Due to the historical significance of the town and its several outstanding churches and cultural monuments, the "Historical Monuments of Mtskheta" became aUNESCOWorld Heritage Site in 1994.[3] As the birthplace and one of the most vibrant centers ofChristianity in Georgia, Mtskheta was declared the "Holy City" by theGeorgian Orthodox Church in 2014.[4]
In 2016, the Historical Monuments of Mtskheta were placed by UNESCO under Enhanced Protection, a mechanism established by the 1999 Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.[5]
Mtskheta is set on a lowland, surrounded by mountains, at the confluence of the two rivers,Kura andAragvi. The city is approached from the north by theGreater Caucasus and from the south by theLesser Caucasus mountains.
Archeological evidences trace human settlement in the area of Mtskheta from 2nd millennium BC to early 1st millennium AD.[6] Numerous burials of theBronze Age (beginning of the 1st millennium BC) prove that Mtskheta already was a significant settlement at that period.
According toThe Georgian Chronicles, Mtskheta was founded byMtskhetos, the son ofKartlos, eponymous ancestor of theGeorgians. The wall around the city was built byNimrod's ancestor Ardam. By another version, more accepted by historians, Mtskheta was founded by the ancientMeschian tribes in the 5th centuryBC.[7]
Mtskheta was the capital of the early GeorgianKingdom of Iberia from the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD. Thechronicles mention that theKingdom of Iberia and its capital were conquered byAlexander the Great in the 4th century BC, but certain historians do not accept this. Eventually, the ruler appointed by Alexander ruined the walls of Mtskheta and left only four fortresses, one of them known today asArmazi.
Ancient sources of the 4th-3rd centuries BC mention that Mtskheta had a number of neighborhoods. Among them, Armazis-tsikhe, Tzitzamuri, Jvari and others. Like other Georgian towns it was divided into the city proper and the citadel.
Both the excavations andThe Georgian Chronicles tell about considerable construction in theHellenistic period: residential houses, palaces and fortifications. A new wall around Mtskheta was built by the first Georgian king,Parnavaz, in the beginning of the 3rd century BC, and later strengthened by his sonSaurmag in the late 3rd - early 2nd century BC. In late 2nd - early 1st century BC, kingParnajom strengthened his relations withPersians and invitedZoroastrian priests to settle in Mtskheta. This probably led to construction of Zoroastrian temples in the city. Meanwhile, no such archeological evidence exists. Again the walls of Mtskheta were improved during the reign ofBartom in the 1st century BC, and later also byAderki, often identified withPharasmanes I. The latter king is associated with the appearance of the first Christian communities in Kartli and the arrival of theHoly Tunic to Mtskheta, brought fromJerusalem by localJews.
The city was strongly fortified at that period. Walls lined both sides of the Mtkvari River, and three forts protected it. The main citadel,Armazi, onMount Bagineti controlled the entrance from the south and east,Tsitsamuri, at the base ofMount Jvari from the north, andSarkine from the west.
Mtskheta was a site of earlyChristian activity resulting in theChristianization of Iberia, where Christianity was proclaimed thestate religion in 337. It remains the headquarters of theGeorgian Orthodox Church. Around that period Mtskheta was a culturally developed city. A gravestone dated between the late 4th and early 5th centuries, found inSamtavro necropolis, contains anepitaph inGreek, telling about the main architect andarchizograph (artist) of Mtskheta Aurelius Acholis.
In the first years after the conversion of Georgia into Christianity, a small wooden church was built in the center of the city, later to becomeSvetitskhoveli Cathedral. Archeological excavations revealed the remnants of the wooden church within the cathedral. By the 5th century AD the small church was no longer satisfying the growing community of the city, andVakhtang Gorgasali built a large basilica, the greatest church in Georgia dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God,Svetitskhoveli, which survived until the 11th century. The firstkatolikos was elected in the 5th century, and his residence was in Svetotskhoveli, in Mtskheta. By the 11th century, the earlier basilica of Svetitskhoveli was again too small, and KatolikosMelchizedek I built a new church on top of it.
KingDachi of Iberia (early 6th century AD), who was the successor ofVakhtang I of Iberia, moved the capital from Mtskheta to the more easily defensible Tbilisi according to the will left by his father. Afterwards the importance of Mtskheta began to decline, while that of Tbilisi grew. However, Mtskheta continued as the coronation and burial place for most kings of Georgia until the end of the kingdom in the 19th century.[citation needed] Mtskheta suffered tremendous damage during theUmayyad Caliphate's defeat of theKhazars between 736 and 739, and again whenTimur conquered the area in the 15th century.[8] These attacks reduced the size of the city, and by the time Georgia became part of Russia in 1801, it was little more than a village.[8] However, industrialization improved the economic situation of the city.
The old city lies at the confluence of the rivers Mtkvari and Aragvi.
In recognition of its role in the Georgian Christian history, Mtskheta was granted the status of a "Holy City" by Catholicos-PatriarchIlia II of Georgia in accordance with the written testament of his 11th-century predecessorMelchizedek I of Georgia.[4]
Panoramic view of Mtskheta city and confluence of the Kura and Aragvi rivers seen from Jvari monastery in September 2023
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (11th century),Samtavro Monastery (4th century) andJvari Monastery (6th century) in Mtskheta are amongst the most significant monuments of Georgian Christian architecture, and are historically significant in the development of medieval architecture throughout theCaucasus.[3] Of special significance are early inscriptions, which form a valuable reference in the study of the origins of the earlyGeorgian alphabet.[citation needed].Samtavro necropolis, a burial place north of the monastery, is dated between the middle of the 3rd millennium BC and the 10th century.
In the outskirts of Mtskheta are the ruins ofArmaztsikhe fortress (3rd century BC), theArmaztsikhe acropolis (dating to the late 1st century BC), remains of a "Pompey's bridge" (according to legends built by Roman legionnaires ofPompey the Great in the 1st century BC), the fragmentary remains of a royal palace (1st–3rd century AD), a nearby tomb of the 1st century AD, and the fortress ofBebris tsikhe (14th century). The Institute of Archaeology, and the garden ofMikheil Mamulashvili are also worthy of note.[citation needed] There is also a monument to sculptorElena Machabeli.
"Pompey's bridge", August 2008
Amausoleum of rich woman from 1st century AD was recovered near Mtskheta train station. The structure imitates a house with well-processed quadrats and afronton. The roof was covered with tile. Among the findings inside the mausoleum was a small bronze statue of young man playing flute.[6]
The Historical Monuments of Mtskheta were onUNESCO'sList of World Heritage in Danger, citing "serious deterioration of the stonework and frescoes" as the main threat to the site's long-term preservation.[10] They were removed from the list in 2016.[11]
^ab"Historical Monuments of Mtskheta".UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved27 February 2022.
^abDzhanberidze, N. (1981).Tbilisi. MtskhetaТбилиси. Мцхета (in Russian). Moscow: Iskusstvo.
^Dzhavakhishvili, Aleksandr (1955).Geografiia Gruzinskoi SSRГеография Грузинской ССР [Geography of the Georgian SSR] (in Russian). Gosizdat Gruzinskoi SSR. p. 162.Недалеко от Тбилиси расположен древнейший город Грузии — Мцхета (основан приблизительно в V веке до н. э.) [Not far from Tbilisi is the oldest city in Georgia - Mtskheta (founded approximately in the 5th century BC).]
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