Meskheti

Meskheti/Samtskhe მესხეთი/სამცხე
Historical Region
Map highlighting the historical region of Meskheti in Georgia
Country	Georgia
Mkhare	Samtskhe-Javakheti
Capital	Akhaltsikhe

Meskheti (Georgian: მესხეთი), also known as Samtskhe (Georgian: სამცხე), is in a mountainous area of Moschia in southwestern Georgia.

Ancient tribes known as the Mushki (or Moschi) and Mosiniks (or Mossynoeci) were the first known inhabitants of the area of the modern Samtskhe-Javakheti region. Some scholars credit the Mosiniks with the invention of iron metallurgy.

Between the 2nd millennium BCE and the 4th century BCE, Meskheti was part of the kingdom of Diaokhi. 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 Meskheti until it was occupied and annexed by the Ottoman Empire.

In 1829-1917 the region was a part of Tbilisi Governorate (Tiflisskaia Gubernia), 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.

Meskhetians or Meskhs (Meskhi) are a subgroup of Georgians, the indigenous population of Meskheti. Meskhetians speak the Meskhetian dialect and are mainly Georgian Orthodox Christians in religion, while part of them are Catholics.

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Wikipedia