Kutaisi was the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Colchis. Archeological evidence indicates that the city functioned as the capital of the kingdom of Colchis as early as the second millennium BC. It is widely believed by historians that when Apollonius Rhodius was writing about Jason and the Argonauts and their legendary journey to Colchis, Kutaisi/Aia was the final destination of the Argonauts and the residence of King Aeëtes. In 975-1122 Kutaisi was the capital of the united Kingdom of Georgia, and in the 15th century-1810 the capital of the Imeretian Kingdom. In 1508, the city was captured by Selim I, who was the son of the Sultan of the Ottomans at that time, Bayezid II. In 1810 the Imeretian Kingdom was occupied by Tsarist Russia. The city was the capital of the Gubernia of Kutaisi, which included much of west Georgia. Before Georgia's independence in 1991, followed by the country's economic collapse, Kutaisi was a major industrial center. Today, many inhabitants of the city have had to leave and work abroad. Small-scale trade prevails among the rest of the population.