Adjarians

The Adjarians (also called Ajarians, Acharians, Adzharians, Adjarans, Ajarans, Acharans, Adzharans, Adjars, Ajars, Achars, Adzhars, Ajareli, Achareli, Ach'areli, Adzhareli, and Adzhartsy; Georgian: აჭარლები, Ačarlebi) are an ethnographic group of Georgians that mostly live in Adjara in south-western Georgia.

The Adjarians have their own territorial unit—an autonomous republic of Adjara, founded on July 16, 1921, as Adjara ASSR. After years of post-Soviet stalemate, the region was, in 2004, completely brought within the framework of the Georgian state; it retains an autonomous status. Adjarian settlements are also found in the Georgian provinces of Guria, Kvemo Kartli, and Kakheti, as well as several areas of neighboring Turkey.