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| Regions of Georgia |
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| Khevi |
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| Khevi is a small historical-geographic
area in northeastern Georgia. It is included in the modern-day Kazbegi
district, Mtskheta-Mtianeti region (mkhare). Located on the northern
slopes of the Greater Caucasus mountains, it comprises three gorges of
the rivers Truso, Tergi (Terek) and Snostsq’ali.The landscape of
Khevi is dominated by alpine meadows dotted with rhododendron, mountain
passes and waterfalls, and the Mount Kazbek (locally known as
Mkinvartsveri, i.e. "ice-capped"), a dormant 5047-meter high volcano.
The area is a popular tourist destination. It is a part of the projected
Khevi-Aragvi Biosphere Reserve. Among the important cultural sites of
Khevi are the Gergeti Trinity Church (fourteenth century), Garbani
Church (ninth to tenth century), Sioni Basilica (ninth century) and
castle, Betlemi Monastery Complex (ninth to tenth century), and Sno
fortress.
The name of this province, literally meaning "a gorge", comes from
the ancient and early medieval district of Tzanaria known to the
Georgian annals as Tzanaretis Khevi, i.e. the Tzanar Gorge. People of
Khevi are ethnic Georgians called Mokheves. History, traditions and
lifestyle of the Mokheves are very similar to those of other
mountaineers of eastern Georgia. Since ancient times, Khevi has been of
great strategic and military importance due chiefly to its immediate
neighborhood to the Darial Pass, which connects North Caucasus with
Transcaucasia. Free of typical feudal relations, they lived in a
patriarchal community governed by a khevisberi (i.e. "gorge elder") who
functioned as a judge, priest and military leader.
The Khevian mountainous communities were regarded as direct vassals
of the Georgian crown except for the period from the end of the
seventeenth century to 1743, when the area was placed under the control
of the semi-autonomous Duchy of the Aragvi. A fierce resistance offered
by the Mokheves to the attempts of the Aragvian lords has been largely
reflected in local folklore as well as classical Georgian literature.
The establishment of the Russian rule in Georgia (1801) was met hostile
by the mountaineers who staged, in 1804, an uprising, which was promptly
suppressed by the Tsarist military. However, the people of Khevi
retained their medieval traditions and a unique form of society until
the harsh Soviet rule changed their lifestyle through permanent
repressions, forcibly removing several families to the lowlands |
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