Imereti

Imereti
იმერეთი
Mkhare (region)

The overlapping borders of the de jure Imereti region and the de facto Republic of South Ossetia.
Country Georgia
Government
 • Governor Zaza Mepharishvili
Area
 • Total 6,475 km2 (2,500 sq mi)
Population (2014 census)
 • Total 536,052
 • Density 83/km2 (210/sq mi)
Region ISO 3166 code GE-IM
Capital Kutaisi
Districts 10 districts, 1 city
Website imereti.ge

Imereti (Georgian: იმერეთი) is a region in Georgia situated along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni river. It consists of the following Georgian administrative-territorial units:

  1. Kutaisi (city)
  2. Baghdati region
  3. Vani region
  4. Zestafoni region
  5. Terjola region
  6. Samtredia region
  7. Sachkhere region
  8. Tqibuli region
  9. Chiatura region
  10. Tsqaltubo region
  11. Kharagauli region
  12. Khoni region

Significant towns and regional centres include Samtredia, Chiatura (manganese production centre), Tkibuli (coal mining centre), Zestafoni (known for metals production), Vani, Khoni, and Sachkhere. Traditionally, Imereti is an agricultural region, known for its mulberries and grapes.

The 800,000 Imeretians speak a Georgian dialect; they are one of the local culture-groups of the ethnically subdivided Georgian people.

In late antiquity and early Middle Ages the ancient western Georgian kingdom of Egrisi existed on the territory of Imereti. Its king declared Christianity as an official religion of Egrisi in 523 AD. In 975-1466 Imereti was part of the united Georgian Kingdom. Since its disintegration in the 15th century, Imereti was an independent kingdom.

In the 17th-18th centuries the kingdom of Imereti suffered frequent invasions by the Turks and paid patronage to the Ottoman Empire until 1810, when it was occupied and annexed by the Russian Empire. The last King of Imereti was Solomon II (1789-1810).

From 1918–1921, Imereti was part of the independent Democratic Republic of Georgia. Within the USSR, the region was part of the Transcaucasian SFSR from 1922–1936, and part of the Georgian SSR from 1936–1991. Since Georgian independence in 1991, Imereti has been a region of Georgia with Kutaisi as the regional capital.

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Coordinates: 42°10′N 42°59′E / 42.167°N 42.983°E / 42.167; 42.983

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