The Abkhazians or Abkhazes are a Northwest Caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in Abkhazia, a disputed region on the northeastern coast of the Black Sea. A large Abkhaz diaspora population resides in Turkey, the origins of which lie in the Caucasian War in the late 19th century. Many Abkhaz also live in other parts of the former Soviet Union, particularly in Russia and Ukraine.
Abkhazians
Bagrat III of Georgia, 11th century king of the Kingdom of Abkhazia
Conference of Abkhazian nobility in 1839
Abkhaz girl in 1881
Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It covers 8,665 square kilometres (3,346 sq mi) and has a population of around 245,000. Its capital and largest city is Sukhumi.
The borders of the Sukhumi District of the Kutaisi Governorate in 1899 when Abkhazia was part of the Russian Empire.
Abkhaz and Georgian generals in the Imperial Russian Army, 19th century
Exhibition at the 2005 commemoration of the ethnic cleansing in Abkhazia, held on its 12th anniversary in Tbilisi.
Abkhazians carrying the republic's flags in a parade