Egrisi

Egrisi is a historic region in western Georgia, notable in ancient and medieval sources as a coastal land along the Black Sea. The name is linked to the Egrisians, the people associated with the area, and to a political entity that variously appears as a kingdom, principality, or district within the broader framework of Colchis.

Geography and extent have varied over time, but Egrisi is generally understood as part of the western Georgian littoral, including coastal plains and adjacent foothills. In modern terms the association is with parts of what are now Guria and Samegrelo, though exact borders shifted with different periods and rulers.

History and political role: In antiquity the region formed part of Colchis, the kingdom on the Black Sea coast described in ancient sources. In medieval Georgian chronicles, Egrisi is presented as a distinct political unit with local rulers that sometimes allied with or resisted the Georgian kings. With the consolidation of the Georgian state in the high medieval period, Egrisi territories were brought under the royal realm and administered as part of the unified Georgian monarchy.

Modern perspective: In contemporary scholarship, Egrisi is treated as a historical and cultural region rather than a current administrative unit. The term appears primarily in historical and geographical writings to denote the western Georgian littoral and its early political formations.

See also: Colchis, Guria, Samegrelo, Imereti.