Byzeres

Byzeres was an ancient tribal society from southwest Georgia.

They are mentioned in Urartian sources in the 9th-8th century BC as "Uiteru (khi)" or "Uitiru (khi)." They fought against Urartu. King Sarduri II turned the land of the Byzeres (possibly part of it) into a province of his kingdom, building a fortress there and appointing his own governor.

According to ancient Greek sources, the Byzeres lived near the southeastern Black Sea coast, south of the Chorokhi River, and partly in the Pontic Mountains. The name of this tribe was preserved in the historical Georgian region of Odzrkhe, which was located near the present-day Abastumani.

Literature: საქართველოს ისტორიის ნარკვევები, ტ. 1, თბ., 1970.

G. Melikishvili