Birtvisi ( ka, ბირთვისი) is a ruined medieval fortress in

Kvemo Kartli Kvemo Kartli ( ka, ქვემო ქართლი, az, Aşağı Kartli) or "Lower Kartli", is a historic province and current administrative region (mkhare) in southeastern Georgia. The city of Rustavi is the regional capital. Location Kvem ...

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 ...

, nested within limestone cliffs in the

Algeti river The Algeti ( ka, ალგეთი) is a river in Kvemo Kartli, Georgia, spanning the municipalities of Tetritsqaro and Marneuli. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . Originating at Mount Kldekari, it flows into the deep rocky valley and t ...

gorge. It is now within the boundaries of the

Tetritsqaro Municipality Tetritskaro ( ka, თეთრიწყაროს მუნიციპალიტეტი, ''Tetrićqaros Municiṕaliťeťi'') is a district of Georgia, in the region of Kvemo Kartli. Its main town is Tetritskaro. Tetritskaro municipality is ...

, adjacent to the

Algeti National Park The Algeti National Park ( ka, ალგეთის ეროვნული პარკი, ''algetis erovnuli parki'') is a protected area in Georgia, in the southeast of the country.

, south-west of the nation's capital

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

.Protected Areas: Algeti National Park
. Agency of Protected Areas of Georgia. Accessed June 18, 2011.

Ruins

Birtvisi is essentially a natural rocky fortress of 1 km², secured by walls and towers, the most prominent of which – known as Sheupovari ("Obstinate") – tops the tallest rock in the area. Various accessory structures, an aqueduct included, have also survived. ზაქარაია პ. საქართველოს ციხე-ქალაქები, ციხესიმაგრეები, ციხე-დარბაზები, ციხე-გალავნები, კოშკები.-თბ.,2001.-გვ.86-88.

History

In written sources, Birtvisi is first mentioned as a possession of the Arab amir of Tiflis of which he was divested by the Georgian nobles Liparit, Duke of Kldekari and

Ivane Abazasdze Ivane Abazasdze ( ka, იოანე აბაზასძე) was an 11th-century Georgian nobleman of the Abazasdze family, who functioned as an ''eristavi'' ("duke") of Kartli under King Bagrat IV of Georgia (r. 1027-1072). During King Bagrat ...

in 1038. Thomson, Robert W. (1996), ''Rewriting Caucasian History'', p. 289.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, In medieval Georgia, Birtvisi entertained a reputation of an impregnable stronghold whose master could control the entire strategic Algeti gorge. The

Turco-Mongol The Turco-Mongol or Turko-Mongol tradition was an ethnocultural synthesis that arose in Asia during the 14th century, among the ruling elites of the Golden Horde and the Chagatai Khanate. The ruling Mongol elites of these Khanates eventually ...

amir

Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...

notably reduced the fortress during one of his invasions of Georgia in 1403. Allen, William Edward David (1932), ''A History of the Georgian People: From the Beginning Down to the Russian Conquest in the Nineteenth Century'', p. 125. Taylor & Francis After the partition 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 ...

later in the 15th century, Birtvisi was within the borders of the

Kingdom of Kartli The Kingdom of Kartli ( ka, ქართლის სამეფო, tr) was a late medieval/ early modern monarchy in eastern Georgia, centred on the province of Kartli, with its capital at Tbilisi. It emerged in the process of a triparti ...

and in possession of the princes

Baratashvili Baratashvili ( ka, ბარათაშვილი) is a Georgian noble family, appearing at the end of the 15th century as a continuation of the Kachibadze (ქაჩიბაძე), which were possibly related to the Liparitids-Orbeli. The s ...

. ბირთვისის ციხე
/ref> Birtvisi Fortress is not studied archeologically. ბირთვისი
/ref>

References

{{Reflist Castles and forts in Georgia (country) Buildings and structures in Kvemo Kartli Ruins in Georgia (country)

Ruins

History

See also

References