Imeretia

Imereti იმერეთი
Mkhare (region)
The overlapping borders of the de jure Imereti region and the de facto Republic of South Ossetia.
Country	Georgia
Government
• Governor	Zaza Mepharishvili
Area
• Total	6,475 km2 (2,500 sq mi)
Population (2014 census)
• Total	536,052
• Density	83/km2 (210/sq mi)
Region ISO 3166 code	GE-IM
Capital	Kutaisi
Districts	10 districts, 1 city
Website	imereti.ge

Imereti (Georgian: იმერეთი) is a region in Georgia situated along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni river. It consists of the following Georgian administrative-territorial units:

Significant towns and regional centres include Samtredia, Chiatura (manganese production centre), Tkibuli (coal mining centre), Zestafoni (known for metals production), Vani, Khoni, and Sachkhere. Traditionally, Imereti is an agricultural region, known for its mulberries and grapes.

The 800,000 Imeretians speak a Georgian dialect; they are one of the local culture-groups of the ethnically subdivided Georgian people.

In late antiquity and early Middle Ages the ancient western Georgian kingdom of Egrisi existed on the territory of Imereti. Its king declared Christianity as an official religion of Egrisi in 523 AD. In 975-1466 Imereti was part of the united Georgian Kingdom. Since its disintegration in the 15th century, Imereti was an independent kingdom.

In the 17th-18th centuries the kingdom of Imereti experienced frequent invasions by the Turks and paid patronage to the Ottoman Empire until 1810, when it was invaded and annexed by the Russian Empire. The last King of Imereti was Solomon II (1789-1810).

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Wikipedia