In Greek mythology Kolchis was the home of of the mythical king Aeetes and Medea and the destination of the Argonauts; it was also the land where Prometheus was punished by being chained to a mountain. Amazons also were said to be of Scythian origin from Kolchis.

Its history is eventful to say the least. The Kingdom of Kolchis was formed in the 13th century BC from a consolidation of the tribes inhabiting the region. Several provinces including the royal city of Ildemusa were lost to Urartu, then they were overrun by the Cimmerians and Scythians before coming under the Achaemenid Persian Empire towards the mid-6th century BC. Colonized by the Greeks, they were however situated just outside the lands conquered by Alexander the Great. After the fall of the Persian Empire, Colchis retained a degree of independence until conquered by Mithradates VI of Pontus circa 101 BC. On the defeat of Mithradates in 65 BC, Kolchis was occupied by Pompey, then was briefly part of the Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom again before both Pontus and Colchis were incorporated in the Province of Galatia and later Cappadocia.

Sources:
Information on Colchis from Wikipedia
Information on Samdzimari from Representations of Social Space in South Caucasian and Indo-European Ideology

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