Editing Sochi (section)

=== Early history ===
Before the whole area was conquered by [[Cimmerian]], [[Scythian]] and [[Sarmatian]] invaders, the [[Zygii]] (Proto-[[Circassians|Adyghe]]) people lived in [[Lesser Abkhazia]] under the [[Kingdom of Pontus]], then the [[Roman Empire]]'s influence in [[classical antiquity|antiquity]]. From the 6th to the 11th centuries, the area successively belonged to the Georgian kingdoms of [[Lazica]] and [[Kingdom of Abkhazia|Abkhazia]], who built a dozen churches within the city boundaries, the later was [[Kingdom of Georgia#Unification of the Georgian State|unified]] under the single [[Kingdom of Georgia|Georgian monarchy]] in the 11th century, forming one of the [[Saeristavo]], known as [[Duchy of Tskhumi|Tskhumi]] extending its possessions up to [[Nicopsis]]. The Christian settlements along the coast were destroyed by the invading [[Alans]], [[Khazars]], [[Mongol Empire|Mongols]] and other [[nomadic empire]]s whose control of the region was slight. The northern wall of an 11th-century [[Byzantine architecture|Byzantine]] [[basilica]] still stands in the [[Loo Microdistrict]].<ref>{{cite web |date=2012-05-16 |title= |script-title=ru:Византийский храм в Лоо |trans-title=Byzantine church in Loo |url=http://arch-sochi.ru/2012/05/vizantiyskiy-hram-v-loo/ |access-date=January 30, 2014 |publisher=Архитектура Сочи |language=ru}}</ref>

Between the [[13th century|13th]] and [[15th century|15th centuries]], the [[Republic of Genoa]] had the monopoly of the trade on the shores of the Black Sea, and established colonies and trading posts in the region of the present-day Sochi, the large ones were [[Adler Microdistrict|Layso]] and [[Khosta Microdistrict|Costa]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Генуэзцы|url=http://edemkavkaza.ru/enciklopediasochi/179-genuezcy.html|access-date=2020-11-18|website=edemkavkaza.ru}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-05-19 |title=Крепость Годлик, Сочи – описание, история, фотография, а также интересные факты |trans-title=Godlik Fortress, Sochi – description, history, photos, and interesting facts. |url=https://nicko.ru/крепость-годлик/ |access-date=2020-11-18 |language=ru-RU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Фунтиков |first=Илья |date=2017-04-26 |title=Генуэзская крепость в Хосте |trans-title=Genoese fortress in Khosta |url=https://sochinews.io/2017/04/26/genuezskaya-krepost-v-hoste/ |access-date=2020-11-18 |website=Новости Сочи Sochinews.io |language=ru-RU}}</ref>

From the 14th to the 19th centuries, the region was dominated by the [[Abkhaz people|Abkhaz]], [[Ubykh people|Ubykh]], [[Abazins|Abazin]] and [[Adyghe people|Adyghe]] tribes, the current location of the city of Sochi (Ş̂açə) known as [[Ubykhia]] was part of historical [[Circassia]], and was controlled by the native people of the local mountaineer clans of the north-west Caucasus, nominally under the sovereignty of the [[Ottoman Empire]], which was their principal trading partner in the Islamic world.