Akhalkalaki ( ka, ახალქალაქი, tr; hy, Ախալքալաք / Նոր-Քաղաք, translit=Axalk’alak’ / Nor-K’aġak’) is a town in
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
's southern region of
Samtskhe–Javakheti and the administrative centre of the
Akhalkalaki Municipality. Akhalkalaki lies on the edge of the
Javakheti Plateau
Javalkheti Plateau ( ka, ჯავახეთის პლატო) is a volcanic plateau within the Caucasus Mountains that covers the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of Georgia, along the border with Turkey and Armenia. Its elevation is over 2,000 ...
. The city is located about from the border with
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
. The town's
recorded history
Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world hist ...
goes back to the 11th century. As of the 2014 Georgian census the town had a population of 8,295, with 93.8%
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
majority.
Etymology
The name Akhalkalaki, first recorded in the 11th-century
Georgian chronicle, means "a new town", from Georgian
">xɑli "new", and
">ʰɑlɑkʰi "city" or "town". The 19th-century ethnographic accounts have another Armenian name for the town, Nor-Kaghak, also meaning "a new town".
History
Akhalkalaki was founded by
Bagrat IV of Georgia
Bagrat IV ( ka, ბაგრატ IV; 101824 November 1072), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the King of Georgia from 1027 to 1072. During his long and eventful reign, Bagrat sought to repress the great nobility and to secure Georgia's sovereign ...
in 1064. In 1066, the city was destroyed during the
Seljuq Seljuk or Saljuq (سلجوق) may refer to:
* Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia
* Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities
* Seljuk (warlord) (d ...
invasions of the
Kingdom of Georgia
The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic ...
. In the 11th century, Akhalkalaki became one of the
political and economical centres of
Javakheti
Javakheti ( ka, ჯავახეთი ) or Javakhk ( hy, Ջավախք, ''Javakhk'') is a historical province in southern Georgia, corresponding to the modern municipalities of Akhalkalaki, Aspindza (partly), Ninotsminda, and partly to the Turk ...
. In the 16th century, the city came under the rule of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
and became a
sanjak
Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ)
* Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province")
* Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region")
* el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...
centre in
Çıldır Eyaleti. Under the Ottoman rule, the town was known as ''"Ahılkelek"''. The city was passed from the Ottomans to the
Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
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118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
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after the
Russo-Turkish War in 1828–1829. On January 4, 1900, an earthquake destroyed much of the town and killed 1,000 people in the area. The citizens predominantly dwelled in
dugouts till the 1920s. The city was the administrative center of the
Akhalkalaki uezd
The Akhalkalaki uezd was a county (''uezd'') of the Tiflis Governorate of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, and then of Democratic Republic of Georgia, with its administrative center in Akhalkalak (present-day Akhalkalaki).Brockhau ...
of the
Tiflis Governorate
The Tiflis Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire with its administrative center in Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi). In 1897, it constituted 44,607 sq. kilometres in area and had a population ...
. In May 1918, the town and its district were occupied by the
Ottoman army
The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire.
Army
The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...
until their withdrawal by the
Armistice of Mudros
Concluded on 30 October 1918 and taking effect at noon the next day, the Armistice of Mudros ( tr, Mondros Mütarekesi) ended hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I. It was signed by th ...
—the occupation resulted in the exodus of the local Armenian population which nearly perished due to starvation and disease.
Population
By the time of the region's annexation to the Russian Empire in 1829, the population was mainly Islamicized
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
s.
After the Russian takeover, most of the Muslim Georgians left the area for the Ottoman Empire, and in their place Christian Armenian refugees from
Erzurum
Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010.
The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...
and
Bayazid settled here.
Since then the city and the region of
Javakheti
Javakheti ( ka, ჯავახეთი ) or Javakhk ( hy, Ջավախք, ''Javakhk'') is a historical province in southern Georgia, corresponding to the modern municipalities of Akhalkalaki, Aspindza (partly), Ninotsminda, and partly to the Turk ...
has been largely populated by Armenians.
Climate
The climate of Akhalkalaki is moderately humid with relative cold dry winters and long cool summers. (''
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
:''
Dfb DFB may refer to:
* Deerfield Beach, Florida, a city
* Decafluorobutane, a fluorocarbon gas
* Dem Franchize Boyz, former hip hop group, Atlanta, Georgia
* Dfb, Köppen climate classification for Humid continental climate
* Distributed-feedback ...
)
Transport
The
crossroads village
In Colonial American history, a crossroads village is a settlement that was situated where two or more roads would intersect. The owners of farmland along a frequently traveled trail, path, or road, often paralleling a water route, would plan a ...
meets from south the streets from the border to
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
and Turkey, from north to
Borjomi
Borjomi ( ka, ბორჯომი) is a resort town in south-central Georgia, 160 km from Tbilisi, with a population of 11,122 (2021). It is one of the municipalities of the Samtskhe–Javakheti region and is situated in the northwestern ...
–
Gori and east–west from
Batumi
Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of th ...
to Tiflis south of the
Lesser Caucasus
The Lesser Caucasus, also called Caucasus Minor, is the second of the two main mountain ranges of Caucasus mountains, of length about . The western portion of the Lesser Caucasus overlaps and converges with east Turkey and northwest Iran.
It runs ...
.
A long
railway line
Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...
was constructed between 1982 and 1986 in three parts. The
junction
Junction may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film
* Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film
* Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille
* Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002
* Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...
from the line
Tbilisi–Yerevan is in
Marabda
Marabda ( ka, მარაბდა) is a community in Georgia, located some 23 km south of the capital Tbilisi, and a few kilometers north of Marneuli. It consists of three villages Akhali Marabda, Kotishi and Dzveli Marabda. According to the ...
.
In April 2005, an agreement was signed to build a new
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
connecting
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
with
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
and
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
, passing nearby Akhalkalaki. This would bypass an existing line through
Gyumri
Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...
in
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
which has been closed by Turkey, blockading
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
, for political reasons since the 1990s.
The railway
''The Railway'', widely known as ''Gare Saint-Lazare'', is an 1873 painting by Édouard Manet. It is the last painting by Manet of his favourite model, the fellow painter Victorine Meurent, who was also the model for his earlier works '' Olympia ...
became operational on October 30, 2017. It is here where the
break-of-gauge
With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot ...
is.
In compound with the military base was constructed an
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
br>
With military dismantling it was closed.
Bases
The city was home to the
Soviet Union, Soviet-era 147th Motor Rifle Division (part of the
9th Army of the
Transcaucasian Military District
The Transcaucasian Military District, a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, traces its history to May 1921 and the incorporation of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia into the Soviet Union. It was disbanded by being redesignated as a Grou ...
) up until the early 1990s. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Division became the Russian 62nd Military Base. It was officially transferred, according to the
Sochi agreement The Sochi agreement (also known as the ''Dagomys Agreements'' (russian: Дагомысские соглашения), official name in Russian: «Cоглашение о принципах мирного урегулирования грузино-о ...
, to Georgia on June 27, 2007.
On September 19, 2020, a new
basic combat training center was opened on the site of the former base in Akhalkalaki. The center is designed to accommodate and train up to 800 military personnel and conscripts.
Notable people
*
Derenik Demirchian
Derenik Karapeti Demirchian ( hy, Դերենիկ Կարապետի Դեմիրճյան) was a Soviet and Armenian writer, novelist, poet, translator and playwright.
Biography
Demirchian was born on February 18, 1877, in Akhalkalaki in what is no ...
, Armenian writer
*
Jivani
Jivani ( hy, Ջիվանի, 1846–1909), born Serob Stepani Levonian ( hy, Սերոբ Ստեփանի Լևոնյան; also known as Serovbe Stepani Benkoyan, hy, Սերովբե Ստեփանի Բենկոյան), was an Armenian ''Ashik, ashugh ...
, Armenian
bard
In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...
*
Harutyun Khachatryan, Armenian film director
*
Ruben Ter-Minasian, Defense Minister of the
First Republic of Armenia
The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետութիւն), was the first modern Armenian state since the loss of Armenian statehood in the Middle ...
*
Hamo Ohanjanyan
Hamazasp "Hamo" Ohanjanyan (; 1873 – 31 July 1947) was an Armenian doctor, revolutionary, and politician of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF/Dashnaktsutiun). He served as the third Prime Minister of the First Republic of Armenia from ...
, the third Prime Minister of the First Republic of Armenia
*
Aik Mnatsakanian
Aik Mnatsakanian ( hy, Հայկ Մնացականյան; bg, Айк Мнацаканян; born 14 October 1995) is a Georgian-born Bulgarian sport wrestler of Armenian descent who competes in the men's Greco Roman category. He has claimed two b ...
, Armenian wrestler representing Bulgaria
*
Hakob Hakobyan, professional football player
*
Arman Tsarukyan
Arman Nairovich Tsarukyan (; born October 11, 1996) is a Georgia-born Armenian and Russian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of January 17, 2023, ...
, Armenian mixed martial artist
See also
*
Samtskhe–Javakheti
References
External links
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Samtskhe–Javakheti
Tiflis Governorate
Armenian diaspora communities