Imereti – independent Kingdom of Imereti from 1466
From 1466, after the disintegration of the united Georgian Kingdom, Imereti was an independent kingdom. It faced frequent invasions in the 17th and 18th centuries and was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1810; its last king was Solomon II.
In ancient times, the region belonged to Colchis and later to Lazica, whose king Tzath I was baptised in Constantinople in 523. In 541 it became the theatre of the Lazic War between Byzantium and Sasanian Persia. From 1918 to 1921 Imereti was part of the independent Democratic Republic of Georgia. Today it is Georgia’s most populous region, with Kutaisi as its capital. Share your family and local stories with fellow members!