Colchis: Map & History
In classical antiquity and Greco-Roman geography, Colchis was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi located on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia also including the region of Abkhazia.
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In classical antiquity and Greco-Roman geography, Colchis was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi located on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia also including the region of Abkhazia.
Modern Countries Once Part of Colchis
At its mapped extent, Colchis covered territory in 1 present-day country. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Colchis's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Colchis in Depth
History
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.
Economy, agriculture and natural resources
Millet was the main staple crop in Colchis. Wheat grew in certain regions and was also imported by sea. Similarly, local wines were produced and some wines were brought from overseas. The Colchian plain provided ample grazing land for cattle and horses, with the name of Phasis associated with fine horses. The wetlands were a home for waterfowl, while Colchian pheasants were exported to Rome and became a symbol of excess condemned by Roman moralists. The Colchian hinterland lacked salt and demand was satisfied partially by local production on the coast and partially by imports from the northern coast of the Black Sea.
Colchis provided slaves as a tribute to the Achaemenid Empire and Colchian slaves are also attested in Ancient Greece.
Geography and toponyms
Colchis, Kolkha, Qulḫa, or Kilkhi, which existed from the c. 13th to the 1st centuries BC, is regarded as an early ethnically Georgian polity; the name of the Colchians was used as the collective term for early Kartvelian tribes which populated the eastern coast of the Black Sea in Greco-Roman ethnography.
Ronald Grigor Suny identifies Colchis as an early Georgian state formation. Suny emphasizes that the Colchians were among the early Kartvelian-speaking tribes, the linguistic ancestors of modern Georgians. He highlights the cultural and political continuity between Colchis and later Georgian states, noting that Colchis, along with the eastern Georgian kingdom of Iberia, played a significant role in the ethnogenesis of the Georgian people.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Colchis (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Colchis: Key Facts
| Capital | Kutaisi |
|---|---|
| Founded | 17th century BCE |
| Dissolved | 164 BCE |
Facts from Wikidata Q183150 (CC0).
Colchis Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 44,265 km² in 292 BCE.
Colchis: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Colchis exist?
Colchis is dated to 301 BCE – 231 BCE, in the Classical Antiquity era.
What was the capital of Colchis?
The capital of Colchis was Aea.
How large was Colchis at its peak?
At its peak in 292 BC Colchis covered about 44,265 km².