Diauehi

The Kingdom of Diauehi (Georgian: დიაოხის სამეფო) (Diauhi or Diaokhi; "the Land of the Sons of Diau") (Georgian: დიაოხი) was an ancient monarchy emerged as a tribal union of early-Georgians in 12th century BC, in the post-Hittite period. It was located in northeastern Asia Minor, mentioned in the Urartian inscriptions. It is usually (though not always) identified with Daiaeni of the Yonjalu inscription of the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser I’s third year (1118 BC). Although the exact geographic extent of Diauehi is still unclear, many scholars place it in the Pasinler Plain in today’s northeastern Turkey, while others locate it in the Turkish-Georgian marshlands as it follows the Kura River. Most probably, the core of the Diauehi lands may have extended from the headwaters of the Euphrates into the river valleys of Çoruh to Oltu. The Urartian sources speak of Diauehi’s three key cities – Zua, Utu and Sasilu; Zua is frequently identified with Zivin Kale and Ultu is probably modern Oltu, while Sasilu is sometimes linked to the early medieval Georgian toponym Sasire, near Tortomi (present-day Tortum, Turkey).