Abkhazians as a nationality («Azhvlar») — the Abkhazian feudal nationality formed from the basic unit of the Apsil, Abasgov, Sanygov, Misimian tribes, and at the start of the 8th century created a mighty national Middle Age Abkhazian State (Kingdom — «Apsua Akhra») in Transcaucasia which consequently (in the Ilth-I2th centuries) united the whole of feudal Georgia. In that ancient Georgian source — «Martyrdom uf Abo Tbileli» {8th century) the «country of Abkhazia» is openly talked about, and in ancient 7th-century Armenian sources the name of Abkhazia — «Apsny» is mentioned in the Abkhazian language (i,e., «a country populated by Abkhazians — Apsuaa»), indicative of the iormalion and establishment among the early Middle Age Abkhazian tribes of such a concept already (historical category) as Apsuara — i.e., «Abkhazstvo»— «all that with which the Abkhazians lived was raised in the Moral Code of the Abkhazian people» (effectively acting on every Abkhazian, on the people, even to this day'.). Along the direct genetic line of the АЬаь-govs and Apsilovs, named in ancient sources irom the 3rd-2nd centuries В. С. and further, with the Abkhazian nation, indicate that the preserved ethnonyms «Apsua» to this day (self-named by the Abkhazians) and «Abaza» (self-named by the kindred Abazins), go back to one root!..

The name of the Apstlov tribe has been preserved to this day by the self-named Abkhazian people — Aps-ya and the Abkhazian's name for their country — Apsny. The names of the Abasgs, Abasgia lay at the foundation for the name «Abkhaz», «Abkhazia;». These words were maintained also by the self-named Abazins, closely related to the Abkhazian people — the Abaza; the Adygeis and Turks call this same tribe — Abaza—as Abkhazovs and Abasins. Ancient Russian sources called the Abkhazians Obezams. The modern names of «Abkhaz», «Abkhazia» in sound appeared comparatively later, in the Middle Ages- They were first met with in information of anciem Georgian and ancient Armenian authors, and later of Persian and Arab authors. Modification of the ancient appellation of «Abasg», «Abasgia» to «Abkhaz» «Abkhazia» took place, as Academician N. Y. Marr presumed, during the Wesl-Kartvel (Mengrel) language base (root). The name of the people «Abasgi» and the country «Abasgia» in connection with the specifics of the Mengrel speech were changed into «Abkhaz», «Abkhazia» (similar rearrangements of sounds was an ordinary phenomenon for the Mengrel language). It was namely in this aspect that (he indicated terms penetrated the Georgian language and, through it — into other world languages...

Part 2.

The Abkhazian people are one of the most ancient inhabitants of the Caucasus, a member of the North-Caucasian family of peoples, who are united by a common origin, kinship of language, closeness of traditional material cultures, lengthy and diverse interactions in a common Caucasian homeland. At the same time, Abkhazians, like any other nation, are the product of a lengthy path of independent historical development...» The appearance and development of the Abkhazian nation as an ethnos passed through an independent path on the vast territory of the Caucasian Black Sea area, including the territory of Abkhazia. This is proved, first of all, by the originality and individuality of monuments of material and spiritual culture...

From time immemorial the culture of one ethnic massif sprand up and developed, in the main, on the territory of the Abkhazian Black Sea area, whose descendants are forebears of the modern Abkhazians. Ignoring this undoubted fact brings, in turn, to the ignoring of the source base and, probably, would lead to a coarse distortion of the centuries-old history of the Abkhazian people...