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550 AD, summer — a detachment of Persians, led by the commander Nabedes, on the way to Abasgia, captured the main fortress of Apsilia — Cibilium (Tsibil, Tsabal). Arriving from Apsilia in Abasgia, Nabedes' troops suppressed the pro-Byzantine party there, imposed corresponding obligations on the Abasgians, took away to Iran as hostages 60 boys from the most noble families, and sent Skeparnus, the ruler of Western Abasgia, to the camp of the Persian Khan — Khosrow. At this time, the ruler of Eastern Abasgia — Opsites, having taken refuge in Trachia, began to prepare for war with Byzantium. To suppress the uprising of the Abasgians at the walls of Trachia (later — Anacopia), Emperor Justinian transferred an additional force of 1000 soldiers from Phasis, which suppressed the revolt of the Abasgians. The ruler of the Abasgians, Opsites, with a small detachment, fled to the mountains of the North Caucasus. At the same time, not receiving help from the Byzantines, who were occupied with the war with Iran, the Apsilians managed to independently defeat the Persian detachment and declare themselves independent. By that time, the Byzantines had already inflicted defeat on the Abasgians at the fortress of Trachia. The Byzantine commander John forced the Apsilians to voluntarily renounce their independence and hand over the fortress of Tzibilium to Byzantium.


Materials:

"History of Abkhazia in Dates." T.A. Achugba 2011

King of Western Abasgia. Together with Opsites, the ruler of Eastern Abasgia, he raised an anti-Byzantine revolt in 550.

As a result of the revolt, the Byzantine garrisons were expelled from Abasgia. Expecting punitive measures from the Byzantine emperor, Skeparnus sought support from the Persian Shah Khosrow. The Persian troops that arrived as a result of this mission under the command of Nabedes could not establish themselves in Abasgia and left it. The fact is that the Byzantines, leaving Abasgia before the expected Persian advance, destroyed the Abkhazian fortresses in Pitsunda and Sebastopolis (Sukhum), where their garrisons had been stationed. This is partly connected with the failure of the Persians to establish themselves on the Abkhazian coast. However, leaving Abasgia, the Persians took away with them many hostages from the Abasgian princely families, in accordance with the preliminary agreement between Skeparnus and the Persian Shah Khosrow. As a result, the Byzantines inflicted defeat on the Abasgians, left without support, at the fortress of Trachia (later the historical capital of the Abkhazian Kingdom — Anacopia, modern New Athos and the village of Ankhua). To the time preceding this expedition belongs the construction by Justinian of a church for the Abasgians in the name of the Mother of God and the renovation of the church of St. Andrew in Nicopsis near Apsarus. To this same time belongs the activity of Ephratus the Abkhazian, a noble and influential courtier at the court of Emperor Justinian, a eunuch and Christian missionary.

King of Eastern Abasgia. After the failed anti-Byzantine campaign to defend Abasgia — the Persian commander Nabedes took away with him as hostages 60 youths from the most noble Abasgian families. Then, crossing into Apsilia, he also took the wife of Opsites — Theodora. She was the former queen of Lazica and a noble Greek woman by origin. Opsites himself was the uncle of the Lazican king Gubazes. As a result of the defeat in the battle with the Byzantines under the walls of Trachia (Anacopia), Opsites withdrew with a small detachment to the Huns in the foothills of the Caucasus Range. The anti-Byzantine revolt and the repulsion of the punitive expedition were led by Opsites himself, for Skeparnus was at that time with the Persian Shah negotiating. After the defeat of the rebels, the Byzantine side also took hostages from among the Abkhazian nobility, in particular, the princely wives with children were taken captive. The military expedition to pacify the Abasgians was led by John and Uligagus. The punitive action involved a fleet that landed numerous detachments on the Abkhazian coast (see the description of these events by Procopius of Caesarea, the court historian of Emperor Justinian, at the end of the "Chronicle" in the "Sources" section).

Materials:

All rulers of Abkhazia

Abkhazian Kingdom. 786 CE
Anthroponymic repertoire of the "Divan of the Abkhazian kings". G. A. Amichba
Chronicle of the Abkhazian kings. F. Jordania 1902
Bgazhba O. Kh., Lakoba S. Z. History of Abkhazia from ancient times to the present day. 2007
Culture and ideology of early medieval Abkhazia (5th–10th centuries). Amichba 1999
"History of Abkhazia in dates". T. A. Achugba 2011
Circumnavigation of the Euxine Sea. Flavius Arrian
Naturalis Historia. Pliny the Elder 77–79. Latin-English 1969
Reports of ancient Greek and Latin writers about Scythia and the Caucasus. Latyshev 1947
Constantine Porphyrogenitus. On the Administration of the Empire: Text, translation, commentary. Litavrin 1991

555–556 AD — revolt of the Misimiani against the Byzantines. The Byzantine official Soterichus arrived to the Misimiani, who was bringing money to the Alans for faithful service. During negotiations, he decided to hand over the Misimian fortress of Buchloon (modern Pakhulan) to the Alans — on the right bank of the Inguri River, which caused the revolt of the Misimiani. They killed the Byzantine detachment led by Soterichus and his sons and asked for help from the Persians. The Persians helped them, placing their detachments on the passes, but only until winter. The punitive expedition of the Byzantine four-thousand-strong detachment led by Martin and the exhausting siege of the fortress of Tzakhar (Pskal) in the upper reaches of the Kodori River cost the Misimiani dearly. During the fighting, the source reports, they lost not less than 5 thousand men, even more women and even more children. The Misimiani were forced to submit and accept the Christian religion.


Materials:

"History of Abkhazia in Dates." T.A. Achugba 2011

Then the people of the Abkhazians, the people of the Banjar ^[1], the people of the Balanjar ^[2] and the people of the Alans ^[3] united to invade the country of Khosrow Anushirvan and marched into Armenia to subject its population to plunder. Their path lay through level, easily traversable territory, and at first Khosrow paid no attention to their actions, but as soon as they entered his country, he sent troops against them, which engaged them in battle and destroyed all but 10,000 men; these they captured, and they were settled in Azerbaijan and the adjacent regions.

Still, Firuz built in the country of Sul ^[4] and the country of the Alans a stone structure to protect his country from encroachments by these peoples, and Firuz's son, Kobad, built many new structures in these places and, finally, when Khosrow reigned, he ordered the construction in the country of Sul of a number of cities, fortresses, ramparts and many other structures of stone quarried in the region of Jurjan; all this was to serve as protection and refuge for the population of his country in case of enemy attack.

The strongest, bravest and most powerful of the Turks was the Khakan Sinjibu, and he had the most troops; it was he who engaged in battle with Wazr [or Warzom], king of the Hephthalites, not at all frightened by their numbers and strength, killed their king Wazr and all his army, captured their wealth as booty and took possession of their country, except for that part of it which had previously been conquered by Khosrow. Sinjibu won over to his side the Abkhazians, Banjars and Balanjars, so that they expressed their submission to him. They informed him that the Iranian kings had always defended themselves from them by paying ransom, by means of which they kept them from invading their country. Then Sinjibu set out at the head of 110,000 warriors, approached the border regions of Sul and sent to Khosrow a threatening and arrogant demand that he send him money, and to the Abkhazians, Banjars and Balanjars that ransom which had been paid to them before Khosrow's reign, and if Khosrow did not hasten to send him what he demanded, he would invade his country and attack him. But Khosrow paid no attention to his threats and did not agree to any of his demands because he had erected fortifications at the gates of Sul and because of the security of those paths and roads along which the Khakan Sinjibu would have to march; besides this, Khosrow knew that by his order the borders of Armenia were guarded by a detachment of 5,000 warriors, both horse and foot. The Khakan Sinjibu learned that Khosrow had fortified the border of Sul and, without having accomplished anything, withdrew with those who were with him. And the enemies dwelling opposite Jurjan, with those fortresses that had been built around it by Khosrow's order, could not make raids upon it and could not take possession of it...


Notes:

^[1] The reading is doubtful, apparently a distortion of the Pahlavi burjar, buraar — "Bulgars" (at-Tabari, Glossary, p. DXCI).
^[2] Balanjar — the ancient capital of the Khazars, north of Derbent; later the capital was moved to Itil, where it was already during the lifetime of al-Masudi (BGA, III, p. 62; Yakut, I, p. 729); Ibn al-Faqih attributes the construction of the city of Balanjar to Khosrow (!); he also mentions a river of this name (BGA, V, pp. 288 and 293). Here this name is evidently used as an ethnic term for the Khazars.
^[3] The Alans throughout the entire Middle Ages are mentioned as one of the main peoples inhabiting the Caucasus (cf.: Th. Noeldeke, op. cit., p. 157, note 3).
^[4] Sul — the name of a locality and, probably, a tribe in Jurjan (on the southeastern shore of the Caspian Sea). In the era of the Arab conquests, Sul appears as the name of a Turkish prince in Jurjan (at-Tabari, II, pp. 1323 ff.).


Materials:

History of the Messengers and Kings. Muhammad at-Tabari (839–923). Publishing House: Fan, 1987