Prehistory and earliest references The eastern Black Sea region in antiquity was home to the well-developed
Bronze Age culture known as the
Colchian culture, related to the neighbouring
Koban culture, that emerged toward the Middle
Bronze Age. In at least some parts of Colchis, the process of urbanization seems to have been well advanced by the end of the second millennium BC. The Colchian Late
Bronze Age (fifteenth to eighth century BC) saw the development of significant skill in the smelting and casting of metals. Sophisticated farming implements were made, and fertile, well-watered lowlands and a mild climate promoted the growth of progressive agricultural techniques. and earlier, in
Urartian records as mentioned by the
Urartian kings, who conquered it in 744 or 743 BC before the Urartians and their territories were themselves conquered by the
Neo-Assyrian Empire. According to
Svante Cornell, "What could be conceived as the proto Georgian statehood emerged mainly in the Western parts of today's Georgia, with the kingdom of Colchis (
Kolkheti) in the sixth century BC."
Sanigae,
Coraxi,
Coli,
Melanchlaeni,
Geloni and
Soani (Suani). The ancients assigned various origins to the tribes that inhabited Colchis. ,
Ariadne and elephants, 1st century BC, Georgian National Museum.
Herodotus regarded the Colchians as "dark-skinned () and woolly-haired" and calls them Egyptians.
Herodotus states that the Colchians, with the
Ancient Egyptians and the
Ethiopians, were the first to practice
circumcision, a custom which he claims that the Colchians inherited from remnants of the army of
Pharaoh Sesostris (
Senusret III). Herodotus writes: These claims have been widely rejected by modern historians. It is in doubt if Herodotus had ever been to Colchis or Egypt, and no Egyptian army ever set foot in the Caucasus, a region shielded by states to the south of the Caucasus too powerful for any Egyptian army to pass through, such as
Urartu,
Hittia,
Assyria and
Mitanni. According to
Pliny the Elder: Many modern theories suggest that the ancestors of the
Laz-
Mingrelians constituted the dominant ethnic and cultural presence in the region in antiquity, and hence played a significant role in the ethnogenesis of the modern
Georgians.
Pausanias, a 1st-century BC Greek geographer, citing the poet Eumelos, assigned
Aeëtes, the mythological first king of Colchis, a Greek origin.
Achaemenid satrapy According to
Donald Rayfield, the tribes living in the southern Colchis (
Macrones,
Moschi, and
Marres) were incorporated into the Achaemenid Empire and formed the
19th satrapy, while the northern tribes submitted "voluntarily" and had to send to the Achaemenid court 100 girls and 100 boys every five years, though it is not clear whether these were Colchians or persons obtained from other peoples by war or purchase. In 400 BC, shortly after the
Ten Thousand reached
Trapezus, a battle was fought between them and the Colchis in which the latter were decisively defeated. The influence exerted on Colchis by the vast Achaemenid Empire with its thriving commerce and wide economic and commercial ties with other regions accelerated the socio-economic development of the Colchian land. Gocha R. Tsetskhladze further argues that although Colchis and neighboring Iberia were once viewed as not having been under Achaemenid rule, upon request they did pay tribute to the Achaemenid Empire as one would expect of entities under Achaemenid suzerainty. Subsequently, the people of Colchis appear to have overthrown the Achaemenid authority, and to have formed an independent state. According to Ronald Suny this western Georgian state was federated to Kartli-Iberia in the east, and its kings ruled through
skeptoukhi (royal governors) who received a staff from the king. According to David Braund's reading of
Strabo's account, the native Colchian dynasty continued ruling the country in spite of its fragmentation into
skeptoukhies. File:Exhibition- Georgia - (6) A Story of Encounters, 2023-2024, Art & History Museum, Brussels.jpg|Second century BC Greek bronze torso from Colchis, held at the
Georgian National Museum and temporarily exhibited at
Cinquantenaire Museum File:Colchis riders pendants - pair.JPG|Colchian pendants, riders and horses on wheeled platforms,
Georgian National Museum Under Pontus under
Mithridates VI ( 120–63 BC): (1) the kingdom before his reign
(dark purple) (2) after his conquests
(purple) (3) his conquests in the
First Mithridatic War (89–85 BC)
(pink) Mithridates VI, king of
Pontus, quelled an uprising in the region in 83 BC and gave Colchis to his son
Mithridates, who, soon being suspected in having plotted against his father, was executed. During the
Third Mithridatic War, Mithridates VI made another of his sons,
Machares, king of Bosporus and Colchis, who held his power, but only for a short period. On the defeat of
Mithridates VI of Pontus in 65 BC, Colchis was occupied by
Pompey, who captured one of the local chiefs (sceptuchus) Olthaces, and installed
Aristarchus as a
dynast (63–47 BC). On the fall of Pompey,
Pharnaces II, son of Mithridates, took advantage of
Julius Caesar being occupied in
Egypt, and reduced Colchis,
Armenia, and some part of
Cappadocia, defeating
Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus, whom Caesar subsequently sent against him. His triumph was, however, short-lived. Under
Polemon I, the son and heir of Zenon, Colchis was part of the
Pontus and the
Bosporan Kingdom. After the death of Polemon (8 BC), his second wife
Pythodorida of Pontus retained possession of Colchis as well as of Pontus, although the kingdom of Bosporus was wrested from her power. Her son and successor,
Polemon II of Pontus, was induced by Emperor
Nero to abdicate the throne, and both Pontus and Colchis were incorporated in the Province of
Galatia (63) and later, in
Cappadocia (81).
Phasis,
Dioscurias and other Greek settlements of the coast did not fully recover after the wars of 60-40 BC and Trebizond became the economical and political centre of the region.
Under Roman rule Despite the fact that all major fortresses along the sea coast were occupied by the Romans, their rule was relatively loose. In 69, the people of Pontus and Colchis under
Anicetus staged a major uprising against the
Roman Empire, which ended unsuccessfully. The lowlands and coastal area were frequently raided by fierce mountain tribes, with the
Svaneti and
Heniochi being the most powerful of them. Paying a nominal homage to
Rome, they created their own kingdoms and enjoyed significant independence. Under Hadrian, the Romans established relations with Colchian tribes. Hadrian sent his advisor,
Arrian, to tour Colchis and Iberia. Arrian depicted a turbulent fluctuation of tribal powers and boundaries, with various hostile and anarchic tribes in the area. The Laz controlled most of coastal Colchis, while other tribes such as the
Sanigs and
Abasgoi escaped Roman jurisdiction. Other tribes, like the
Apsilae, were becoming powerful and their king with the Romanised name Julianus was recognized by Trajan. Arrian listed the following peoples in his
Periplus of the Euxine Sea written in 130-131 (from south to north): Sanni,
Machelones,
Heniochi, Zudreitae,
Lazi,
Apsilae,
Abasgoi,
Sanigs and
Zilchi. According to traditional accounts
Christianity began to spread in the early first century by
Andrew the Apostle,
Simon the Zealot, and
Saint Matthias. A change in burial patterns in the 3rd century was possibly due to Christian influence. The
Hellenistic civilization, local
paganism, and
Mithraic Mysteries would, however, remain widespread until the fourth century.
Goths, dwelling in the
Crimea and looking for new homes, raided Colchis in 253, but were repulsed with the help of the Roman garrison of
Pitsunda. By the first century BC, the Lazica (or the Laz) kingdom was established in the region. Lazica became known as Egrisi in 66 BC when Egrisi became a vassal of the Roman Empire after the
Caucasian campaign of Pompey. == Numismatics ==