List of fortifications in Georgia (country)

Ananuri2007 — View from the tower at Ananuri

There are two known castles and 13 known forts in Georgia, which were constructed between the years 800 and 1700 by various provincial kings. The castles and forts have long been abandoned, but most are still standing, and are preserved by the United Nations.^[1]^[2]

The earliest castle in Georgia was the Ananuri castle, which was built in the period from 1200–1249. The Ananuri castle consisted of two castles with a big curtain wall surrounding it. It was the seat of the dukes of the Duchy of Aragvi, which was one of multiple feudal dynasties during the period.^[3]

The last castle to be built in Georgia was the Rabati Castle, which was built between 1250 and 1299. The original town was built from 700–800, with the castle being built in the 1260s. From the 1260s to the 1340s the castle and the surrounding town was the capital city of the province of Samtskhe-Saatabago, which was ruled by the House of Jaqeli.^[4]

The 13 forts of Georgia lie in varying states of ruin. The oldest was built in the 9th century, while some were built as late as the 17th century. While many still stand, most have been heavily damaged by various causes.^[5]

Castles[]

Castles in Georgia
Castle name	Location	Time built	Notes	Reference
Ananuri	On the Aragvi river, 72 km (45 mi) from Tbilisi	1200–1249		^[6]
Rabati Castle	At the town of Akhaltsikhe, Georgia	1250–1300	Originally called Lomisa Castle before the Ottoman conquest.^[7]	^[8]

Forts and fortresses[]

Forts and fortresses in Georgia
Fort name	Location	Time built	Notes	Reference
Atskuri Fortress	30 km (19 mi) from Borjomi	900–999		^[9]
Bakhtrioni	Kakheti region, left bank of the Alazani river	1650s		^[5]
Birtvisi	Tetritsqaro Municipality	1038		^[10]
Gagi Fortress	near the town of Marneuli	unknown		^[11]
Gori Fortress	Overlooking the city of Gori	1200–1299		^[12]
Gremi	Kakheti region, 175 km (109 mi) from Tbilisi	1600–1699		^[13]
Keselo	Tusheti region, overlooking the village of Omalo	1230s		^[14]
Khertvisi	Meskheti region	1354		^[15]
Mutso	Khevsureti region, right bank of the Andakistskali river	unknown		^[16]
Narikala	Tbilisi	300–399		^[17]
Redoubt Kali	10 miles north of Poti	1807		^[18]
Surami Fortress	Surami	1170s		^[19]
Tmogvi	Left bank of the Kura river	800–899		^[20]

References[]

Citations[]

↑ Rosen, p. 99.
↑ Noble & Kohn & Systermans, p. 113.
↑ Rosen, p. 100.
↑ Noble & Kohn & Systermans, pp. 115–118
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 Kurtsikidze, Shorena and Chikovani, Vakhtang (2002), "Georgia's Pankisi Gorge: An Ethnographic Survey". Berkeley Program in Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies Working Paper Series, pp. 30–31.
↑ Rose, p. 101.
↑ Anonymous, p. 91.
↑ Noble & Kohn & Systermans, p. 120.
↑ Atskuri (2012)
↑ Thomson, Robert W. (1996), Rewriting Caucasian History. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-826373-2, p. 289.
↑ LLC Books, p. 57.
↑ "Georgia", in Encyclopædia metropolitana; or, Universal dictionary of knowledge, ed. by E. Smedley, Hugh J. Rose and Henry J. Rose (1845), p. 532.
↑ Кавказский этнографический сборник - Том 6 - Страница 264 / Изд-во Академии наук СССР, 1976
↑ LLC Books (2010). Castles and Forts in Georgia: Surami, Anaklia, Gremi, Ananuri, Goris-Tsikhe, Keselo, Khertvisi, Narikala, Redoubt Kali, Aghjakala. General Books LLC. pp. 113–133. ISBN 978-1-157-08482-2.
↑ LLC Books, pp. 140–170
↑ LLC Books, p. 9.
↑ LLC Books, pp. 50–70
↑ Wood (2007)
↑ LLC Books, pp. 180–200.
↑ Karapetian, Samvel (2011). Javakhk. Yerevan: Research on Armenian Architecture. pp. 192–204. ISBN 978-99941-875-7-7. http://www.raa-am.com/Book_9Eng/amboxg_poqr.pdf.

Bibliography[]

Anonymous (1223). History of the Five Reigns
Noble, John; Kohn, Michael; Systermans, Daniel. (2008). Georgia, Armenia & Azerbaijan. London, UK: Lonely Planet. ISBN 1-74104-477-4
Rosen, Roger (1999). Georgia: A Sovereign Country of the Caucasus. Hong Kong: Odyssey Publications. ISBN 962-217-748-4
Wood, James, ed (1907). "Redoubt Kali". The Nuttall Encyclopædia. London and New York: Frederick Warne.

Web sources[]

"Atskuri". Historical Monuments of Georgia. 2012. http://dzeglebi.com/view.php?id=46. Retrieved 18 June 2015.

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at List of fortifications in Georgia (country) and the edit history here.

[1] Rosen, p. 99.

[2] Noble & Kohn & Systermans, p. 113.

[3] Rosen, p. 100.

[4] Noble & Kohn & Systermans, pp. 115–118

[Pankisi-5] 5.0 ^5.1 Kurtsikidze, Shorena and Chikovani, Vakhtang (2002), "Georgia's Pankisi Gorge: An Ethnographic Survey". Berkeley Program in Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies Working Paper Series, pp. 30–31.

[6] Rose, p. 101.

[7] Anonymous, p. 91.

[8] Noble & Kohn & Systermans, p. 120.

[9] Atskuri (2012)

[Thomson-10] Thomson, Robert W. (1996), Rewriting Caucasian History. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-826373-2, p. 289.

[11] LLC Books, p. 57.

[metropolitana-12] "Georgia", in Encyclopædia metropolitana; or, Universal dictionary of knowledge, ed. by E. Smedley, Hugh J. Rose and Henry J. Rose (1845), p. 532.

[13] Кавказский этнографический сборник - Том 6 - Страница 264 / Изд-во Академии наук СССР, 1976

[Castles-14] LLC Books (2010). Castles and Forts in Georgia: Surami, Anaklia, Gremi, Ananuri, Goris-Tsikhe, Keselo, Khertvisi, Narikala, Redoubt Kali, Aghjakala. General Books LLC. pp. 113–133. ISBN 978-1-157-08482-2.

[15] LLC Books, pp. 140–170

[16] LLC Books, p. 9.

[17] LLC Books, pp. 50–70

[18] Wood (2007)

[19] LLC Books, pp. 180–200.

[20] Karapetian, Samvel (2011). Javakhk. Yerevan: Research on Armenian Architecture. pp. 192–204. ISBN 978-99941-875-7-7. http://www.raa-am.com/Book_9Eng/amboxg_poqr.pdf.

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