Mingrelia
Mingrelia
(mĭn-grē`lēə), lowland region, W Georgia, bordering the Black Sea. Tea and grapes are the chief products. Poti is the main port. The ColchisColchis, ancient country on the eastern shore of the Black Sea and in the Caucasus region. Centered about the fertile valley of the Phasis River (the modern Rion), Colchis corresponds to the present-day region of Mingrelia in Georgia.
..... Click the link for more information. of the ancients, Mingrelia was a vassal principality (with Zugdidi as capital) under the Ottoman Empire. It was annexed to Russia in 1803. The Mingrelians (also called Megrelians) are closely related in culture and language to the Georgians.