Marneuli ( ka, მარნეული , ) is a city in the

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

region of southern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and administrative center of Marneuli Municipality that borders neighboring

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

and

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

Toponymy

According to Georgian sources, the name ' is of Georgian origin and some have attested the name to "'" ( ka, მარანი), the Georgian word "

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

". The name used by the

Azerbaijanis Azerbaijanis (; , ), Azeris (, ), or Azerbaijani Turks (, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group living mainly in the Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan region of northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. They are predomin ...

to refer to the city, ', The word was borrowed from Persian ' (), meaning "the keeper of camels".

Population

According to the 2014 Georgian census the population of the city was 20,211. The city is predominantly populated by Georgian Azerbaijanis (83,1%). As of January 1, 2023, the population was 24,928.

History

Marneuli is the center of the Marneuli Municipality of

. By the decree of the

Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Georgia, the Georgian SSR, or simply Georgia, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union from its second occupation (by the Red Army) in 1921 to its independence in 1991. Cotermin ...

of March 18, 1947, the village of Borchalo was renamed into Marneuli. It received the status of a city in 1964. On July 1, 1625, north of Marneuli near the Algeti River on the Marabda field, a major battle of Georgian troops with the Safavid conquerors took place, the Georgian army under the command of Giorgi Saakadze at first almost defeated the Iranian army of

Isa Khan Isa Khan (Middle Bengali: , 17 April 153629 August 1599) was one of 16th-century Baro-Bhuyan chieftains of Bengal. During his reign, he successfully unified the chieftains of Bengal and resisted the Mughal invasion of Bengal. It was only afte ...

, but then it was still defeated and the Iranians entered

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

. On December 19, 1918, a battle of the Georgian-Armenian War took place near the Khrami River (8 kilometers south of the regional center). As a result of the armistice established on January 1 at the insistence of the British army, which occupied the location of the German army in the region (after the latter was defeated in the First World War), the city remained in the Georgian-Armenian neutral zone, and was subsequently incorporated into

. In 1921, Marneuli again became the center of military operations - units of the Soviet 11th Army marched through it in

during the Soviet-Georgian war. On August 8, 2008, during the

Russo-Georgian War The August 2008 Russo-Georgian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Georgia,Occasionally, the war is also referred to by other names, such as the Five-Day War and August War. was a war waged against Georgia by the Russian Federation and the ...

, Russian planes bombed the city's airfield, as a result of which 3 people died and the airfield's runway was destroyed.

Culture

There is one university branch (

Tbilisi State University Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილის სახელობის თბილისის სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი, tr; often shorten ...

) and one university opened in 2008 (Heydar Aliyev Georgia-Azerbaijan Humanitarian University) in Marneuli. Heydar Aliyev University opens in Marneuli, Nov 2008

References

External links