the Abkhaz or Caucasian Negros of Russia. Historians believe they arrived during the Ottoman Empire. Other scholars suggest that the Abkhaz Negros are descendants of Colchis, Drevnekartvelskih tribes occupying the territory around south-eastern and eastern Black Sea region, giving West Georgia the ancient name of Colchis, which was subsequently so coveted by Russian poets. In the XIX century, Abkhaz Negros all spoke only Abkhazian and identified themselves solely with the Abkhaz People.
