Meskheti

Meskheti, also known as Meskhetia, (Georgian: მესხეთი) is in a mountainous area of Moschia in southwestern Georgia. The ancient Georgian tribes of Meskhi (or Moschi) and Mosiniks were the indigenous population of this region. A majority of the modern Georgian population (Meskhs) of Meskheti are descendants of these ancient tribes. The Mosiniks (or Mossynoeci) were one of the inventors of iron metallurgy. In the 2nd millennium-4th century BC Meskheti was a part of the Georgian Kingdom of Diaokhi, in the 4th century BC-6th century AD - part of the Kingdom of Iberia. In the 10th-15th centuries this region was a part of the united Georgian Kingdom. In the 16th century Meskheti was occupied and annexed by the Ottoman Empire. In 1829-1917 the region was a part of Tbilisi Governate (Tiflisskaia Gubernia), in 1918-1921 part of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, and in 1921-1990 part of the Georgian SSR. Now part of the Samtskhe-Javakheti region, together with Javakheti and Tori.