[edit]
Timeline of Batumi Historical affiliations
 Lazica (to 780)
Kingdom of Abkhazia, 780–1010
Kingdom of Georgia, 1010–1455
Kingdom of Imereti 1455–1703
Ottoman Empire, 1703–1878
Russian Empire, 1878–1918
British Empire, 1918–1920
Dem. Rep. of Georgia, 1920–1921
USSR (Adj. ASSR in G.SSR) 1921–1991
Adjara (de facto independent, de jure part of Georgia) 1991–2004
Georgia (AR of Adjara), 1991 (2004)–present
Main articles: History of Batumi and Timeline of Batumi
Early settlement and antiquity[edit]
Batumi’s strategic location on the Black Sea coast near mountain passes into the Caucasus interior made it an important trade and military point from antiquity. Archaeological excavations at Pichvnari conducted by the Batumi Archaeological Museum alongside the University of Oxford indicate that the Adjara region was inhabited as early as the 5th century BC, with imported amphorae and other evidence of Greek maritime presence. The ancient settlement is commonly identified with the Greek trading post known as Bathus or Bathys (Greek: βαθύς λιμήν, bathys limēn, “deep harbor”), a toponym recorded in classical sources. During the reign of Hadrian (c. 117–138 AD), the area featured a Roman fortification. In the 6th century, the Byzantine Empire redirected its regional military focus to the fortress of Petra (modern Tsikhisdziri), reducing Batumi’s strategic importance.
Medieval Georgian principalities[edit]
After the fragmentation of the Kingdom of Georgia, the area came under the rule of the Princes of Guria. In the 15th–16th centuries, Batumi was intermittently occupied by the Ottoman Empire. Following the Battle of Sokhoista (1545), it fell under Ottoman control.
Ottoman rule (15th–19th centuries)[edit]
In the 15th century, during the reign of Prince Kakhaber Gurieli, the Ottoman Empire briefly seized Batumi and its surrounding district but failed to maintain control. A century later, the Ottomans returned with a stronger military presence, inflicting a decisive defeat on Georgian forces at the Battle of Sokhoista in 1545. Batumi subsequently changed hands several times: it was retaken in 1546 by Prince Rostom Gurieli, lost soon afterwards, and again reclaimed in 1609 by Mamia II Gurieli.
In 1703, Batumi was permanently incorporated into the Ottoman Empire as part of the Sanjak of Lazistan. Over the next century and a half, it developed into a small but active provincial port serving the empire’s eastern Black Sea hinterland, facilitating trade in timber, tobacco, and other regional products.
Following the Ottoman conquest, a sustained campaign of Islamization began among the predominantly Christian Georgian population of the region. While conversion rates varied by community, this process significantly altered Adjara's demographic and cultural profile. The Islamization trend was halted and in part reversed after Batumi and Adjara were annexed by the Russian Empire following the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878).
Russian Imperial era (1878–1918)[edit]
Batumi was the last major Black Sea port to be annexed by the Russian Empire during its conquest of the Caucasian Black Sea coast. Under the terms of the Treaty of San Stefano (ratified 23 March 1878), signed between Russia and the Ottoman Empire following the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), Batumi was ceded to Russia and formally occupied on 28 August 1878. It was declared a free port (*porto franco*) until 1886 to encourage trade and foreign investment. Initially functioning as the center of a special military district, it was incorporated into the Kutaisi Governorate on 12 June 1883. On 1 June 1903, together with the Artvin Okrug, Batumi was reorganized as the Batum Oblast under the direct administration of the Viceroy of the Caucasus.
Batumi’s expansion accelerated with major infrastructure projects: the completion of the Batumi–Tiflis–Baku railway in 1883 and the opening of the Baku–Batumi pipeline in 1907. These developments turned Batumi into the chief Russian oil port on the Black Sea. The city’s population doubled within two decades, rising from 8,671 in 1882 to 12,000 in 1889, and by 1902 reached around 16,000, including about 1,000 employed in the oil refinery of Baron Rothschild’s Caspian and Black Sea Oil Company.
In the late 1880s and 1890s, Batumi became the departure point for over 7,400 Doukhobor emigrants bound for Canada, following an agreement with the imperial government allowing their resettlement abroad. The Doukhobors, a pacifist religious minority opposed to military service, received financial and logistical assistance from Quaker and Tolstoyan supporters for the transatlantic journey. Most were eventually settled in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
British occupation and the Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918–1921)[edit]
Following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918, the Ottoman Empire advanced into southwestern Georgia, occupying Batumi in April 1918. The short-lived Treaty of Batum (4 June 1918) formalized Ottoman control over the city and surrounding district, though the Armistice of Mudros in October 1918 forced Ottoman withdrawal.
In December 1918, British Army forces under General William M. Thomson occupied Batumi as part of the Allied intervention in the Caucasus, citing the need to secure the port and the Baku–Batumi pipeline in the aftermath of the Russian Civil War. The British administered the city as a strategic base for regional operations, maintaining a garrison of several thousand troops.
Facing growing Georgian nationalist pressure and changing strategic priorities, Britain transferred control of Batumi to the Democratic Republic of Georgia on 7 July 1920, under an agreement recognizing Georgian sovereignty while allowing temporary Allied access to port facilities. The handover was part of a broader British withdrawal from the Caucasus as post-war demobilization took effect.
Soviet era (1921–1991)[edit]
In March 1921, during the final stages of the Red Army invasion of Georgia, Turkish troops briefly occupied Batumi under the pretext of protecting the local Muslim population. Following a short period of Georgian control, the city was transferred to the Soviet Union in accordance with the Treaty of Kars (October 1921), which confirmed Turkish recognition of Soviet sovereignty over Batumi and the surrounding Adjara region in exchange for border adjustments in northeastern Turkey.
To address the distinct religious and cultural composition of the local population, the Soviets established the Adjarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic on 16 July 1921, granting nominal autonomy within the Georgian SSR to Adjara’s predominantly Muslim community.
Throughout the Soviet period, Batumi underwent significant transformation. The port was expanded and modernized, becoming a key hub for Black Sea trade, particularly for oil exports from the Baku–Batumi pipeline. Industrialization brought new factories, ship-repair facilities, and food-processing plants, while Soviet urban planning introduced wide boulevards, parks, and standardized residential districts.
In addition to its industrial role, Batumi developed as a resort destination for Soviet citizens, with new hotels, sanatoriums, and a revitalized seaside promenade attracting tourists from across the USSR. The city’s population steadily grew due to internal migration, reflecting its dual role as both a working port and a leisure center on the Black Sea coast.
Post-independence (1991–present)[edit]
Batumi at night, with lighted stadium in the centreFollowing Georgia’s declaration of independence in April 1991, Adjara remained part of the country but developed into a semi-autonomous region under the de facto control of regional leader Aslan Abashidze. Abashidze consolidated power by maintaining his own security forces, controlling customs revenues from the port, and limiting the influence of the central government in Tbilisi.
Tensions with the Georgian government escalated in early 2004, following the Rose Revolution, as President Mikheil Saakashvili sought to reassert central authority over Adjara. Mass protests in Batumi and surrounding towns in May 2004 combined with the defection of key security officials forced Abashidze to resign and flee to Russia on 6 May 2004. The region was then reintegrated into Georgia’s political and administrative framework.
Since 2004, Batumi has undergone significant transformation, driven by foreign investment, large-scale urban redevelopment, and government-backed infrastructure projects. The city has emerged as a major tourism hub on the Black Sea, with the construction of modern hotels, a renovated seaside boulevard, and cultural venues aimed at attracting international visitors.As Georgia's Black Sea coast continues to develop, high-rises are being built amongst Batumi's traditionally classical cityscapes.Parallel to the tourism boom, the Port of Batumi has been modernized to handle increased cargo traffic, reinforcing its role as a strategic transit point for Caspian oil and regional trade. Ongoing projects include port deepening, new ferry terminals, and expanded logistics facilities, positioning Batumi as both a leisure destination and a commercial gateway in the South Caucasus.
