Abasgia: Borders, Society, and Relations with Byzantium (2nd–8th Centuries)

Abasgia from Arrian to Procopius: A Historical Overview

The Borders of Abasgia

The Abasgi (Abasgoi) first appeared on the historical stage in the 2nd century AD, thanks to Flavius Arrian. At that time they were led by a “king” named Resmag, who received this title from Emperor Hadrian (AD 117–138). To the east, the Abasgi bordered the Apsilae; to the west, the Sanigae. More precise information on their boundaries can be drawn from the 6th century. In the west they bordered the Sanigae along the Abask River (the modern Bzyb), and in the east they bordered the Apsilae along the Gumista River. According to Procopius, a key reference point was the frontier fortress of Trachea (modern New Athos), which stood on Abasg land.

In the 4th century, written sources refer to the Abasgi as “glorious”. Like many other peoples dependent on Rome, they did not conclude treaties according to Roman law.
The material culture of the Abasgi remains poorly studied. From the beginning of the 2nd century they became involved in Rome’s political sphere of interest, with Rome acting through Pityus. As in Apsilia, Romano-Byzantine coins became widespread here. Various local and wider Black Sea region ornaments were fashionable. Like the Apsilae, the Abasgi used Damascus swords and throwing axes known as “franciscas” in battle. Until the 530s–540s, they largely adhered to traditional (pagan) beliefs (for example, the veneration of trees).

Abasgia and Byzantium

In the first half of the 6th century, Abasgia was divided into two parts, each ruled by its own “king” (basileus). These “kings”, as Procopius reported, selected the most handsome boys among their people, castrated them, and sold them for large sums in Constantinople. Parents who protested were killed. The Byzantines decided, through diplomacy, to put an end to this brutal trade. Moreover, under Persian pressure in Colchis, Byzantine garrisons were forced to withdraw from Sebastopolis and Pityus in 542. As a result, Emperor Justinian sent to Abasgia an Abasg named Euphrates, who succeeded in persuading his compatriots to accept Christianity as the official religion. A bishop arrived from Constantinople, and with funds allocated by Justinian, a church of the Holy Mother of God was built for the Abasgi. A school was also established at the imperial court, where talented children from Abasgia received an education.

As a result, the Abasgi and the Byzantines acquired equal rights, since they were now of the same faith. Local princes were henceforth forbidden to mutilate and sell their fellow tribesmen who were Christians into slavery. When the princes attempted to restore their right to sell children, this provoked popular outrage, and the people expelled their rulers. At the same time, Roman soldiers sent by the emperor increasingly settled among the Abasgi. They began introducing certain new customs and even intended to annex Abasgia to the Roman Empire. The Abasgi, naturally, were enraged. This was exploited by the Abasg tribal aristocracy, who sought to restore the old way of life. Abasgia was again divided into two parts, headed by Opsites and Skeparna. Believing that the Persians were defeating the Byzantines in central Colchis, they decided in effect to break away from the empire.
In the summer of 550, a Persian force led by Nabed even entered Abasgia. The Persians took sixty boys from the most noble families as hostages and carried them off to Iran. Skeparna, ruler of western Abasgia, was summoned to the camp of Shah Khosrow, while Opsites, ruler of eastern Abasgia, began preparing for war against Byzantium. He placed great hopes in the seemingly impregnable fortress of Trachea. The fortress formed part of the inner defensive echelon of the “Caucasian limes”, protecting the Abasg mountain passes (clisurae).

+ Arrian's Voyage round the Euxine Sea

+ Abkhazia and the Abkhazians at the Time of the Emergence of Christianity, by Archimandrite Dorofey (Dbar)

+ I.G. Shtritter "Avasgika, Apsilika, Misimianika

+ Byzantine culture influences on the people of North, by Michel Kazanski 

+ History [of Abkhazia]: Ist-XVIIIth Century, by Oleg Bgazhba

The Battle at the Walls of Trachea

The ruins of Trachea (from Greek, “winding, rocky fortress”) still crown the summit of Anakopia Mountain near New Athos today. These Abkhazian Thermopylae guarded a narrow passage into the interior of Abasgia at the foot of the mountain, and also provided an excellent vantage point for observing the movement of ships at sea. Trachea was not large: the total length of its walls was 204 metres, and its usable area reached up to 0.3 hectares (by comparison, at Tsibila these figures were 1,200 metres and 1.5 hectares respectively).

The 6th-century Byzantine historian Procopius described the internal layout of Trachea in 550 with notable precision: “The houses of the Abasgi were numerous, stood close to one another, and, moreover, were surrounded on all sides by a kind of wall.” Justinian, evidently informed of the mood in Abasgia, ordered the rebellion to be crushed. A detachment of one thousand Byzantine soldiers was dispatched from Phasis, led by Uligag and John, son of the military architect Thomas the Armenian. After landing on the shore, the Byzantines attempted to take Trachea immediately from the east, along a narrow path running between a cliff and a coastal marsh, which was drained in the mid-19th century. From the cliff the Abasgi fired down upon the entire path. The Byzantines were forced to regroup: they sent part of their troops around and advanced on Trachea in two columns.

Anakopia was the capital of the Abkhazian Kingdom and the ancient residence of the legendary Abkhazian Prince Leon.

The Abasgi, whose numbers did not exceed several hundred, were compelled to retreat behind the fortress walls. However, the guards did not manage to close the gates in time, and the Byzantines burst into the fortress. The Abasgi took up defensive positions on the rooftops and tried to repel the attackers from above. At first this succeeded, but the enemy set fire to the houses, and Opsites, with a small detachment, was forced to flee to the North Caucasus, to the allies of the Persians—the Huns. The Byzantines captured the wives of the Abasg “kings” together with their children and retainers, and devastated the surrounding area.

The Anakopia Fortress

Thus the Abasgi uprising was brutally suppressed, an attempt to return to their traditional, pre-Christian independence. Yet life did not end there. Around a hundred years later, the Anakopia Fortress was built here (as a second line of defence), while the restored Trachea became the citadel (the first line of defence) of the Anakopia Fortress, which withstood an Arab invasion in 738.