Thesis 1. The Phenomenon of "Abkhazia" — Geopolitical and Landscape Determinism Core Idea: The term "Abkhazia" originally functioned not as a narrow ethnic signifier, but as a macro-geographic and geopolitical term denoting the north-eastern coast of the Black Sea (from the Bzyb/Bzyph River to Nikopsia and further north). Morphological Model: The term was formed through the synthesis of the Common-Kartvelian (and Proto-Indo-European) spatial root "ph- / aph-" (meaning expansion, spreading, plain/flatland; cf. Georgian Apeni, Phasis) and the nomadic Turkic ethnonym "Khaz" / "Khazar". Semantic Content: "Ap-khaz-eti" literally translated as "the expanded (coastal) Khazaria," signifying the western, flatland periphery of the Khazar Khaganate, which was under direct Khazar political influence in the 8th century (under Leon … [Read more...]
