Kakhetians

Total populationc. 500,000Regions with significant populations

Georgia Kakheti: 271 298 (82,9%) (2014)LanguagesKakhetian dialect of Georgian languageReligion† Georgian Orthodox ChurchRelated ethnic groupsIngiloy people and Iranian Georgians

Kakhetians (Georgian: კახელები, [kʼɑχɛlɛbi]; sg. კახელი, [kʼɑχɛli]) are an ethnographic group of Georgians who speak the Kakhetian dialect of the Georgian language. Kakhetians are the indigenous population of Kakheti, a historical region and fertile valley in eastern Georgia that produces much of the country's wine.^[1] Like the general population of Georgia, most Kakhetians are adherents of the Georgian Orthodox Church.

History

Kakheti was an independent principality from the end of the eighth century. It was incorporated into the united Georgian Kingdom at the beginning of the eleventh century, but for less than a decade. Only in the beginning of the twelfth century did Georgian King David the Builder (1089–1125) incorporate Kakheti into his Kingdom successfully.^{[citation needed]}