Abstract
From the History of Byzantino-Apsilian Relations in the Eastern Black Sea Basin (V-VIII. Centuries)
Apsilia is one of the most ancient political formations of the Abkhazians. The remnants in Sibilium indicate that formation goes back to the 2nd century B.C. However, the Apsilians were rarely mentioned by the sources of the 2nd to 5th centuries A.D. after the separation of the Roman Empire between the east and the west, the Eastern Empire having Byzantium as its capital tried for some political, religious and economic activities in order to consolidate its he-gemony in the Caucasus. In the Caucasus, where a long-run conflict of influence between Iran and The Eastern Rome was ongoing, the Kingdom of Apsilia got more prominence. The policy of Pax Romana had great effect in shaping the Abkhazian culture.
This essay discusses influence of the Byzantino-Iranian conflicts, which intensified on the Silk Road and the Caucasus, in making of the political and cultural Abkhazia.
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Keywords
Apsilia, Abkhazians, the Eastern Roman Empire, the Persian Empire, the Caucasus, the Silk Road.
