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TBILISI HISTORY |
About Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura (Mtkvari) River, at 41°43′N 44°47′E. Tbilisi is sometimes credited as Tiflis (or Tifflis), which is its Medieval non-native name and the city covers an area of 372 km² (144 square miles) and has 1,093,000 inhabitants. |
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Tbilisi (Tbilisi) is the capital and largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura (Mtkvari) River, at 41°43′N 44°47′E. Tbilisi is sometimes credited as Tiflis (or Tifflis), which is its Medieval non-native name and the city covers an area of 372 km² (144 square miles) and has 1,093,000 inhabitants.
Founded in the 4th century by Vakhtang Gorgasali, the Georgian King of Kartli (Iberia), Tbilisi is a significant industrial, social, and cultural center in the Caucasus and is emerging as a major transit route for global trade projects. Historically, the city was located along one of the historic Silk Road routes and today it still plays an important role as a trade and transit center due to its strategic location at the crossroads between Europe and Asia. The history of the city can be seen by its architecture, where the Haussmannized Rustaveli avenue and the downtown is blended with the narrower streets of Medieval Narikala district.
The demographics of the city is diverse and historically it has been home of peoples from different cultures, religions and ethnicities. Religiously, being overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian, Tbilisi is one of the only places in the world, where the synagogue and the mosque are located next to each other in the ancient Bath district several hundred meters from Metekhi Church. In recent times, Tbilisi has become known for the peaceful Rose Revolution, which took place around Freedom Square and nearby locations after the rigged parliamentary elections of 2003 led to the resignation of the Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze.
Tbilisi has one international airport and famous tourist destinations include Tbilisi Sameba Cathedral, Freedom Square, Sioni Cathedral, Metekhi, Narikala, Parliament of Georgia, Rustaveli Avenue, Turtle lake, Anchiskhati Basilica, Mtatsminda (Holy Mountain), Kashveti Cathedral along with the National and Historic Museums of Georgia and numbers of art galleries. Tbilisi is the home of famous artists and the city life was immortalized by Niko Pirosmani and Lado Gudiashvili.
Early history
According to an old legend, the present-day territory of Tbilisi was covered by forests as late as the 458 A.D. One widely accepted variant of the legend of Tbilisi`s founding states that King Vakhtang I Gorgasali of Georgia went hunting in the heavily wooded region with a falcon (sometimes the falcon is either substituted by a hawk or other small birds of prey in the legend). The King`s falcon allegedly caught/injured a pheasant during the hunt, after which both birds fell into a nearby hot spring and died (from the burns received in the hot water). King Vakhtang became so impressed with the hot springs that he decided to cut down the forest and build a city on the location. The name Tbilisi derives from the Old Georgian word "Tpili", meaning warm. The name Tbili or Tbilisi ("warm location") therefore was given to the city because of the area`s numerous sulfuric hot springs that came out of the ground.
Archaeological studies of the region have revealed that the territory of Tbilisi was settled by humans as early as the 4th millennium B.C. The earliest actual (recorded) accounts of settlement of the location come from the second half of the 4th century A.D, when a fortress was built during King Varaz-Bakur`s reign. Towards the end of the 4th century the fortress fell into the hands of the Persians after which the location fell back into the hands of the Kings of Kartli (Georgia) by the middle of the 5th century A.D. King Vakhtang I Gorgasali (reigned in the middle and latter halves of the 5th century) who is largely credited for founding Tbilisi was actually responsible for reviving and building up the city and not founding it. The present-day location of the area which Gorgasali seems to have built up is spread out around the Metekhi Square (Abanot-Ubani historical district).
King Dachi I Ujarmeli (beginning of the 6th century A.D.), who was the successor of Vakhtang I Gorgasali, moved the capital from Mtskheta to Tbilisi according to the will left by his father. It must be mentioned that Tbilisi was not the capital of a unified Georgian state at that time (therefore did not include the territory of Colchis) and was only the capital of Eastern Georgia/Iberia. During his reign, King Ujarmeli was also responsible for finishing the construction of the fortress wall that lined the city`s new boundaries. Beginning from the 6th century, Tbilisi started to grow at a steady pace due to the region`s favorable and strategic location which placed the city along important trade and travel routes between Europe and Asia.
Tbilisi as the capital of a unified Georgian state and the Georgian Renaissance
In 1122, after heavy fighting with the Seljuks that involved at least 60,000 Georgians and up to 300,000 Turks, the troops of the King of Georgia David the Builder entered Tbilisi. After the battles for Tbilisi concluded, David moved his residence from Kutaisi (Western Georgia) to Tbilisi, making it the capital of a unified Georgian State. From 12-13th centuries, Tbilisi became a dominant regional power with a thriving economy (with well-developed trade and skilled labour) and a well-established social system/structure. By the end of the 12th century (A.D.), the population of Tbilisi had reached 80,000. The city also became an important literary and a cultural center not only for Georgia but for the larger civilized world as well. During Queen Tamar`s reign, Shota Rustaveli worked in Tbilisi while writing his legendary epic poem, The Knight in the Panther`s Skin. This period is widely known as "Georgia`s Golden Age" or the Georgian Renaissance.
Mongol domination and the following period of instability
Tbilisi, ca. 1890-1900Tbilisi`s "Golden Age" did not last for more than a century. In 1236 A.D., after suffering crushing defeats to the Mongols, Georgia came under Mongol domination. The nation itself maintained a form of semi-independence and did not lose its statehood, but Tbilisi was strongly influenced by the Mongols for the next century both politically and culturally. In the 1320s, the Mongols were forcefully expelled from Georgia and Tbilisi became the capital of an independent Georgian state once again. An outbreak of the plague struck the city in 1366.
From the late 14th until the end of the 18th century, Tbilisi came under the rule of various foreign invaders once again and on several occasions was completely burnt to the ground. In 1386, Tbilisi was invaded by the armies of Tamerlane (Timur). In 1444, the city was invaded and destroyed by Jahan Shah (the Shah of the town of Tabriz in Persia). From 1477 to 1478 the city was held by the Ak Koyunlu tribesmen of Uzun Hassan. In 1522 A.D., Tbilisi came under Persian control but was later freed in 1524 by King David X of Georgia. During this period, many parts of Tbilisi were reconstructed and rebuilt. From the 17-18th centuries, Tbilisi once again became the object of rivalry only this time between the Ottoman Turks and Persia. King Erekle of Georgia tried on several occasions, successfully, to free Tbilisi from Persian rule but in the end Tbilisi was burnt to the ground in 1795 by Shah Agha-Mohammad Khan. At this point, sensing that Georgia could not hold up against Persia alone, Erekle sought the help of Russia. |
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| 2007-Mar-07 / 10:41 | Wednesday |
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About Georgia
about georgia
