) of
Dioscuri surmounted by stars; reverse:
Thyrsos, ΔΙΟΣΚΟΥΡΙΑΔΟΣ|left
Ancient history The history of the city began in the mid-6th century BC when an earlier settlement of the second and early first millennia BC, frequented by local
Colchian tribes, was replaced by the
Milesian Greek colony of
Dioscurias (). The city is said to have been founded and named by the
Dioscuri, the twins Castor and Pollux of
classical mythology. According to another legend it was founded by Amphitus and Cercius of
Sparta, the charioteers of the Dioscuri. The Greek pottery found in
Eshera, further north along the coast, predates findings in the area of Sukhumi bay by a century suggesting that the centre of the original Greek settlement could have been there. It became busily engaged in the commerce between Greece and the indigenous tribes, importing salt and wares from many parts of Greece, and exporting local timber,
linen, and
hemp. It was also a prime center of
slave trade in Colchis. The city and its surroundings were remarkable for the multitude of languages spoken in its bazaars. Although the sea made serious inroads upon the territory of Dioscurias, it continued to flourish and became one of the key cities in the realm of
Mithridates VI of Pontus in the 2nd century BC and supported his cause until the end. Dioscurias issued bronze coinage around 100 BC featuring the symbols of the
Dioskuri and
Dionysus. Under the
Roman emperor Augustus the city assumed the name of
Sebastopolis (). But its prosperity was past, and in the 1st century
Pliny the Elder described the place as virtually deserted though the town still continued to exist during the times of
Arrian in the 130s. The remains of towers and walls of Sebastopolis have been found underwater; on land the lowest levels so far reached by archaeologists are of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. According to
Gregory of Nyssa there were Christians in the city in the late 4th century. At the beginning of the
Lazic War in 542, the Romans evacuated the town and demolished its citadel to prevent it from being captured by the
Sasanian Empire. In 565, however, the emperor
Justinian I restored the city wall and adorned Sebastopolis with streets and buildings. The city was
sacked by the
Arab conqueror
Marwan II in 736 according to
Juansher Juansheriani.
Medieval and early modern history Afterwards, the town came to be known as
Tskhumi. Restored by the kings of Abkhazia from the Arab devastation, it particularly flourished during the
Georgian Golden Age in the 11th–12th centuries, when Tskhumi became the summer residence of the
Georgian kings and an important cultural and administrative center of the
Georgian state. The city also became a major trade center after the Genoese established their
trading port in Tskhumi in the end of 13th century. A Catholic bishopric existed there which is now a
titular see. A Genoese consulate was established in 1354 with the consul dispatched from
Caffa. In spite of occasional conflicts with the locals, the consulate functioned until 1456. The city was a major centre of
Black Sea slave trade. Wax, wine and grain were exported to Europe via Sukhumi while cloth, luxury goods and salt were imported. Tskhumi served as capital of the
Odishi —
Megrelian rulers, it was in this city that
Vamek I ( 1384–1396), the most influential
Dadiani, minted his coins. The
Ottoman navy occupied the town in 1451, but for a short time. Later contested between the princes of
Abkhazia and
Mingrelia, Tskhumi finally fell to the Turks in the 1570s. The new masters heavily fortified the town and called it
Sohumkale, with
kale meaning "fort" but the first part of the name of disputed origin. It may represent
Turkish su (), "water", and
kum (), "sand", but is more likely to be an alteration of its earlier Georgian name. Following the
Russian Revolution of 1917, the town and Abkhazia in general were engulfed in the chaos of the
Russian Civil War. A short-lived
Bolshevik government was suppressed in May 1918 and Sukhumi was incorporated into the
Democratic Republic of Georgia as a residence of the autonomous People's Council of Abkhazia and the headquarters of the Georgian governor-general. The
Red Army and the local revolutionaries took the city from the Georgian forces on 4 March 1921, and declared Soviet rule. Sukhumi functioned as the capital of the "Union treaty"
Abkhaz Soviet Socialist Republic associated with the
Georgian SSR from 1921 until 1931, when it became the capital of the Abkhazian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Georgian SSR. By 1989, Sukhumi had 120,000 inhabitants and was one of the most prosperous cities of Georgia. Beginning with the
1989 riots, Sukhumi was a centre of the
Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, and the city was severely damaged during the
1992–1993 War. During the war, the city and its environs suffered almost daily air strikes and artillery shelling, with heavy civilian casualties. On 27 September 1993 the battle for Sukhumi was concluded by a full-scale campaign of
ethnic cleansing against its majority Georgian population (see
Sukhumi Massacre), including members of the pro-Georgian Abkhazian government (
Zhiuli Shartava,
Raul Eshba and others) and mayor of Sukhumi
Guram Gabiskiria. Although the city has been relatively peaceful and partially rebuilt, it is still suffering the after-effects of the war, and it has not regained its earlier ethnic diversity. Its population in 2017 was 65,716, compared to about 120,000 in 1989. During summer holidays season its population usually doubles and triples with a large inflow of international tourists. In 2021, there was
unrest in the city leading to the resignation of President
Aslan Bzhani. == Population ==