- Mongols
Mongols — a group of related peoples speaking Mongolic languages, closely connected by a shared centuries-old history, culture, and traditions.
In the 1220s, the Mongols passed through Asia Minor and Transcaucasia, suppressing the resistance of Georgian and Armenian forces. Most of the Abkhazian Kingdom (or already Georgia [1]), all of Armenia, and central Anatolia came under Mongol rule. In 1236, for the third and last time, the Mongols invaded Transcaucasia, and the Abkhazian Kingdom, weakened by wars with the Khorezmshah, could not offer them resistance. By 1240, the entire country was occupied by the Mongols, and Queen Rusudan was in Kutaisi. In 1242, she signed a peace with the Mongols, by which she recognized herself as a vassal of the Khan and pledged to pay him tribute. After this, according to the Armenian historian Hetum (13th century), the eastern part began to be called — Georgia, the western — Apvas (Abkhazia). In subsequent periods, the country was first divided into two, and then into a larger number of principalities.
Between 1259 and 1330, Georgia was forced to wage a constant struggle with the Ilkhans (Mongol dynasty) for independence. The first uprising against the Mongols began in 1259 and lasted almost thirty years. It was led by King David Narin. Subsequently, the struggle against the Mongols continued under Kings Demetre II (1270-1289) and David VIII (1293-1311). King George V the Brilliant (1314-1346) took advantage of the weakening of the Ilkhans and stopped paying them tribute. In 1386-1403, the country experienced eight invasions of Tamerlane (a commander from the Mongol Barlas tribe).
[1] After the transfer of the kingdom's capital to Kartli in 1122, the terms "Sakartvelo" — in Georgian sources and "Gurjan", "Gurzan" — in Arabo-Persian, Syrian, and other sources, first appeared for its designation. From this time until the 15th century, this state, along with the name "Abkhazia", was also called "Sakartvelo", "Gurjan", "Gurjistan", "Gurzan", from which the Russian name "Georgia" and "Georgians" originated.
VARIANT NAMES: Russian. Mongols, Georgian. მონღოლებმა.
Sources:
Ethnogenesis of the Abkhazians. D.A. Arshba, 2015