Mtiuleti ( ka, მთიულეთი; literally, "the land of mountains") is a historical province in
eastern Georgia, on the southern slopes of the
Greater Caucasus Mountains. It primarily comprises the White Aragvi Valley, and is bordered by
Gudamakari on the east,
Khando
Khando (russian: links=no, Хандо) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a Village#Russia, selo) in Chankovsky Selsoviet, Botlikhsky District, Republic of Dagestan, Russia. The population was 33 as of 2010.
Geography
...
on the south,
Tskhrazma on the west, and
Khevi on the north. Mtiuleti occupies parts of modern-day districts of
Dusheti and
Kazbegi
Stepantsminda ( ka, სტეფანწმინდა; formerly Kazbegi, ), is a townlet in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region of north-eastern Georgia. Historically and ethnographically, the town is part of the Khevi province. It is the center of ...
,
Mtskheta-Mtianeti
Mtskheta-Mtianeti ( ka, მცხეთა-მთიანეთი, literally "Mtskheta-Mountain Area") is a region (Mkhare) in eastern Georgia comprising the town of Mtskheta, which serves as a regional capital, together with its district and t ...
region (''
mkhare''). A
townlet
Urban-type settlementrussian: посёлок городско́го ти́па, translit=posyolok gorodskogo tipa, abbreviated: russian: п.г.т., translit=p.g.t.; ua, селище міського типу, translit=selyshche mis'koho typu, ab ...
(''daba'')
Pasanauri, famous for its
khinkali, is a traditional center of the region.
In its original and narrower sense, Mtiuleti comprises a small historic mountainous community called Tskhavati. Since the 13th century, the neighboring valleys of
Khado and
Gudamakari have also been frequently viewed as parts of Mtiuleti.
According to a historic tradition,
St. Nino
Saint Nino ( ka, წმინდა ნინო, tr; hy, Սուրբ Նունե, Surb Nune; el, Αγία Νίνα, Agía Nína; sometimes ''St. Nune'' or ''St. Ninny'') ''Equal to the Apostles and the Enlightener of Georgia'' (c. 296 – c. 33 ...
, a female baptizer of
Georgians
The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, G ...
, preached
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
here in the early 4th century. We next hear of Mtiuleti and its people in connection with the Georgian campaign by the
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
commander
Bugha al-Kabir
Bugha al-Kabir (), also known as Bugha al-Turki (), was a 9th-century Khazar general who served the Abbasid Caliphate.
He was of Khazar origin, and was acquired along with his sons as a military slave (''ghulam'') by al-Mu'tasim in 819/820.Gordo ...
, whose army assaulted the mountains of
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
/
Kartli in the 850s, but failed to force the Mtiuletians into submission. In the subsequent centuries, the Mtiuletians remained loyal subjects to the Georgian crown and joined the expedition sent by
Queen Tamar
Tamar the Great ( ka, თამარ მეფე, tr, lit. "King Tamar") ( 1160 – 18 January 1213) reigned as the Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, presiding over the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. A member of the Bagrationi dynasty ...
to subdue the rebellious mountainous clans in the early 13th century. Under Tamar, due its strategic location, Mtiuleti was placed under the administration of high-ranking Georgian officials such as Abulasan, a viceroy of Kartli, and Tchiaber, a chancellor of
Georgia. Later, in the early 14th century, Mtiuleti was contested between two powerful feudal houses, the
eristavi
''Eristavi'' (; literally, "head of the nation") was a Georgian feudal office, roughly equivalent to the Byzantine ''strategos'' and normally translated into English as "prince" or less commonly as "duke". In the Georgian aristocratic hierarchy, i ...
s of the
Ksani
The Ksani (, , ''Ĉysandon'') is a river in central Georgia, which rises on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range in South Ossetia and flows into the Kura (''Mtkvari''). It is long, and has a drainage basin of . and the
Aragvi. Initially supported by the kings of Georgia, the former prevailed, but for a short time. Eventual winners, the eristavs of Aragvi, ruled the area until being dispossessed by the king of Georgia in 1743. From May to September 1804, Mtiuleti was a scene of
an uneasy revolt against
Imperial Russia
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, 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 th ...
, which had annexed eastern Georgia in 1801. The uprising quickly spread to the neighboring mountainous regions, but was eventually suppressed by the Russian commander
Pavel Tsitsianov after heavy fighting.
References
* Dj. Gvasalia, "Mtiuleti." In: ''Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia'', Vol. 6, p. 673.
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 ...
: 1983. (in Georgian)
* Kurtsikidze, Shorena & Chikovani, Vakhtang, ''Ethnography and Folklore of the Georgia-Chechnya Border: Images, Customs, Myths & Folk Tales of the Peripheries,'' Munich: Lincom Europa, 2008
Mtiuleti ''Georgian Tourism and Recreation Information System''. Accessed on December 11, 2006.
{{coord, 42, 21, 07, N, 44, 41, 10, E, type:adm1st_source:kolossus-itwiki, display=title
Former provinces of Georgia (country)
Historical regions of Georgia (country)