Kakheti

Kakheti (Georgian: კახეთი K’akheti; [kʼɑxɛtʰi]) is a region (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, Qvareli, Sagarejo, Dedoplistsqaro, Signagi, Lagodekhi and Akhmeta. Kakheti is bordered by the Russian Federation (Dagestan and Chechnya) to the northeast, Azerbaijan to the southeast, and Mtskheta-Mtianeti and Kvemo Kartli to the west. Kakheti has a strong linguistic and cultural identity, since its ethnographic subgroup of Kakhetians speak Kakhetian dialect.

Kakheti

კახეთი
Mkhare (region)
Coordinates: 41°45′N 45°43′E
Country Georgia
CapitalTelavi
Municipalities8
Government
 • GovernorIrakli Shiolashvili
Area
 • Total11,311 km2 (4,367 sq mi)
Population
 (2014 census)
 • Total319,144
 • Density28/km2 (73/sq mi)
ISO 3166 codeGE-KA
HDI (2017)0.757[1]
high · 5th

The Georgian David Gareja monastery complex is partially located in this province and is subject to a border dispute between Georgian and Azerbaijani authorities.[2] Popular tourist attractions in Kakheti include Tusheti, Gremi, Signagi, Kvetra, Bodbe, Lagodekhi Protected Areas and Alaverdi Monastery. The region produces wines in micro-regions of Telavi and Kvareli.

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
Alaverdi Monastery

The Kakheti region is divided into eight municipalities:

Municipalities of Kakheti Region
Name Area Population
Telavi Municipality1,094 km258,350
Akhmeta Municipality2,248 km231,461
Gurjaani Municipality849 km254,337
Kvareli Municipality1,000 km229,827
Dedoplistskaro Municipality2,531 km221,221
Lagodekhi Municipality890 km241,678
Sagarejo Municipality1,515 km251,761
Sighnaghi Municipality1,251 km229,948[3]

History
Signagi is becoming an important cultural center in the region

Kakheti was an independent 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 (c.1089–1125) incorporate Kakheti into his Kingdom successfully.

The Alazani River Plain, with the Caucasus Mountains in the background

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 Iranian 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 Iran 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 into the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti under King Heraclius II. Following the Treaty of Georgievsk and the sack of Tbilisi by Agha Mohammad Khan, in 1801 the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti was annexed to the Russian Empire. Russian suzerainty over Kakheti and the rest of Georgia was recognized by Qajar Iran in the 1813 Treaty of Gulistan.[4]

In 1918–1921 Kakheti was part of the independent Democratic Republic of Georgia, in 1922–1936 part of the Transcaucasian SFSR and in 1936–1991 part of the Georgian SSR. Since the Georgian independence in 1991, Kakheti has been a region of the republic of Georgia. Telavi is still its capital.

Travel information
Gremi church in Kakheti.

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

References
  1. "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  2. Michael Mainville (2007-05-03). "Ancient monastery starts modern-day feud in Caucasus". Middle East Times. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
  3. Kakheti municipalities Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine. Regional Government of Kakheti. Retrieved on May 22, 2009
  4. Timothy C. Dowling Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond p 728 ABC-CLIO, 2 dec. 2014 ISBN 1598849484
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