Imereti
Imereti is a historic province in Western Georgia, situated along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni River.
The province's main city is Kutaisi; other urban industrial centers include Samtredia, Chiatura (manganese production centre), Tkibuli (coal mining centre), Zestaphoni (known for metals production), Khoni, and Sachkhere. Traditionally, Imereti is an agricultural region, known for its mulberries and grapes.
The 800,000 Imeretians speak Georgian dialect; they are one of the local culture-groups of ethnically subdivided Georgian people. In 975-1466 Imereti was part of the united Georgian Kingdom. In the 17th-18th centuries kingdom of Imereti suffered frequent invasions by the Turks, but managed to maintain its independence to 1810, when it was occupied and annexed by the Tsarist Russian Empire. Last King of Imereti was Solomon II (1789-1810).
