Tmogvi or Tmkaberd ( ka, თმოგვი ; hy, Թմկաբերդ) is a ruined fortress and medieval town in the southern
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 ...
region of
Samtskhe-Javakheti, on the left bank of the
Kura River, a few kilometers downstream of the cave city of
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 se ...
.
History
The name "Tmogvi" is derived from
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 ...
word ''mogvi'' (მოგვი), meaning "pagan priest" or "
magus
Magi (; singular magus ; from Latin '' magus'', cf. fa, مغ ) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius th ...
". The fortress is first mentioned in sources from the 9th century. It was built as a defensive work controlling the ancient trade route between 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 ...
and the gorge of Kura, over a gorge formed by the Kura River. It was a crucial military stronghold in 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 ...
. The feudal lords of the region were at that time the
Bagratids, 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 ...
branch. The Georgian chronicles report numerous attempts to take the castle over, but they were rarely successful.
Tmogvi gained importance after the neighboring town and fortress of Tsunda was ruined around 900 AD. In 914
Yusuf ibn Abi'l-Saj approached Tmogvi, but retreated without an attempt to capture it. This was the first mention of the fortress in the chronicles. By the beginning of the 11th century, the fortress had passed under the direct control of the unified
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 ...
. The second mention is connected with this period, when the country was ruled by
Bagrat III. The king imprisoned two rulers of the duchy of
Klarjeti
Klarjeti ( ka, კლარჯეთი ) was a province of ancient and medieval Georgia, which is now part of Turkey's Artvin Province. Klarjeti, the neighboring province of Tao and several other smaller districts, constituted a larger region wi ...
,
Sumbat III and his brother
Gurgen, in the fortress.
In 1073, it was given in apanage to the nobleman Niania Kuabulisdze; his descendants kept it in the following centuries, before it passed to other major feudal families such as the
Toreli, the
Tmogveli, the
Shalikashvili
The Shalikashvili ( ka, შალიკაშვილი, ) is a Georgian noble family, originally from Samtskhe in southwest Georgia. With several notable members from the 16th century to the 20th, their descendants have survived in the United ...
or the
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 o ...
. In 1088, the fortress collapsed in the first devastating
earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...
, when its ruler Kakhaber and his wife both died. In 1191, the fortress was gifted to Sargis-Mkhargrdzeli 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 ...
. Mkhargrdzeli ruled in Tmogvi for a century. The most famous among them,
Sargis Tmogveli was also a writer and poet, and philosopher. The town was restored and blossomed, after it was destroyed again in the second earthquake of 1283.
The third earthquake of 1319 destroyed Tmogvi again. It was restored during the rule of
Murvan Katkhaidze by architect Theodor. The medieval Georgian writer Sargis Tmogveli was from Tmogvi.
Shalikashvili
The Shalikashvili ( ka, შალიკაშვილი, ) is a Georgian noble family, originally from Samtskhe in southwest Georgia. With several notable members from the 16th century to the 20th, their descendants have survived in the United ...
family were the last rulers of the fortress in the 16th century.
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) ...
gained control of the fortress in 1578. In 1829, the
Treaty of Adrianople transferred the fortress, among with the surrounding region, 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. ...
.
Architecture
The castle of Tmogvi was built in picturesque surroundings, on top of a poorly accessible mountain high above the Kura River. It is protected by from two sides by the river and from another from sides by deep gorges. Access to the castle is via narrow passages, protected by the walls. The castle expands over 3 hills, joined and encircled by a wall (150 meters long, 3 meters wide), which supplements the natural defense offered by the cliffs. A number of towers was built on each hill. A secret tunnel connects the castle with the river to provide access to water even during a siege. Within the walls two reservoirs accumulated water. The western part of the fortress is better preserved. A small number of buildings subsist inside the castle itself. A quadrangular building made of
tuff
Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock ...
on a
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...
foundation is assumed to have been a church. Outside of the walls, on the western side, the church of Saint Ephrem subsists in ruined condition, with fragments of frescoes from the 13th century. Ruins of the town are spread far from the southeastern walls along the slope.
In tradition, art and literature
In 1902, Armenia's national poet
Hovhannes Tumanyan
Hovhannes Tumanyan ( hy, Հովհաննես Թումանյան, classical spelling: Յովհաննէս Թումանեան, – March 23, 1923) was an Armenian poet, writer, translator, and literary and public activist. He is the nationa ...
wrote one of his most famous poems, titled ''The Capture of Tmkaberd'' (Թմկաբերդի առումը).
Произведение О. Туманяна "Взятие крепости Тмук"
/ref>.
Based on Tumanyan's work, Russian poet Sophia Parnok wrote libretto "The Siege of Tmbka Castle" («Взятие Тмкаберда»). Soviet-Armenian composer Alexander Spendiaryan
Alexander Afanasyevich Spendiarov (Spendiaryan) (russian: Александр Афанасьевич Спендиаров, hy, Ալեքսանդր Ստեփանոսի Սպենդիարյան, November 1, 1871, Kakhovka, Russian Empire – May 7 ...
used the libretto to create his famous "Almast" opera in 1928.
According to oral Armenian tradition collected by a scientific expedition, the castle once belonged to an Armenian Duke, who successfully repelled the attempts of invaders to storm the castle. But a Persian shah seduced his wife and took the castle by cunning. After poisoning her husband and making his army drunk, the Duke's wife opened the castle gates for the enemy. After taking the castle the Persians perpetrated a brutal reprisal against its defenders and residents of nearby villages.
See also
*Tsunda
Tsunda ( ka, წუნდა) is an ancient city, administrative and religious center of the historical province Javakheti in Georgia. The city is mentioned in the chronicles. Tsunda served as the summer residence of kings and was the seat of the ...
References
Notes
Sources
*Berdzenishvili D., Sagharadze Sh., Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia
The ''Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia'' ( ka, ქართული საბჭოთა ენციკლოპედია, ქსე) is the first universal encyclopedia in the Georgian language, printed in Tbilisi from 1965, the editor in chi ...
, volume 4, p. 688, Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...
, 1979 (in Georgian)
*{{cite book, last=Karapetian, first=Samvel, title=Javakhk, year=2011, publisher=Research on Armenian Architecture
Research on Armenian Architecture (RAA) is a non-governmental organisation NGO (Foundation since 2010) established in Aachen, Germany, in 1982 by Dr. Armen Hakhnazarian. Long before its official creation, RAA interests and activities have been ca ...
, location=Yerevan, isbn=978-99941-875-7-7, pages=192–204, url=http://www.raa-am.com/Book_9Eng/amboxg_poqr.pdf, author-link=Samvel Karapetyan (author)
Castles and forts in Georgia (country)
Buildings and structures in Samtskhe–Javakheti
Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance of Georgia