Akhaltsikhe ( ka, ახალციხე ), formerly known as Lomsia ( ka, ლომსია), is a small city 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 southwestern region (''
mkhare
A ''mkhare'' ( ka, მხარე, ''mxare'') is a type of administrative division in the country of Georgia (country), Georgia. It is usually translated as "region".
According to presidential decrees in 1994 and 1996, Georgia's division into ...
'') of
Samtskhe–Javakheti
Samtskhe–Javakheti ( ka, სამცხე-ჯავახეთი, , ) is a region (mkhare) in southern Georgia with a population of 151.110 (2021) and an area of . The region has Akhaltsikhe as its administrative center, while Besik Amirana ...
. It is situated on both banks of a small river Potskhovi (a left tributary of the
Kura
Rúben de Almeida Barbeiro (born August 21, 1987 in Leiria), better known as KURA, is a Portuguese electro house music DJ and producer. Kura has released tracks through labels such as Hardwell's Revealed Recordings, Flashover Recordings, M ...
), which divides the city between the old city in the north and new in the south.
The 9th-century
Akhaltsikhe (Rabati) Castle, which was recently restored, is located in the old part of the city. It is one of the main attractions of the
Samtskhe-Javakheti region, along with
Vardzia
Vardzia ( ka, ვარძია ) is a cave monastery site in southern Georgia, excavated from the slopes of the Erusheti Mountain on the left bank of the Kura River, thirty kilometres from Aspindza. The main period of construction was the sec ...
,
Vale
A vale is a type of valley.
Vale may also refer to:
Places Georgia
* Vale, Georgia, a town in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region
Norway
* Våle, a historic municipality
Portugal
* Vale (Santa Maria da Feira), a former civil parish in the municipali ...
,
Okrostsikhe and
Zarzma.
Toponymy
Akhaltsikhe is the
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 ...
name of the town, which literally means "new fortress". It is attested in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
sources as ''Akhiskha'' (and ''Akhsikhath''), in
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
as ''Akhesqeh'' (also spelled as ''Akheshkheh''), and in
Turkish sources as ''Ahıska''.
History
![Akhaltsikhe (19th century)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Akhaltsikhe_%2819th_century%29.jpg)
The town is mentioned among the settlements conquered by general
Habib ibn Maslama al-Fihri
Ḥabīb ibn Maslama al-Fihrī ( ar, حبيب بن مسلمة الفهري; –) was an Arab general during the Early Muslim conquests, under Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan.
Life Origin and career under Umar
Born in Mecca , Habib was a member of the M ...
during the reign of
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
Caliph
Mu'awiya I
Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the deat ...
(661–680). During the
Mongol domination of Georgia, local rulers of the
House of Jaqeli
The House of Jaqeli ( ka, ჯაყელი) was a Georgian princely (''mtavari'') family and a ruling dynasty of the Principality of Samtskhe, an offshoot of the House of Chorchaneli.
History
"Jaqeli", literally meaning "of/from Jaqi", was ori ...
, who ruled the feudal principality of
Samtskhe-Saatabago
The Samtskhe-Saatabago or Samtskhe Atabegate ( ka, სამცხე-საათაბაგო), also called the Principality of Samtskhe (სამცხის სამთავრო), was a Georgian feudal principality in Zemo Kartli, ru ...
, were invested with the title of
atabeg
Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the title's use was wit ...
and were allowed to be autonomous. In contemporaneous Persian and Turkish sources, these Jaqeli rulers were referred to as ''Ḳurḳūra'', which derives from ''Qvarqvare''—the name of several Jaqeli rulers.
In 1579, during the
Ottoman-Safavid War (1578-1590), the
Ottomans
The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922).
Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
took the town. In the ensuing period, the Ottomans implanted Islam and Ottoman customs. From 1625 the town became the centre of the
Akhalzik Eyalet 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) ...
known as ''Ahıska'' and it held a resident Ottoman
pasha
Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, gener ...
. The town rose to strategic importance and became a foremost hub of the Caucasian slave market.
In 1828, during the
Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829, Russian troops under the command of
General Paskevich
Count Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich-Erevansky, Serene Prince of Warsaw (russian: Ива́н Фёдорович Паске́вич-Эриванский, светлейший князь Варшавский, tr. ; – ) was an Imperial Russian mi ...
captured the city and, as a consequence of the 1829
Treaty of Adrianople (Edirne), it was ceded to the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
. The city initially become part of the
Kutaisi Governorate
The Kutaisi or Kutais Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire. It roughly corresponded to most of western Georgia throughout most of its existence, and most of the Artvin Province (except th ...
, then 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 ...
, becoming the administrative centre of the
Akhaltsikhe uezd.
In the late 1980s the city was host to the
Soviet Army
uk, Радянська армія
, image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg
, alt =
, caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army
, start_date ...
's
10th Guards Motor Rifle Division, which became a
brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division.
Br ...
of the
Georgian land forces
The Georgian Land Forces ( ka, საქართველოს სახმელეთო ძალები) are the land force component of the Defense Forces of Georgia. They are the largest branch of the military and constitute the bulk o ...
after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Population
Climate
Archaeology
![Akhaltsikhe P1010757 (11464720006)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Akhaltsikhe_P1010757_%2811464720006%29.jpg)
The highland environment between Akhaltsikhe and
Aspindza presents a varied and complex array of archaeological features in different locations, elevations and topographies. This includes the alluvial flood-plain of the Kura River, and all the way to the high grasslands.
Human occupation is attested already in the
Early Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
(4th millennium BC) and later.
The Roman and medieval periods artifacts are also strongly represented in the area.
Amiranis Gora
On the northeastern outskirts of Akhaltsikhe is an important archaeological site of Amiranis Gora. It was excavated by Chubinishvili. The earliest carbon date for Amiranis Gora is 3790-3373 cal BC. It was obtained from the charcoal of the metallurgical workshop which belonged to the earliest building horizon of Amiranis Gora This indicates a division of the metallurgical production in the extractive and processing branches.
[THE BEGINNINGS OF METALLURGY](_blank)
Proceedings of the International Conference, Bochum 1995
Amiranis Gora is an important reference point for the study of the Early Bronze Age
Kura-Araxes culture, also known as the Early Transcaucasian Culture. The many references include the architecture, burial practices, material culture and metallurgy.
Amiranis Gora is one of the best sites with fixed stratigraphy of the Kura-Araxes culture. The carbon date for the Kura-Araxes material at Amiranis Gora is 3630-3048 cal B.C., which is very early.
People associated with Akhaltsikhe
*
Gregorio Pietro Agagianian
Gregorio Pietro XV Agagianian (; anglicized: ''Gregory Peter''; Western hy, Գրիգոր Պետրոս ԺԵ. Աղաճանեան, ''Krikor Bedros ŽĒ. Aghajanian''; born Ghazaros Aghajanian, 15 September 1895 – 16 May 1971) was an Armen ...
(1895–1971),
Patriarch of Cilicia and the
Armenian Catholic Church
, native_name_lang = hy
, image = St Elie - St Gregory Armenian Catholic Cathedral.jpg
, imagewidth = 260px
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Saint Elias and Saint Gregory the Illuminat ...
,
Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
, and first
Eastern Catholic
The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of t ...
papabile
''Papabile'' (, also , ; ; or "able to be pope") is an unofficial Italian term first coined by Vaticanologists and now used internationally in many languages to describe a Catholic man, in practice always a cardinal, who is thought a likely ...
since Cardinal
Bessarion
Bessarion ( el, Βησσαρίων; 2 January 1403 – 18 November 1472) was a Byzantine Greek Renaissance humanist, theologian, Catholic cardinal and one of the famed Greek scholars who contributed to the so-called great revival of letters ...
during the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
*
David Baazov
David Baazov ( ka, დავით ბააზოვი; 1883–1947) was a Georgian-Jewish public and religious figure who spearheaded the Zionist movement in Georgia. His program was an amalgam of moderate orthodox religiosity, enlightenment ...
, rabbi at Akhaltsikhe (1918)
*
Shio Batmanishvili
Shio Batmanishvili (in Georgian: შიო ბათმანიშვილი, born in 1885 in Akhaltsikhe, Tiflis Governorate, Russian Empire – November 1, 1937, Sandarmokh, Karelia, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic) was a Geo ...
,
Hieromonk
A hieromonk ( el, Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; ka, მღვდელმონაზონი, tr; Slavonic: ''Ieromonakh'', ro, Ieromonah), also called a priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church and E ...
of the
Servites of the Immaculate Conception There are a number of Roman Catholic religious orders or congregations with Immaculate Conception in their name. Several of them are discussed here.
Order of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady (The Conceptionists)
Founded in 1484 at Toled ...
, first
Exarch
An exarch (;
from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'', meaning “leader”) was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical.
In the late Roman Empire and ea ...
of the
Georgian Greek Catholic Church, and survivor of
Solovki prison camp.
Martyred
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
by the
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union.
...
during
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
's
Great Purge
The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Nikolay Yezhov, Yezhov'), was General ...
and buried in the mass grave at
Sandarmokh
Sandarmokh (russian: Сандармох; krl, Sandarmoh) is a forest massif from Medvezhyegorsk in the Republic of Karelia where possibly thousands of victims of Stalin's Great Terror were executed. More than 58 nationalities were shot and bur ...
in the
Republic of Karelia
The Republic of Karelia (russian: Респу́блика Каре́лия, Respublika Kareliya; ; krl, Karjalan tašavalta; ; fi, Karjalan tasavalta; vep, Karjalan Tazovaldkund, Ludic: ''Kard’alan tazavald''), also known as just Karelia (rus ...
.
*
Hovhannes Kajaznuni
Hovhannes Kajaznuni or Katchaznouni (; 14 February 1868 – 15 January 1938) was an Armenian architect and politician who served as the first Prime Minister of the First Republic of Armenia from June 6, 1918 to August 7, 1919. He was a member of ...
(1868–1938), first prime 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 ...
*
Ahmed-Pasha Khimshiashvili
Ahmed Bey, subsequently Ahmed Paşa (1781 – October 1836) was a Islam in Georgia (country), Muslim Georgians, Georgian nobleman of the Khimshiashvili clan from Adjara, which he ruled as an autonomous ruler (''bey'') under the Ottoman Empire afte ...
(?-1836),
Pasha
Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, gener ...
of Ahiska
*
Sergo Kobuladze
Sergo Kobuladze ( ka, სერგო ქობულაძე; February 7, 1909 – July 22, 1978) was a Soviet and Georgian painter and illustrator. He was a rector of the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts
The Tbilisi State Academy of Arts ( ka, ...
(1909–1978), painter and illustrator
*
Hakob Kojoyan
Hakob Kojoyan ( hy, Հակոբ Կոջոյան; December 13, 1883 – April 24, 1959) was an Armenian artist.
He mostly worked in the genres of painting and applied art. Hakob Kojoyan assisted Armenian architect Alexander Tamanian in creating the ...
(1883–1959), Soviet Armenian artist
*
Shalva Maglakelidze
Shalva Maglakelidze (also spelled as "Maghlakelidze"; ; 1893–1976) was a Georgian jurist, politician and military commander. A high-ranking official in briefly independent Georgia (1918–1921), he was one of the leaders of anti-Soviet moveme ...
, plenipotentiary for the Russian Provisional Government and then for the government of Georgia in Akhaltsikhe (1917–1918)
*
Stepan Malkhasyants
Stepanos Sargsi Malkhasiants ( hy, Ստեփան Սարգսի Մալխասյանց; – July 21, 1947) was an Armenian academician, philologist, linguist, and lexicographer. An expert in classical Armenian literature, Malkhasiants wrote the cr ...
, Armenian academician
*
Palavandishvili Palavandishvili ( ka, ფალავანდიშვილი) is a Georgian aristocratic family, known from the 12th/13th century and received among the princely nobility of Imperial Russia as Princes Palavandov (russian: Палавандов ...
family
*
Giorgi Mazniashvili
Giorgi Mazniashvili ( ka, გიორგი მაზნიაშვილი) (6 April 1870 – 16 December 1937) was a Georgian general and one of the most prominent military figures in the Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918–1921). Durin ...
, governor general of Akhaltsikhe (1919–1920)
*
Natela Svanidze
Natela Svanidze ( ka, ნათელა დამიანეს ასული სვანიძე, '; russian: Натела Дамиановна Сванидзе, '; 4 September 1926 – 17 November 2017) was a Georgian composer.
Biography
...
, Georgian composer
*
Michel Tamarati
Michel Tamarati, born Mikhail Tamarashvili ( ka, მიხეილ თამარაშვილი), (September 1858 – September 16, 1911) was a Georgian Roman Catholic priest and historian, known for his oft-cited French-language history of ...
(1858–1911), Georgian Catholic priest and historian
*
Vakhtang Tchutchunashvili Vakhtang Tchutchunashvili ( ka, ვახტანგ ჭუჭუნაშვილი) (died 1668) was a Georgia (country), Georgian nobleman who ruled the Kingdom of Imereti, crown of Imereti, western Georgia, in the years of 1660–1661 and 1668 ...
(?-1668), usurper of Imereti throne, fled to Ahiska after being deposed
*
Vakhtang V,
King of Kartli, fled to Ahiska after a coup failure
*
Lusine Zakaryan (1937–1991), Soviet Armenian soprano singer
International relations
Twin towns and sister cities
Akhaltsikhe is
twinned with:
*
Ardahan
Ardahan (, ka, არტაანი, tr, hy, Արդահան, translit=Ardahan Russian: Ардаган) is a city in northeastern Turkey, near the Georgian border.
It is the capital of Ardahan Province.
History
Ancient and medieval
Ardaha ...
,
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 ...
See also
*
Battle of Akhaltsikhe
The Battle of Akhaltsikhe may refer to one of the following:
*A battle under the walls of Akhaltsikhe during the Russo-Turkish War, 1828-1829 on August 9 (August 21 O.S., 1828) between 9,000 Russians under Field-Marshal Paskevich and 30,000 Turk ...
*
Samtskhe-Javakheti
References
{{Cities and towns in Georgia (country)
Cities and towns in Samtskhe–Javakheti
Tiflis Governorate
Kura-Araxes culture