List of fortifications in Georgia (country)

There are over 100 castles and forts in Georgia, which were constructed between the years 800 and 1700 by various provincial kings. The castles and forts have long been abandoned, but most are still standing, and some are preserved by the United Nations.[1][2]

View from the tower at Ananuri
Rabati, Akhaltsikhe, Georgia
Main Corridor of the Castle in Old Town, Tbilisi, Georgia

The earliest castle in Georgia was the Ananuri castle, which was built in the period from 1200–1249. The Ananuri castle consisted of two castles with a big curtain wall surrounding it. It was the seat of the dukes of the Duchy of Aragvi, which was one of multiple feudal dynasties during the period.[3]

The last castle to be built in Georgia was the Rabati Castle, which was built between 1250 and 1299. The original town was built from 700–800, with the castle being built in the 1260s. From the 1260s to the 1340s the castle and the surrounding town was the capital city of the province of Samtskhe-Saatabago, which was ruled by the House of Jaqeli.[4]

The forts of Georgia lie in varying states of ruin. The oldest was built in the 9th century, while some were built as late as the 17th century. While many still stand, most have been heavily damaged by various causes.[5]

Citadel Tbilisi

Tbilisi

Castles
Castles in Georgia
Castle name Location Time built Notes Reference
Ananuri On the Aragvi river, 72 km (45 mi) from Tbilisi 1200–1249 [6]
Rabati Castle At the town of Akhaltsikhe, Georgia 1250–1300 Originally called Lomisa Castle before the Ottoman conquest.[7] [8]
Castle in Old Town At the city of Tbilisi, Georgia 1000–1740 Located in the Old Tbilisi, Georgia at the right foot of the Narikala citadel and below the Kartlis Deda monument. Once a small fortress presumably built by the Umayyads in the 7th century destroyed during the Mongol invasions (approximately 12th century), it was from 1621 the Residence of the Persian Shah Administrator for Eastern Georgia (Melik Bebutov family). It also hosted a small nunnery for some time (till 1921). During the Communist period (1921–1990), it was transformed into communal apartments for up to 110 individuals. It is the only privately owned Castle in Georgia.

Forts and fortresses
Forts and fortresses in Georgia
Fort name Location Time built Notes Reference
Atskuri Fortress 30 km (19 mi) from Borjomi 900–999 [9]
Bakhtrioni Kakheti region, left bank of the Alazani river 1650s [5]
Birtvisi Tetritsqaro Municipality 1038 [10]
Gagi Fortress near the town of Marneuli unknown
Gori Fortress Overlooking the city of Gori 1200–1299 [11]
Gremi Kakheti region, 175 km (109 mi) from Tbilisi 1600–1699 [12]
Keselo Tusheti region, overlooking the village of Omalo 1230s
Khertvisi Fortress Meskheti region 1354
Mutso Khevsureti region, right bank of the Andakistskali river unknown
Narikala Tbilisi 300–399
Redoubt Kali 10 miles north of Poti 1807 [13]
Surami Fortress Surami 1170s
Tmogvi Left bank of the Kura river 800–899 [14]

References

Citations
  1. Rosen, p. 99.
  2. Noble & Kohn & Systermans, p. 113.
  3. Rosen, p. 100.
  4. Noble & Kohn & Systermans, pp. 115–118
  5. Kurtsikidze, Shorena and Chikovani, Vakhtang (2002), "Georgia's Pankisi Gorge: An Ethnographic Survey" Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Berkeley Program in Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies Working Paper Series, pp. 30–31.
  6. Rose, p. 101.
  7. Anonymous, p. 91.
  8. Noble & Kohn & Systermans, p. 120.
  9. Atskuri (2012)
  10. Thomson, Robert W. (1996), Rewriting Caucasian History. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-826373-2, p. 289.
  11. "Georgia", in Encyclopædia metropolitana; or, Universal dictionary of knowledge, ed. by E. Smedley, Hugh J. Rose and Henry J. Rose (1845), p. 532.
  12. Кавказский этнографический сборник – Том 6 – Страница 264 / Изд-во Академии наук СССР, 1976
  13. Wood (2007)
  14. Karapetian, Samvel (2011). Javakhk (PDF). Yerevan: Research on Armenian Architecture. pp. 192–204. ISBN 978-99941-875-7-7.

Bibliography
  • Anonymous (1223). History of the Five Reigns
  • Noble, John; Kohn, Michael; Systermans, Daniel. (2008). Georgia, Armenia & Azerbaijan. London, UK: Lonely Planet. ISBN 1-74104-477-4
  • Rosen, Roger (1999). Georgia: A Sovereign Country of the Caucasus. Hong Kong: Odyssey Publications. ISBN 962-217-748-4
  • Wood, James, ed. (1907). "Redoubt Kali" . The Nuttall Encyclopædia. London and New York: Frederick Warne.

Web sources
  • "Atskuri". Historical Monuments of Georgia. 2012. Archived from the original on June 19, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
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