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 II).
Thesis 2. Kartvelian Adaptation of Turkic Ethnonyms (“Khazar”)
- Core Idea: The very term “Khazar” contains a distinct Kartvelian (Zan/Colchian) morphological footprint.
- Linguistic Analysis: The primary self-name of the nomadic tribe was “Khaz.” The Kartvelian linguistic environment created an exo-ethnonym by suffixing it with the West-Kartvelian collective/plural marker “-ar / -al” (as seen in Megr-el-i, Laz-ar-i). This resulted in the form “Khaz-ar-i” (the collective body of Khazs), which later gained international adoption.
Thesis 3. The Phonetic Triad of Velar/Post-Alveolar Consonants (G – K – Kh) in Kartvelian Ethnogenesis
- Core Idea: The historical names of Caucasian regions and tribes are not accidental; they stem from the realization of a unified Proto-Kartvelian code based on the systematic shifts within the consonant triad (G ⇄ K ⇄ Kh):
- The Voiced Series (G / GR / RG): Localized in Western and Central Georgia — E-gr-isi, Sa-me-gr-elo, A-rgv-eti, Gur-ia, as well as international exo-ethnonyms: Gur-j-i, Georg-ia.
- The Aspirated Series (Kh / Khr / Khart): Represents the Pan-Kartvelian and Eastern layer — Khart-li, Khart-vel-i (where the core root is ‘Khr’, and ‘t/t’ is a later morphological determinant).
- The Ejective/Glottalized Series (K / Kr / Kkh / Kl): Characterizes the Eastern, Southern, and mountainous frontier zones — K-akh-eti, K-larj-eti (a phonetic variant of Gurji via the K/G mutation).
Thesis 4. The East Georgian Local Micromodel (Kkh ➔ Kukh ➔ Kakh)
- Core Idea: Analysis of ancient Georgian primary sources (The Life of Saint Nino, The Conversion of Kartli) proves the systematic evolution of the glottalized “K” root in Eastern Georgia.
- Evolutionary Chain: The ancient toponyms “Kkhoethi” (Western Kakheti) and “Kukheti” represent the oldest phonetic stages which, through systematic vowel alteration (ablaut), eventually formed the unified macro-toponym “Kakh-eti” (Kkh ➔ Kukh ➔ Kakh).
Thesis 5. Evidence for the Autochthonous (Kartvelian) Origin of the Term “Caucasus”
- Core Idea: The term “Caucasus” (Kaukasos) is not a foreign word introduced from the outside, but an archetype with native Kartvelian landscape and geographic roots.
- Toponymic and Genealogical Proofs:
- The Kavkasidze Dynasty: An ancient noble family in historical Southern Georgia (Klarjeti/Shavsheti), whose onomastics are directly tied to a local geographical feature.
- Kavkasori: A local mountain peak name recorded in Klarjeti, which clearly shows the composite structure: the root “Kavkas-“ + the native Caucasian/Kartvelian toponymic suffix “-ori” (denoting water, valleys, or mountain slopes). This proves the word was alive in folk speech.
General Conclusion: This model establishes a mathematically precise system for ancient Caucasian geography. It demonstrates that the flat, coastal zone of “Abkhazia” was bordered to the east and south by an ethnically and linguistically monolithic Kartvelian world, internally differentiated by the phonetic triad (Egris – Kartli – Kakheti/Klarjeti), with the autochthonous term “Caucasus” serving as the crown of this unity.
