Adjara

Adjara (აჭარა Ach’ara ˈat͡ʃʼara) or Achara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara (აჭარის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა Ach’aris Avt’onomiuri Resp’ublik’a აჭარის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა), 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, 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. History of Adjara 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 Ottoman and British (with the entrance of the british warship "Liverpool") troops in 1918–1920, Adjara became part of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1920, and was granted autonomy under the Georgian constitution adopted in February 1921 when the Red Army invaded Georgia. 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.