Lazica

Lazica (Laz Laziǩa ლაზიკა Georgian: ლაზიკის სამეფო; Greek Λαζική, Lazikē; Persian: لازستان Lazistan‎‎, Armenian: Եգեր Yeger) was the name given to the territory of Colchis during the Roman period, from about the 1st century BC. By the mid-3rd century, Lazica was given partial autonomy within the Roman Empire and developed into the kingdom of Lazica-Egrisi. Throughout much of its existence, it was mainly a Byzantine strategic vassal kingdom occasionally coming under Sassanid Persian rule. The kingdom fell to the Muslim conquest in the 7th century. Egrisi in the 8th century successfully repelled the Arab occupation and formed the Kingdom of Abkhazia-Egrisi from c. 780, one of the early medieval polities which would converge into the unified kingdom of Georgia in the 11th century.

In the early 4th century, the Christian eparchy of Pitiunt (Bichvinta ბიჭვინთა ) was established in this kingdom, and as in neighboring Iberia Christianity was declared as an official religion in AD 319. Other ancient episcopal sees in Lazica include Rhodopolis, Saesina, and Zygana.

Lazica (disambiguation)

Lazica may refer to:

Lazika (planned city)

Lazika (Georgian: ლაზიკა) is a proposed planned city in Georgia, on the country’s Black Sea littoral, named after the ancient kingdom of Lazica. Proposed in 2011 by the-then President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, it was to be built south to Anaklia—a sea resort immediately south to breakaway Abkhazia—and north to Kulevi, a port north to Poti, Georgia's key Black Sea port city. The project was largely abandoned after the change of government in Georgia in 2012.

Proposed city

An intent to construct a new large settlement, with the potential to make the city into the country's second largest—after the capital of Tbilisi—and a major economic hub of western Georgia, was unveiled by President Mikheil Saakashvili on December 4, 2011. The name "Lazika" is a reference to the Greco-Roman designation of this region, a part of ancient Colchis. According to Saakashvili, the construction would be launched in 2012 and the government of Georgia had already been in talks with several large investment groups in Asia and Europe. Several politicians and commentators have been skeptical of the project. Critics have also pointed out to the potential harm to the flora and fauna of the Kolkheti National Park, which lies adjacent to the area. The NDI-sponsored public opinion polls in 2012 showed support for the construction of the city.