Poti (Georgian: ფოთი [pʰo̞t̪ʰi]; Mingrelian: ფუთი; Laz: ჶაში/Faşi or ფაში/Paşi) is a port city in Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the west of the country. Built near the site of the ancient Greek colony of Phasis and deriving its name from the same, the city has become a major port city and industrial center since the early 20th century. It is also home to a main naval base and the headquarters of the Georgian Navy.
The Treaty of Poti was a bilateral agreement between the German Empire and the Democratic Republic of Georgia in which the latter accepted German protection and recognition. The agreement was signed, on 28 May 1918, by General Otto von Lossow for Germany and by Foreign Minister Akaki Chkhenkeli for Georgia. Concluded at the Georgian Black Sea port of Poti, the treaty came only two days after Georgia proclaimed independence, becoming the newly independent republic's first-ever international treaty.
The Black Sea is a marginal sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The Black Sea is supplied by major rivers, principally the Danube, Dnieper and Dniester. Consequently, while six countries have a coastline on the sea, its drainage basin includes parts of 24 countries in Europe.
The Black Sea, not including the Sea of Azov, covers 436,400 km (168,500 sq mi), has a maximum depth of 2,212 m (7,257 ft), and a volume of 547,000 km (131,000 cu mi).Most of its coasts ascend rapidly.These rises are the Pontic Mountains to the south, bar the southwest-facing peninsulas, the Caucasus Mountains to the east, and the Crimean Mountains to the mid-north.In the west, the coast is generally small floodplains below foothills such as the Strandzha; Cape Emine, a dwindling of the east end of the Balkan Mountains; and the Dobruja Plateau considerably farther north. The longest east–west extent is about 1,175 km (730 mi). Important cities along the coast include (clockwise from the Bosporus) the northern suburbs of Istanbul, Burgas, Varna, Constanța, Odesa, Yalta, Kerch, Yevpatoria, Sevastopol, Novorossiysk, Sochi, Poti, Batumi, Rize, Trabzon, Ordu, Simferopol, Samsun and Zonguldak.
Phasis (Ancient Greek: Φᾶσις; Georgian: ფაზისი, pazisi) was an ancient and early medieval city on the eastern Black Sea coast, founded in the 7th or 6th century BC as a colony of the Milesian Greeks at the mouth of the eponymous river in Colchis. Its location today could be the port city of Poti, Georgia. Its ancient bishopric became a Latin Catholic titular see of Metropolitan rank.
Khashuri (Georgian: ხაშური [χaʃuɾi]) is a city in the central part of Georgia and is the 9th largest settlement in Georgia. It is the administrative centre of Khashuri Municipality. It is located on the Shida Kartli plain, on the Suramula riverside, 700 metres (2,300 feet) above sea level.
Khashuri is first mentioned in a 1693 document. Modern Khashuri was founded in 1872 as a modest railway stop called "Mikhaylovo" after Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia, Viceroy of the Caucasus. In 1917, it was renamed Khashuri. The city was granted city status in 1921. It was known as Stalinisi, after Joseph Stalin, from 1928 to 1934. In the 19th century after the leading Tbilisi-Poti main line, Khashuri gradually became a major transportation node. The railways and highways were heading towards Borjomi and Akhaltsikhe. The population of the city is 28.435 (2023). There is rail transport, glass container, food industry enterprises, educational and cultural institutions (public theatre, a museum of local lore). The 18th-century tower, St. John and St. Marine's churches are preserved in the city. There are the Surami and Khashuri residence in Khasuri.
The Rioni (Georgian: რიონი [ˈɾio̞n̪i]; Ancient Greek: Φᾶσις, Phâsis) is the main river of western Georgia. It originates in the Caucasus Mountains, in the region of Racha and flows west to the Black Sea, entering it north of the city of Poti (near ancient Phasis). The city of Kutaisi, once the ancient city of Colchis, lies on its banks. It drains the western Transcaucasus into the Black Sea while the river Kura drains the eastern Transcaucasus into the Caspian Sea.