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50-472: In 1995, the Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda districts, comprising the historical territory of Javakheti, were merged with the neighboring land of Samtskhe to form a new administrative region, Samtskhe–Javakheti . As of January 2020, the total population of Samtskhe–Javakheti is 152,100 individuals. Armenians comprise the majority of Javakheti's population. According to the 2014 Georgian census, 93% (41,870) of

100-657: A successor state of Lazica ( Egrisi, in Georgian sources), this new polity continued to be referred to as Egrisi (Lazica) in some contemporary Georgian (e.g., The Vitae of the Georgian Kings by Leonti Mroveli ) and Armenian (e.g., The History of Armenia by Hovannes Draskhanakertsi ) chronicles. The successful defense against the Arabs, and new territorial gains, gave the Abkhazian princes enough power to claim more autonomy from

150-782: A number of Doukhobors , a spiritual Christian sect from Russia. In the early 20th century, a large number of Armenian refugees from the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire , and Doukhobor sect members of Russian Empire , settled the region. An 1886 report found 63,799 people living in Javakheti, of which 46,384 were Armenians (72.7%), 6,674 Russians (10.5%), 6,091 Turks (9.5%), and 3,741 Georgians (5.9%). The Russian Empire Census of 1897 found 72,709 people in Javakheti, of which 52,539 were Armenians (72.3%), 6,868 were Turks (9.4%), 6,448 were Georgians, and 5,155 were Russians (7.1%). By 1916,

200-550: A significant portion of Kartli, bringing his borders close to the Arab-controlled Tbilisi . For a brief period of time, Kakheti and Hereti in eastern Georgia also recognized the Abkhazian suzerainty. Constantine III also tried to extend his influence over Alania by supporting their Christianization . Under his son, George II ( c. 923 – 957), the Abkhazian Kingdom reached a climax of power and prestige. George

250-681: Is here where the break-of-gauge is. In compound with the military base was constructed an airport . [1] With military dismantling it was closed. The city was home to the Soviet -era 147th Motor Rifle Division (part of the 9th Army of the Transcaucasian Military District ) up until the early 1990s. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Division became the Russian 62nd Military Base. It

300-473: Is moderately humid with relative cold dry winters and long cool summers. ( Köppen : Dfb ) The crossroads village meets from south the streets from the border to Armenia and Turkey, from north to Borjomi – Gori and east–west from Batumi to Tiflis south of the Lesser Caucasus . A 160 kilometres (99 mi) long railway line was constructed between 1982 and 1986 in three parts. The junction from

350-523: The thema of Chaldia to the mouth of the river Nicopsis , with the Caucasus behind it. Abkhazia was a princedom under Byzantine authority. It lay chiefly along the Black Sea coast in what is now the northwestern part of the modern-day Georgia (disputed Republic of Abkhazia ) and extended northward into the territory of today's Krasnodar Krai of Russia . It had Anacopia as its capital. Abkhazia

400-617: The Byzantine Empire . Towards circa 778, Leon II won his full independence with the help of the Khazars ; he assumed the title of " King of the Abkhazians " and transferred his capital to the western Georgian city of Kutaisi . According to Georgian annals, Leon subdivided his kingdom into eight duchies: Abkhazia proper, Tskhumi , Bedia , Guria , Racha and Takveri , Svaneti , Argveti , and Kutatisi . During his reign Abkhazian kingdom

450-565: The Doukhobor community have left for Russia. Also, Ecological migrants from Adjara live there. Between 2006 and 2011, 220km of the highway from Kvemo Kartli to Samtskhe-Javakheti was improved as part of a program of the US Millennium Challenge Account to more effectively link the region with the rest of Georgia. In more recent years, a railway line has been constructed to run between Kars , Turkey to Baku , Azerbaijan via

500-807: The House of Jaqeli . In the 1587, the region, along with the entirety of the Principality, was occupied by the Ottoman Empire becoming the Childir Eyalet . The area's population was devastated by the Turco-Mongol incursions. In 1484, Yaqub bin Uzun Hasan of the Aq Qoyunlu devastated the principality. Islam began to spread in the area among both Georgians and Armenians. As the Georgian Church began to lose influence in

550-604: The Kouropalatate of Iberia . Rulers of Tao-Klarjeti fought the Arabs from this region, and gradually incorporated surrounding lands of Samtskhe and Javakheti, along with a few other lands, into its territory. 10th century Armenian historian, Ukhtanes , wrote about the family tree of Kyrion, the Catholicos of Iberia. The literal translation of this text is as follows: Kyrion “came from the Iberians in terms of country and lineage, from

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600-775: The Seljuk Turks conquered the area and ruled over the area until 1118 when the David the Builder liberated the area from the Turks. It then became part of the Principality of Armenia ruled by the Zakarian family, as a vassal state of the Kingdom of Georgia . In 1245, Javakhketi came under the control of the Toreli feudal family. In 1268, Javakheti was annexed by the principality of Samtskhe-Saatabago , ruled by

650-645: The 11th century, Akhalkalaki became one of the political and economical centres of Javakheti . In the 16th century, the city came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire and became a sanjak centre in Çıldır Eyaleti . Under the Ottoman rule, the town was known as "Ahılkelek" . The city was passed from the Ottomans to the Russians after the Russo-Turkish War in 1828–1829 . On January 4, 1900, an earthquake destroyed much of

700-452: The 11th-century Georgian chronicle , means "a new town", from Georgian [ɑxɑli] , "new", and [kʰɑlɑkʰi] , "city" or "town". The 19th-century ethnographic accounts have another Armenian name for the town, Nor-Kaghak, also meaning "a new town". Akhalkalaki was founded by Bagrat IV of Georgia in 1064. In 1066, the city was destroyed during the Seljuq invasions of the Kingdom of Georgia . In

750-432: The Abkhazian kingdom was between 850 and 950. Beginning with George I ( c. 864 – 871), the increasingly expansionist tendencies of the kingdom led to the enlargement of its realm to the east. The Abkhazian kings controlled duchy of Kartli (central and part of eastern Georgia), and interfered in the affairs of the Armenian and Georgian Bagratids . In about 908 King Constantine III ( c. 894 – 923) had finally annexed

800-643: The Abkhazian rule. A bitter civil war and feudal revolts which began under Demetrius III ( c. 969–976) led the kingdom into complete anarchy under the unfortunate Theodosius III the Blind ( c. 975 – 978), a weak and inauspicious king. By that time the hegemony in the South Caucasus had finally passed to the Georgian Bagratids of Tao-Klarjeti . In 978, the Bagratid prince Bagrat , nephew (sister's son) of

850-399: The Abkhazians ' ), was a medieval feudal state in the Caucasus which was established in the 780s. Through dynastic succession, it was united in 1008 with the Kingdom of the Iberians , forming the Kingdom of Georgia . Byzantine sources record that in the early years of the 10th century Abkhazia stretched three hundred Greek miles along the Black Sea coast, from the frontiers of

900-541: The Armenians towards the south-west .” Georgia came fully under Soviet control in 1921, and Javakheti, along with other former Georgian territories, became part of the Georgian SSR . The remaining Muslim minority in Javakheti, also known as " Meskhetian Turks ", were deported to Uzbekistan in 1944 during the regime of Stalin . Currently Armenians form the ethnic majority in the region. Since independence many members of

950-590: The Georgian (including also Mingrelians , Laz , and Svans with their distinct languages that are related to the Georgian language ) and Abkhaz ( Abasgoi , Apsilae , and Zygii ) peoples. It seems likely that a significant proportion of the Georgian-speaking population, combined with a drive of the Abkhazian kings to throw off the Byzantine political and cultural dominance, resulted in Georgian replacing Greek as

1000-930: The Muslim families chose to resettle in the Ottoman Empire following the Russian annexation of the region. The Tsarist government initiated a plan to resettle its new frontier with Iran and Turkey with Armenians who they deemed to be loyal. In total some 90,000 Armenians from the Ottoman Empire and 40,000 Armenians from Qajar Iran resettled in the Russian Caucasus, primarily the Armenian Oblast . In 1829 some 7,300 Armenian families (58,000 people) resettled in Meskheti , Javakheti, and Trialeti . Armenians moving to Trialeti were joined by Turkish-speaking Caucasus Greeks known as Urums . Armenians moving to Javakheti were joined by

1050-615: The Republic of Georgia ... it did nothing to relieve the agony. Lord Curzon during the Paris Peace Conference discussions on the fate of the independent Transcaucasian republics assessed the ethnographic situation in the southwestern uezds of the Tiflis Governorate: Along the line marking the proposed northeastern boundary of Armenia, the counties of Akhalkalaki and Akhaltsikhe fell on the Georgian side, even though, it

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1100-691: The River Kura, she arrived in Mtskheta , the capital of the kingdom, once there, she eventually began to preach Christianity, which culminated by Christianization of Iberia . One of the earliest Armenian sources, Faustus of Byzantium (the 5th century) writes: “ Maskut King Sanesan , extremely angry, was filled with hate for his tribesman, Armenian King Khosrow , and gathered all of his troops—Huns, Pokhs, Tavaspars , Khechmataks, Izhmakhs, Gats, Gluars, Gugars, Shichbs, Chilbs, Balasich, and Egersvans, as well as an uncountable number of other diverse nomadic tribes, all

1150-461: The adjacent Muslim districts. All roads leading away from Akhalkalak were strewn with the bodies of fleeing Armenians. In September ... of the more than 80,000 Armenians in the county at the beginning of 1918, only 40,000 were left and that these were rapidly succumbing to famine, foreign marriages, concubinage, or to even worse fates. Although the Tiflis government regarded Akhalkalak as an integral part of

1200-530: The administrative centre of the Akhalkalaki Municipality . Akhalkalaki lies on the edge of the Javakheti Plateau . The city is located about 29 kilometres (18 mi) from the border with Armenia . The town's recorded history goes back to the 11th century. As of the 2014 Georgian census the town had a population of 8,295, with 93.8% Armenian majority. The name Akhalkalaki, first recorded in

1250-544: The area (see: Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway ), which opened in 2017. The Armenian population of Javakheti was opposed to this rail link because it excludes and isolates Armenia . There is already another railroad linking Georgia, Armenia and Turkey, which is the Kars–Gyumri–Tbilisi railway line. The existing line is in working condition and could be operational within weeks, but due to the Turkish blockade of Armenia since 1993,

1300-679: The area, many Chalcedonian Armenians began to join the Armenian Catholic Church . The Islamized locals began to mix with the Turkic settlers, forming the Meskhetian Turk identity, that became dominant to the west of Javakheti in Meskheti . In 1731 Nader Shah of Afsharid Iran launched an incursion into the Caucasus and during this time enslaved 6,000 Armenians from the Childir Eyalet according to Armenian Catholicos Abraham Kretatsi . In

1350-420: The dominant role of the Georgian language and culture. Most international scholars agree that it is extremely difficult to judge the ethnic identity of the various population segments due primarily to the fact that the terms "Abkhazia" and "Abkhazians" were used in a broad sense during this period—and for some while later—and covered, for all practical purposes, all the population of the kingdom, comprising both

1400-515: The ethnic groups of Urartu. According to Cyril Toumanoff , Javakheti, together with Erusheti , was part of the Iberian duchy of Tsunda from the 4th or 3rd century BC. Since 2nd century BC to 5th century AD this region was a part of an Armenian province - Gugark , in Greater Armenia . Saint Nino entered Iberia from Javakheti, one of the southern provinces of Iberia, and, following the course of

1450-525: The ethno-religious composition of the Javakheti region (Akhalkalaki Uyezd) was the following: Following the Russian Revolution , Javakheti was incorporated into the short-lived Democratic Republic of Georgia , however, it was strongly disputed by the Democratic Republic of Armenia which claimed the region on grounds of history and ethnography. Hovannisian , a notable historian on the topic of

1500-641: The first third of the 19th century, following the Russo-Persian War (1804-1813) and the Russo-Persian War of 1826-1828 , Russia conquered the Southern Caucasus , and most of Georgia, along with the rest of the Caucasus, was incorporated within the Russian Empire . When the Russians conquered Javakheti it was home to 1,716 Armenians (67.7%), 639 Muslim (25.2%), and 179 Georgian families (7.1%). Many of

1550-552: The foundation for the unified Georgian monarchy, officially styled then as the Kingdom of Georgia . Most Abkhazian kings, with the exception of John and Adarnase of the Shavliani (presumably of Svan origin), came from the dynasty which is sometimes known in modern history writing as the Leonids after the first king Leon, or Anosids, after the prince Anos from whom the royal family claimed their origin. Prince Cyril Toumanoff relates

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1600-459: The heirless Theodosius, occupied the Abkhazian throne with the help of his adoptive father David III of Tao . Bagrat's descent from both Bagratid and Abkhazian dynasties made him an acceptable choice for the nobles of the realm who were growing weary of internecine quarrels. In 1008, Bagrat succeeded on the death of his natural father Gurgen as the "King of the Iberians". Thus, these two kingdoms unified through dynastic succession, in practice laying

1650-536: The inhabitants in Akhalkalaki Municipality and 95% (23,262) in Ninotsminda Municipality were Armenians, with only tiny numbers of ethnic Georgians and Caucasus Greeks remaining. The name Javakheti consists of the root javakh with the Georgian suffix -eti , commonly found in the names of countries and regions. Javakheti means the land of the Javakhs (an ethnic subgroup of Georgians), as for example,

1700-546: The interwar republic of Armenia describes the fate of the more than eighty-thousand Armenians of Javakheti after the region's occupation by the Ottoman army : Thirty thousand had perished as the result of the Turkish occupation , and those who survived were starving. Some mothers attempted to save their daughters by offering them as wives to Georgian militiamen and soldiers ... hundreds of women and children were pressed into servitude in

1750-433: The kingdom is presented differently in the Abkhazian and Georgian historiography, with the ethnic composition of the population and the origin of the ruling dynasty being especially contentious. For Abkhazian historians, the kingdom of Abkhazia is considered the historical root of the nation and the "1200-year statehood tradition" is emphasised. The dominant Georgian narrative emphasises the joint Georgian-Abkhazian state and

1800-507: The line Tbilisi–Yerevan is in Marabda . In April 2005, an agreement was signed to build a new railway connecting Turkey with Georgia and Azerbaijan , passing nearby Akhalkalaki. This would bypass an existing line through Gyumri in Armenia which has been closed by Turkey, blockading Armenia , for political reasons since the 1990s. The railway became operational on October 30, 2017. It

1850-470: The name of Anos to the later Abkhaz noble family of Anchabadze . By convention, the regnal numbers of the Abkhazian kings continue from those of the archons of Abasgia . There is also some lack of consistency about the dates of their reigns. The chronology below is given as per Toumanoff. Writing the kingdom's primary history was dominated by Georgian and Byzantine sources supported by modern epigraphic and archaeological records. The constitution of

1900-574: The numerous troops he commanded. He crossed his border, the great River Kura, and invaded the Armenian country.” In the 5th century during the rule of Vakhtang I of Iberia Javakheti was a province of Iberia and after his death his second wife the Byzantine princess settled in Tsunda (part of Javakheti). In the struggle against the Arab occupation , Bagrationi dynasty came to rule over Tao-Klarjeti and established

1950-450: The railroad is not operational. 41°24′00″N 43°30′00″E  /  41.4000°N 43.5000°E  / 41.4000; 43.5000 Akhalkalaki Akhalkalaki ( Georgian : ახალქალაქი , romanized : akhalkalaki ; Armenian : Ախալքալաք / Նոր-Քաղաք , romanized :  Axalk’alak’ / Nor-K’aġak’ ) is a town in Georgia 's southern region of Samtskhe–Javakheti and

2000-472: The region of the Javakhs.” There can be no doubt that Ukhtanes believed Javakheti to be part of Iberia, and the Javakhs to be Iberians . Z. Aleksidze examines the viewpoint of this historian and the enlightened Armenian society of the 10th century on the problem that interests us in depth. Between 9th-11th centuries part of Javakheti/Javakhk was ruled by Bagratid Armenia . In the mid-10th century, part of Javakheti

2050-405: The retreating Georgian princes – brothers Mirian and Archil – surged into Abkhazia in 736. Dysentery and floods , combined with a stubborn resistance offered by the archon Leon I and his Iberian and Lazic allies, made the invaders retreat. Leon I then married Mirian's daughter, and a successor, Leon II exploited this dynastic union to acquire Lazica in the 770s. Presumably considered as

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2100-541: The time of the region's annexation to the Russian Empire in 1829, the population was mainly Islamicized Georgians . After the Russian takeover, most of the Muslim Georgians left the area for the Ottoman Empire, and in their place Christian Armenian refugees from Erzurum and Bayazid settled here. Since then the city and the region of Javakheti has been largely populated by Armenians. The climate of Akhalkalaki

2150-573: The town and killed 1,000 people in the area. The citizens predominantly dwelled in dugouts till the 1920s. The city was the administrative center of the Akhalkalaki uezd of the Tiflis Governorate . In May 1918, the town and its district were occupied by the Ottoman army until their withdrawal by the Armistice of Mudros —the occupation resulted in the exodus of the local Armenian population which nearly perished due to starvation and disease. By

2200-479: The word Ossetia is taken from Georgian Osi plus -eti . The earliest mention of the name is believed to be from 785 BC, in the inscriptions of the Urartian king Argishti I , as Zabakha . The ancient tribes of Meskhi (or Moschi) and Mosiniks are the first known inhabitants of the area. In the sources, the region was recorded as Zabakha in 785 BC, by King Argishti I of Urartu and, probably, meaning one of

2250-515: Was also known as a promoter of Orthodox Christianity and a patron of Georgian Christian culture. He helped to establish Christianity as an official religion in Alania , winning the thanks of Constantinople . The contemporary Georgian annals knew him as a "builder of churches". George's successors, however, were unable to retain the kingdom's strength and integrity. During the reign of Leon III ( c. 960–969), Kakheti and Hereti emancipated themselves from

2300-554: Was at the stage of the state building and was less active in the matter of spreading the borders of the kingdom to the East. After obtaining of the state independence, the matter of the church independence became the main problem. In the early 9th century church of Kingdom of Abkhazia broke away from Constantinople and recognized the authority of the Catholicate of Mtskheta ; language of the church in Abkhazia shifted from Greek to Georgian , as Byzantine power decreased and doctrinal differences disappeared. The most prosperous period of

2350-442: Was incorporated into Kingdom of Abkhazia . In 964 Leon III of Abkhazia extended his influence to Javakheti, and during his reign the Kumurdo Cathedral was built. In subsequent centuries, Javakheti remained in the hands of the unified Georgian monarchy and had a period of significant development, during which numerous bridges, churches, monasteries, and royal residences (Lgivi, Ghrtila, Bozhano, Vardzia , etc.) were built. In 1064

2400-504: Was officially transferred, according to the Sochi agreement , to Georgia on June 27, 2007. On September 19, 2020, a new basic combat training center was opened on the site of the former base in Akhalkalaki. The center is designed to accommodate and train up to 800 military personnel and conscripts. Kingdom of Abkhazia The Kingdom of Abkhazia ( abkhazian . Аԥсуа аҳра Apsua ahra , Georgian : აფხაზთა სამეფო , romanized : apkhazta samepo ; lit.   ' Kingdom of

2450-421: Was ruled by a hereditary archon who effectively functioned as a Byzantine viceroy. The country was chiefly Christian and the city of Pityus was a seat of an archbishop directly subordinated to the Patriarch of Constantinople . Another Abasgian episcopal see was that of Soterioupolis . In 735, a large expedition led by Arab general Marwan was launched against the Georgian kingdoms. The Arabs, pursuing

2500-402: Was stated, they were populated primarily by the Armenian descendants of refugees from Turkey: “On the grounds of nationality, therefore, these districts ought to belong to Armenia, but they command the heart of Georgia strategically, and on the whole it would seem equitable to assign them to Georgia, and give their Armenian inhabitants the option of emigration into the wide territories assigned to

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