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Adjara ( Ach’ara ) or Achara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara ( Ach’aris Avt’onomiuri Resp’ublik’a ), is a political-administrative region of Georgia. Located in the country's southwestern corner, Adjara lies on the coast of the Black Sea near the foot of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, north of Turkey. It is an important tourist destination and includes Georgia's second most populous city of Batumi as its capital. About 350,000 people live on its . Adjara is home to the Adjarians, a regional subgroup of Georgians. The name can be spelled in a number of ways, including Ajara, Ajaria, Adjaria, Adzharia, Atchara and Achara. Under the Soviet Union, Adjara was part of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic as the Adjarian ASSR. The autonomous status of Adjara is guaranteed under article 6 of the Treaty of Kars. [edit] History
Adjara has been part of Colchis and Caucasian Iberia since ancient times. Colonized by Greeks in the 5th century BC, the region fell under Rome in the 2nd century BC. It became part of the Lazica before being incorporated into the Kingdom of Abkhazia in the 8th century AD, the latter led unification of Georgian monarchy in the 11th century. The Ottomans conquered the area in 1614. The people of Adjara gradually converted to Islam in this period. The Ottomans were forced to cede Adjara to the expanding Russian Empire in 1878. After a temporary occupation by Turkish and British troops in 1918–1920, Adjara became part of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1920. After a brief military conflict in March 1921, Ankara's government ceded the territory to Georgia under Article VI of Treaty of Kars on the condition that autonomy be provided for the Muslim population, while Turkish commodities were guaranteed free transit through the port of Batumi. The Soviet Union established the Adjar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1921 in accord with this clause (until 1937 the name was Ajaristan). Thus, Adjara was still a component part of Georgia, but with considerable local autonomy. [edit] Independent GeorgiaAfter the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Adjara became part of a newly independent but politically divided Republic of Georgia. It avoided being dragged into the chaos and civil war that afflicted the rest of the country between 1991 and 1993 due largely to the authoritarian rule of its leader Aslan Abashidze. Although he successfully maintained order in Adjara and made it one of the country's most prosperous regions, he was accused of involvement in organised crime—notably large-scale smuggling to fund his government and enrich himself. The central government in Tbilisi had very little say in what went on in Adjara during the presidency of Eduard Shevardnadze. This changed following the Rose Revolution of 2003 when Shevardnadze was deposed in favour of the reformist opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili, who pledged to crack down on separatism within Georgia. In the spring of 2004, a major crisis in Adjara erupted as the central government sought to reimpose its authority on the region. It threatened to develop into an armed confrontation. However, Saakashvili's ultimata and mass protests against Abashidze's autocratic rule forced the Adjaran leader to resign in May 2004, following which he went into exile in Russia. After Abashidze's ousting, a new law was introduced to redefine the terms of Adjara's autonomy. Levan Varshalomidze succeeded Abashidze as the chairman of the government. In July 2007, the seat of the Georgian Constitutional Court was moved from Tbilisi to Batumi. In November 2007 Russia ended its two century military presence in Georgia by withdrawing from the 12th Military Base (the former 145th Motor Rifle Division) in Batumi. Turkey has noticeable influence in Adjara. Turkish influence can be seen in the region's economy and in the religious life—through the region's Muslim population. [edit] Research Tips
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