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Sukhumi
Sukhumi (Sokhumi), Georgia Dioscurias, Sebastopolis, Tskhumi, Suhumkale, Sukhum An ancient Greek colony, the first name referred to the mythological twins of Zeus, Castor and Pollux, the Dioscuri. It became a Roman fortified town with the Greek name of Sebastopolis ‘Noble City’ from sebastos ‘noble’ or ‘magnificent’ and polis. Less plausibly, it has been suggested as meaning the ‘City of St Sebastian’, a captain in the Roman emperor Diocletian's praetorian guard, who was martyred c.288. The Georgian Tskhumi ‘hot’ followed. When the town fell under Ottoman Turkish control in the 17th century the name was changed to Suhumkale to mean ‘Fortress on the Sandy River’ from the Turkish su ‘water’, kum ‘sand’, and kale. This became Sukhum in Russian hands, but in 1939 the present spelling was adopted. This is the form used today by advocates of Georgian unity, while Abkhaz separatists use Sukhum; it is the capital of Abkhazia.
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Cite this article
JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Sukhumi." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Sukhumi." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Sukhumi.html JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Sukhumi." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Sukhumi.html |
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Sukhumi
Sukhumi , city (1989 pop. 121,406), capital of Abkhazia , a region in W Georgia that has had de facto independence since the 1990. Located on the Black Sea, it is a port, a rail junction, and a major subtropical resort, whose sulfur baths have been frequented since Roman times. The Greek colony of Dioscurias was founded on the site of the city in the 6th cent. BC It was known as Sebastopolis under Rome and Byzantium. Russia acquired it in 1810 as the Turkish fortress of Sukhum-Kale. Sukhumi was the center of a guerrilla war between Georgian military units and Abkhazian irregulars in the early 1990s that led to de facto independence for the region. The Sukhumi Military Road crosses the Caucasus at the Klukhori Pass (9,235 ft/2,815 m) and continues SW to Sukhumi. It is c.120 mi (190 km) long. |
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Cite this article
"Sukhumi." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Sukhumi." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Sukhumi.html "Sukhumi." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Sukhumi.html |
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