Kakheti
| Kakheti კახეთი | |
|---|---|
| Mkhare (region) | |
.svg.png) Map highlighting the modern political subdivision of Kakheti | |
 Map highlighting the historical region of Kakheti in Georgia | |
| Country |
 Georgia |
| Capital | Telavi |
| Municipalities | 8 |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Irakli Shiolashvili |
| Area | |
| • Total | 11,379 km2 (4,393 sq mi) |
| Population (2002) | |
| • Total | 409,551 |
| • Density | 36/km2 (93/sq mi) |
| ISO 3166 code | GE-KA |
Kakheti (Georgian: კახეთი) is a region (Georgian: Mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises eight administrative districts: Telavi, Gurjaani, Kvareli, Sagarejo, Dedoplistsqaro, Signagi, Lagodekhi and Akhmeta. Kakheti is bordered by the Russian Federation to the Northeast, Azerbaijan to the Southeast, and the Georgian regions of Mtskheta-Mtianeti and Kvemo Kartli to the west.
The Georgian David Gareja monastery complex is partially located in this province and is subject to a border dispute between Georgian and Azerbaijani authorities.[1]
Geography
Beyond the modern-day administrative subdivision into the districts, Kakheti has traditionally been subdivided into four parts: Inner Kakheti (შიდა კახეთი, Shida Kakheti) to the east of Tsiv-Gombori mountain range, along the right bank of the Alazani River; Outer Kakheti (გარე კახეთი, Gare Kakheti) along the middle Iori River basin; Kiziq'i (ქიზიყი) between the Alazani and the Iori; Thither Area (გაღმა მხარი, Gaghma Mkhari) on the left bank of the Alazani. It also includes the medieval region of Hereti whose name has fallen into gradual oblivion since the 15th century.
Subdivision
The Kakheti region is divided into eight municipalities:
- The Telavi Municipality (area 1,094 km2, population 68,000)
- The Akhmeta Municipality (area 2,248 km2, population 44,100)
- The Gurjaani Municipality (area 849 km2, population 73,200)
- The Kvareli Municipality (area 1,000 km2, population 40,663)
- The Dedoplistskaro Municipality (area 2,531 km2, population 30,240)
- The Lagodekhi Municipality (area 890 km2, population 50,300)
- The Sagarejo Municipality (area 1,515 km2, population 60,396)
- The Sighnaghi Municipality (area 1,251 km2, population 42,652)[2]
History
Kakheti was an independent feudal principality from the end of the eighth century. It was incorporated into the united Georgian Kingdom at the beginning of the eleventh century, but for less than a decade. Only in the beginning of the twelfth century did Georgian King David the Builder (1089–1125) incorporate Kakheti into his Kingdom successfully.
After the disintegration of the Georgian Kingdom, Kakheti became an independent Kingdom in the 1460s. From the early 16th century till the early 19th century, Kakheti and its neighboring Kartli came under intermittent Persian rule. In 1616, Shah Abbas deported hundreds of thousands of the ethnic Kakheti Georgian population to Iran and destroyed the region during his punitive campaign against Teimuraz I, his formerly most loyal subject. During all these centuries the region was an integral part of Persia and it supplied many notable generals, administrators, women and many hundred of thousands of peasants for the Iranian overlords. In 1762, the Kakhetian Kingdom was united with the neighboring Georgian Kingdom of Kartli, with the capital of the former, Telavi also capital of the Albanian Hereti, becoming the capital of the united Eastern-Georgian Kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti and assimilation of Albanians strengthened by church. Following the Treaty of Georgievsk and the sack of Tblisi by Agha Mohammad Khan, in 1801 the Kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti was annexed to the Tsarist Russian Empire.
In 1918–1921 Kakheti was part of independent Democratic Republic of Georgia, in 1922–1936 part of Transcaucasian SFSR and in 1936–1991 part of Georgian SSR. Since the Georgian independence in 1991, Kakheti is a region in the republic of Georgia and Telavi is still its capital.
Travel information
The travel infrastructure in Kakheti is fast developing, since it is the most visited region of Georgia. One can choose to stay in a guest house, in a small and comfortable hotel, or a beautiful boutique-style hotel while traveling in this region. Telavi and Signagi are the most visited towns. Signagi was renovated three years ago. Until recently there were only some family hotels (simple rooms in a family-owned house with a shared bathroom), but now Signagi features several hotels.
See also
- List of sovereigns of Kakheti
Footnotes
- ↑ Michael Mainville (2007-05-03). "Ancient monastery starts modern-day feud in Caucasus". Middle East Times. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
- ↑ Kakheti municipalities. Regional Government of Kakheti. Retrieved on May 22, 2009
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kakheti. |
- www.kakheti.net - information Kakheti region website
- Kakheti regional administration website
Kakheti travel guide from Wikivoyage
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