sukhumi, although Sokhumi is used as well by some sources, including Encyclopædia Britannica^[8] and MSN Encarta^[9].

Historically, Sukhumi was first called Διοσκουριάς (Dioskurias) by the Greek, then from the time of Emperor Augustus onwards Σεβαστούπολις (Sebastopolis)^[10] until it became Sukhum-kale under the Ottomans.

 General information

Sukhumi is located on a wide bay of the eastern coast of the Black Sea and serves as a port, rail junction and a holiday resort. It is known for its beaches, sanatoriums, mineral-water spas and semitropical climate. Sukhumi is also an important air link for Abkhazia as the Sukhumi Dranda Airport is located nearby the city. Sukhumi contains a number of small-to-medium size hotels serving chiefly the Russian tourists. Sukhumi botanical garden was established in 1840, one of the oldest botanical gardens in the Caucasus.

The city has a number of research institutes, the Abkhazian State University and the Sukhumi Branch of the Tbilisi State University (currently functioning in Tbilisi). In Soviet times, it contained a renowned ape breeding station. From 1945 to 1954 the city's electron physics laboratory was involved in the Soviet program to develop nuclear weapons.

The city is a member of the International Black Sea Club.^[11]

 History

The Sohum-Kale fort in the early 19th century.

Sukhumi botanical garden

The history of the city began in the mid-6th century BC when an earlier settlement of the second and early first millennia BC, frequented by local Colchian tribes^{[citation needed]}, was replaced by the Milesian Greek colony of Dioscurias (Greek: Διοσκουριάς)^{[citation needed]}, geographically the remotest that Miletus ever established^{[citation needed]}. The city is said to have been so named for the Dioscuri, the twins Castor and Pollux of classical mythology^{[citation needed]}. It became busily engaged in the commerce between Greece and the indigenous tribes, importing wares from many parts of Greece, and exporting local salt and Caucasian timber, linen, and hemp^{[citation needed]}. It was also a prime center of slave trade in Colchis^{[citation needed]}. The city and its surroundings were remarkable for the multitude of languages spoken in its bazaars.^{[citation needed]}

Although the sea made serious inroads upon the territory of Dioscurias, it continued to flourish until its conquest by Mithridates VI Eupator of Pontus in the later second century.^{[citation needed]} Under the Roman emperor Augustus the city assumed the name of Sebastopolis ^[10] (Greek: Σεβαστούπολις). But its prosperity was past, and in the first century Pliny the Elder described the place as virtually deserted though the town still continued to exist during the times of Arrian in the 130s.^[12] The remains of towers and walls of Sebastopolis have been found underwater; on land the lowest levels so far reached by archaeologists are of the first and second centuries AD.^{[citation needed]} In 542 the Romans evacuated the town and demolished its citadel to prevent it from being captured by Sassanid Iran.^{[citation needed]} In 565, however, the emperor Justinian I restored the fort and Sebastopolis continued to remain one of the Byzantine strongholds in Colchis until being sacked by the Arab conqueror Marwan II in 736.^{[citation needed]}

Afterwards, the town came to be known as Tskhumi, a toponym which is frequently related to the Svan for "hot".^[6] Georgian scholars sometimes explain it as meaning the "hornbeam tree" in Georgian.^{[citation needed]} Restored by the kings of Abkhazia from the Arab devastation, it particularly flourished during Georgia’s "golden age" in the 12th-13th centuries, when Tskhumi became a center of traffic with the European maritime powers, particularly with the Republic of Genoa.^{[citation needed]} The Genoese established their short-lived trading factory at Tskhumi early in the 14th century.^{[citation needed]}

The Ottoman navy occupied the town in 1451, but for a short time.^{[citation needed]} Later contested between the princes of Abkhazia and Mingrelia, Tskhumi finally fell to the Turks in the 1570s.^{[citation needed]} The new masters heavily fortified the town and called it Sohumkale, with kale meaning "fort" but the first part of the name of disputed origin. It may represent Turkish su, "water", and kum, "sand", but is more likely to be an alteration of its earlier Georgian name.^[6] At the request of the pro-Russian Abkhazian prince, the town was stormed by the Russian Marines in 1810 and turned, subsequently, into their major outpost in the North West Caucasus.^{[citation needed]} Sukhumi was declared the seaport in 1847 and was directly annexed to the Russian Empire after the ruling Shervashidze princely dynasty was ousted by the Russian authorities in 1864.^{[citation needed]} During the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878, the town was temporarily controlled by the Ottoman forces and Abkhaz-Adyghe rebels.^{[citation needed]}

Sukhumi quay

Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, the town and Abkhazia in general were engulfed in the chaos of the Russian Civil War. A short-lived Bolshevik government was suppressed in May 1918 and Sukhumi was incorporated into the Democratic Republic of Georgia as a residence of the autonomous People's Council of Abkhazia and the headquarters of the Georgian governor-general. The Red Army and the local revolutionaries took the city from the Georgian forces on March 4 1921, and declared Soviet rule. Sukhumi functioned as the capital of the "Union treaty" Abkhaz Soviet Socialist Republic associated with the Georgian SSR from 1921 until 1931, when it became the capital of the Abkhazian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Georgian SSR. By 1989, Sukhumi had 110,000 inhabitants and was one of the most prosperous cities of Georgia. Many holiday dachas for Soviet leaders were situated there.

Beginning with the 1989 riots, Sukhumi was a centre of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, and the city was severely damaged during the 1992-1993 War. During the Abkhaz siege of Sukhumi (1992-1993), the city and its environs suffered almost daily air strikes and artillery shellings, with heavy civilian casualties.^[13] On September 27, 1993 the battle for Sukhumi was concluded by a full-scale campaign of ethnic cleansing against its majority Georgian population (see Sukhumi Massacre), including members of the Abkhazian government (Zhiuli Shartava, Raul Eshba and others) and mayor of Sukhumi Guram Gabiskiria. Although the city has been relatively peaceful and partially rebuilt, it is still suffering the after-effects of the war, and it has not regained its earlier ethnic diversity. Its population in 2003 was 43,716, compared to about 120,000 in 1989.^[14]

 Demographics

According to the 2003 census, the population of the city of Sukhumi included:^[15]

• Abkhaz (56.3%)
• Russians (16.9%)
• Armenians (12.7%)
• Georgians (4.2%)
• Greeks (1.5%)

 Monuments

 

Medieval bridge over Basla river known as the Queen Tamar Bridge.

Sukhumi houses a number of historical monuments, notably the Beslet arcaded bridge built during the reign of queen Tamar of Georgia in the 12th century. It also retains visible vestiges of the defunct monuments, including the Roman walls, the 11th-century castle of Bagrat III, several towers of the Great Abkhazian Wall constructed by the early modern Mingrelian and Abkhazian princes amid their territorial disputes; the 14th-century Genoese fort, and the 18th-century Ottoman fortress. The 11th century Kaman Church (12 km from Sukhumi) is erected, according to tradition, over the tomb of Saint John Chrysostom. Some 22 km from Sukhumi lies New Athos with the ruins of the medieval city of Anacopia. The Neo-Byzantine New Athos Monastery was constructed here in the 1880s on behest of Tsar Alexander III of Russia. Northward in the mountains is the Voronya Cave, the deepest in the world, with a depth of 2,140 meters.^[16]