Sukhumi [key], Abkhaz Sukhum, city (2011 pop. 62,914), capital of Abkhazia, a region in W Georgia that has had de facto independence since the 1990. Located on the Black Sea, it is a port and a rail junction and a subtropical resort, whose sulfur baths have been frequented since Roman times. The Greek colony of Dioscurias was founded on the site of the city in the 6th cent. b.c. It was known as Sebastopolis under Rome and Byzantium. Russia acquired it in 1810 as the Turkish fortress of Sukhum-Kale. Sukhumi was the center of a guerrilla war between Georgian military units and Abkhazian irregulars in the early 1990s that led to de facto independence for the region. The Sukhumi Military Road crosses the Caucasus at the Klukhori Pass (9,235 ft/2,815 m) and continues SW to Sukhumi. It is c.120 mi (190 km) long.
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