Tskhinvali

Tskhinvali (ცხინვალი ˈt͡shχinvɑli) or Tskhinval (Ckhinval, Ҫ̇reba, ˈʃχinvɒɫ, ˈt͡ʃʼɾebä; Цхинвал(и), tsxjɪnˈval(jɪ)) is the capital of the disputed de facto independent Republic of South Ossetia, internationally considered part of Shida Kartli, Georgia (except by the Russian Federation and four other UN member states), and previously the capital of the erstwhile Soviet Georgian South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast. It is located on the Great Liakhvi River approximately northwest of the Georgian capital Tbilisi. The name of Tskhinvali is derived from the Old Georgian Krtskhinvali (ქრცხინვალი), from earlier Krtskhilvani (ქრცხილვანი), literally meaning "the land of hornbeams", which is the historical name of the city. See ცხინვალი for more. From 1934 to 1961, the city was named Staliniri (სტალინირი, Сталинир), which was compilation of Joseph Stalin's surname with Ossetian word "Ir" which means Ossetia. Modern Ossetians call the city Tskhinval (leaving off the final "i", which is a nominative case ending in Georgian); the other Ossetian name of the city is Chreba (Чъреба) which is only spread as a colloquial word. The name Chreba comes from the Georgian Ḳreba (კრება), literally meaning "gathering" due to the city historically serving as a trading point. The area around the present-day Tskhinvali was first populated back in the Bronze Age. The unearthed settlements and archaeological artifacts from that time are unique in that they reflect influences from both Iberian (east Georgia) and Colchian (west Georgia) cultures with possible Sarmatian elements. Tskhinvali was first chronicled by Georgian sources in 1398 as a village in Kartli (central Georgia) though a later account credits the 3rd century AD Georgian king Aspacures II of Iberia with its foundation as a fortress. By the early 18th century, Tskhinvali was a small "royal town" populated chiefly by monastic serfs. Tskhinvali was annexed to the Russian Empire along with the rest of eastern Georgia in 1801.