Diaokhi

Diaokhi (also known as Daiaeni, Diauehi) was an early state formation that existed in the 12th–8th centuries BCE on the territory of the South Caucasus.

From the name Diaokhi originates the Georgian region’s name Tao (Diao(khi) > Tyao(khi) > Tao).

By the end of the 12th century BCE, Diaokhi led a large union of tribes living in the upper Euphrates region, formed to fight against Assyrians. In the 9th century BCE, Urartu launched attacks against Diaokhi. The Urartian kings Menua and Argishti I repeatedly defeated Diaokhi, and ultimately, by the late 9th to early 8th century BCE, the kingdom was destroyed.

Diaokhi was known for its metallurgy, particularly the extraction and processing of copper, gold, and silver, as well as for animal husbandry.

Some of Diaokhi’s known kings include Sieni (late 12th century BCE), Asia (mid-9th century BCE), and Utupursi (end of the 9th to early 8th century BCE).

The descendants of Diaokhi’s inhabitants are referred to as Taokhi by the Greek writer Xenophon in the late 5th century BCE.

Literature: საქართველოს ისტორიის ნარკვევები, ტ. 1, თბ., 1970; М е л и к и ш в и л и  Г. А., Урартские клинообразные надписи, М., 1960.

G. Melikishvili