One of the most familiar types of antique weaving from the Caucasus region is the Soumak. These were produced in a wide array of designs, but generally they are typified by a crisp, precise drawing applied  to highly abstract or stylized geometric patterns, using a rich and varied palette.

In technical terms, Soumaks are flatwoven rugs. Their technique is related to that of kilims, but it is somewhat more complex,  thicker in handle, and more durable as floor covering. As opposed to Kilim technique which consists of compacted weft facing simply running over and under the vertical wraps, Soumak weave runs the yarns around the warps in a serpentine pattern, over two, back one, over two back one, and so forth. The rows of this yarn facing or brocading are then separated by wefts like the rows of knots in pile carpets.  The origin of this technique is hard to pinpoint, but it is attested literally from one end of the rug-producing world to the other.

The term Soumak is apparently a corruption of the name Shemaka, a town in the Shirvan region of the Caucasus, where such rugs, it is often claimed, were made. However Soumaks were made in various areas of the Caucasus and the region north of Kuba seems to have been a major center of their production.