Armaztsikhe and Bagineti — Armazi, Capital of Iberia
არმაზციხე · Armazi · Harmozika (Strabo) · Armaz-Tsikhe-Bagineti
Hellenistic Iberia to Early Medieval (4th c. BCE–8th c. CE; peak 1st–4th c. CE)·Kartvelian Iberian (Eastern Georgian) → Hellenistic influence → Roman client → Sasanian interlude → early Christian·🇬🇪 Mtskheta-Mtianeti, confluence of Mtkvari (Kura) and Aragvi, Georgia
About
About Armaztsikhe and Bagineti — Armazi, Capital of Iberia
Twin-city that was Iberia's (Kartli's) capital before Tbilisi: Kartli king Pharnavaz's 3rd-century BCE acropolis on Bagineti hill (six-column palace with Roman bath, luxury imported glass) and the lower 'Armaz-Tsikhe' merchant town on the Kura, joined by a paved royal road. Strabo called Armazi the Iberian court town. The Aramaic Armazi bilingual stele (Serapeitis, 150 CE) is Georgian epigraphy birth certificate; 2012 discovery of a 2nd-century synagogue makes it the earliest synagogue in Transcaucasia.
Why it mattersBirthplace of Georgian urban kingship and Aramaic literacy — Silk Road gauge of Rome–Iberia contact.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Synagogue — proof Jewish merchants quarter, but epigraphy lacking?
Theories
- 01Bagineti palace bath imitates Augustan Mtskheta imitation of Rome — Iberia as Roman micro-client
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Late 4th c. BCE (Pharnavaz I Iberian king) to 1st c. CE acropolis peak; town continuity to 736 CE
- Period
- Hellenistic Iberia to Early Medieval (4th c. BCE–8th c. CE; peak 1st–4th c. CE)
- Culture
- Kartvelian Iberian (Eastern Georgian) → Hellenistic influence → Roman client → Sasanian interlude → early Christian
- Builders
- King Pharnavaz and successors; Aramaic scribe Serapeitis (stele patron 150 CE); Jewish community
- Purpose
- Iberian royal citadel and customs-town controlling Darian (Kura) Gorge Silk Road
- Abandoned
- 736 CE (Marwan ibn Muhammad Arab expedition burns Mtskheta area)
- Rediscovered
- 1943 Giorgi Nioradze; 1946– Pavle Apakidze (Georgian Academy) systematic
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c.300 BCE
Pharnavaz fortifies Bagineti horn with sun-baked walls
c.150 CE
Serapeitis bilingual stele (Armazi Aramaic–Greek)
260 CE
Shapur I Ka'ba inscription lists Harmozika among captured Iberian towns
2012
2nd-c. synagogue with manor mosaic found west of wall
On the ground
Structures & features
41.8381° N · 44.6558° E · 490 m · 3 mapped features
Bagineti acropolis palace (six columns)
palaceHellenistic palace 30×20 m with Roman bath rebuild
41.8390° N · 44.6570° EAramaic stela findspot (lower town)
inscription150 CE bilingual Aramaic–Greek stele trench near gate
41.8372° N · 44.6545° E2nd-century synagogue
synagogue2012 discovered double-apse synagogue with mosaic
41.8360° N · 44.6530° E
Gallery