HISTORY

Akhaltskha, located in the Northern region of Historic Armenia, is currently occupied by Gorgia.

Akhaltskha, Akhltskha, Akhaltsikhe (three variations of a tongue twister meaning "new castle" in Georgian) is a city currently located in Georgia, one of the republics of the former Soviet Union. The city is the center of the Akhaltskha Region, 214 km to the west from Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Its area is 19000 square meters (1970). The population consists of Armenians, Georgians, Jews, and other ethnic groups. Fifteen of its 49 villages are populated by Armenians. Akhaltskha is located in the historic Samtskhe Region. During the rule of Artashes A, the Armenian king (around 185 B.C.), Samtskhe and the neighboring Ajaria were included into Greater Hayk Armenian Kingdom. In 37 A.D. Samtskhe was annexed to Georgia. In 1236 Mongols attacked Akhaltskha, and destroyed the city. Akhaltskha was rebuilt thanks to Armenian traders and craftsmen as a center for trade and crafts. In 1416 Akhaltskha was destroyed again by the Mongol Kara Yusuf. Notwithstanding this Akhaltskha was rebuilt again and continued to play an important role in development of trades and crafts. Turks occupied Akhaltskha in 1579. Local Georgian noblemen converted to Islam in order to save their power and inherited claims in Akhaltskha. However, in 1628 the Region's partial independence was put to an end. Turks conducted a policy of forceful conversion to Islam of Armenians and Georgians. According to a Turkish census by 1595 Akhaltskha was mainly populated by Armenians. In 1828 Russia finally liberated Akhaltskha from the Turks, and in 1829 it was annexed with Russia. In 1829-1830, 6000 Armenian families from the city of Karin (Erzrum) and neighboring villages escaped from Turkish rule and moved to Akhaltskha. Reportedly 2536 families stayed in the city of Akhaltskha and the rest inhabited the surrounding villages. People from Karin were mainly craftsmen. In the 19th and 20th Centuries there were close to 60 different crafts led by Armenians including armaments and jewelry. Over the same period the educational system thrived considerably. Finally, in the Soviet era Akhaltskha was annexed into Georgia in 1918. The famous Armenian scientists Hakob Manandyan, Suren Malkhasyan, and B. Fanarjyan, impressionist painters Hakob Kojoyan, Vardges Surenyanc, and V. Gayfejyan, the physicist H. Navakatikyan, and the linguist G. Ter-Mkrtchyan were all born in Akhaltskha.