Meskheti Meskheti Meskhetians Meskheti is a mountainous area and a province in the South-West of Georgia. The ancient Georgian tribes of Meshech (later Moskh) and Mosiniks were the indigenous population of this region (4th-2nd millennia BC). A majority of the modern Georgian population (Meskhs) of Meskheti are descendants of these ancient tribes. The Mosiniks 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-15 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 Province (Tiflisskaia Gubernia), in 1918-1921 part of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, and in 1921-1990 part of the Georgian SSR. Since 1990 Meskheti (Samtskhe-Javakheti region) has been a province of the Republic of Georgia.

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