Armaztsikhe-Bagineti

Armaztsikhe, the fortress of Armazi, is the archaeological site of the royal citadel of ancient Iberia, the kingdom that ruled eastern Georgia in the centuries around the birth of Christ. It stands on Bagineti hill on the right bank of the Mtkvari, directly across the river from Mtskheta, and takes its name from Armazi, the chief god of pre-Christian Kartli. Excavations since the late 1930s have uncovered stretches of defensive wall, the foundations of a palace and other buildings, a bath house and rich graves, showing that this hill was the seat of power while Mtskheta grew below.

The best-known find is a gravestone inscribed in both Greek and Aramaic for Serapita, daughter of a high Iberian official, now kept in the National Museum in Tbilisi. On the ground the remains are low and partly overgrown, so the site suits people interested in archaeology, or anyone after a quiet view back across the river to Svetitskhoveli and Jvari. Signs are few and access can change, so ask locally or come with a guide.

Georgian chronicles credit the early Iberian kings with fortifying Armazi, and archaeology points to a citadel here from at least the 3rd century BC. Greek and Roman writers knew it as Harmozike. It served as the royal acropolis of Iberia, with Mtskheta as the town across the river, and a necropolis of the ruling families lay in the gorge nearby. Its importance faded after the conversion to Christianity in the 4th century and the later move of the capital to Tbilisi.