# Akhaltsikhe

Akhaltsikhe (Georgian: ახალციხე), formerly known as Lomsia (Georgian: ლომსია), is a small city in Georgia's southwestern region (mkhare) of Samtskhe–Javakheti. It is the administrative center of the Akhaltsikhe Municipality and the Samtskhe–Javakheti region. It is situated on both banks of the small river Potskhovi (a left tributary of the Kura), which divides the city between the old city in the north and new in the south.
The 9th-century Akhaltsikhe (Rabati) Castle, which was recently restored, is located in the old part of the city. It is one of the main attractions of the Samtskhe–Javakheti region, along with Vardzia, Vale, Okrostsikhe and Zarzma.

## Toponymy

Akhaltsikhe is the Georgian name of the town, which literally means "new fortress". It is attested in Arabic sources as Akhiskha (and Akhsikhath), in Persian as Akhesqeh (also spelled as Akheshkheh), and in Turkish sources as Ahıska. The Azerbaijani village of Axısxa is also named after it, due to the population of the village originating from Akhaltsikhe.

## History

The town is mentioned among the settlements conquered by general Habib ibn Maslama al-Fihri during the reign of Umayyad Caliph Mu'awiya I (661–680). During the Mongol domination of Georgia, local rulers of the House of Jaqeli, who ruled the feudal principality of Samtskhe-Saatabago, were invested with the title of atabeg and were allowed to be autonomous. In contemporaneous Persian and Turkish sources, these Jaqeli rulers were referred to as Ḳurḳūra, which derives from Qvarqvare—the name of several Jaqeli rulers.
In 1579, during the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1578–1590, the Ottomans took the town. In the ensuing period, the Ottomans implanted Islam and Ottoman customs. In 1625, the town became the centre of the Akhalzik Eyalet of the Ottoman Empire known as Ahıska and it held a resident Ottoman pasha. The town rose to strategic importance and became a leading hub of the Caucasian slave market. By the late 17th century, the town was home to 400 households, consisting of a mixed population of Turks, Armenians, Georgians, Greeks and Jews.
In 1828, during the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829, Russian troops under the command of General Ivan Paskevich captured the city and, as a consequence of the 1829 Treaty of Adrianople, it was ceded to the Russian Empire. The city initially become part of the Kutaisi Governorate, then of the Tiflis Governorate, becoming the administrative centre of the Akhaltsikhe uezd.
In the late 1980s the city was host to the Soviet Army's 10th Guards Motor Rifle Division, which became a brigade of the Georgian land forces after the fall of the Soviet Union.

## Population

Population and ethnic composition of Akhaltsikhe from the late 19th century :
| Year | Georgians | Georgians | Armenians | Armenians | Russians | Russians | Jews | Jews | Others | Others | Total |
| 1886 | 2,733 | 17% | 10,417 | 64.6% | 146 | 0.9% | 2,545 | 15.8% | 275 | 1.7% | 16,116 |
| 1897 | 3,578 | 23.3% | 9,035 | 58.8% | 1,172 | 7.3% | 438 | 2.9% | 1,134 | 3.4% | 15,357 |
| 1916 | 2,783 | 10.9% | 18,165 | 71.3% | 716 | 2.8% | 3,246 | 12.7% | 560 | 2.2% | 25,470 |
| 1926 | 1,817 | 14.8% | 6,516 | 52.9% | 1,425 | 11.6% | 94 | 0.8% | 2,458 | 20.0% | 12,310 |
| 1959 | 6,801 | 25.7% | 14,341 | 54.1% | 3,509 | 13.2% | 368 | 1.4% | 1,478 | 5.6% | 26,497 |
| 1979 | 5,714 | 29.2% | 10,278 | 52.5% | 2,208 | 11.3% | 337 | 1.7% | 1,050 | 5.4% | 19,587 |
| 1989 | | | | | | | | | | | 24,570 |
| 2014 | 12,838 | 71.7% | 4,781 | 26.7% | 75 | 0.4% | 11 | 0.06% | 198 | 1.1% | 17,903 |
| 2023 | | | | | | | | | | | 16,943 |

## Climate

Climate data for Akhaltsikhe (1991–2020, extremes 1981-2020) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 14.5 (58.1) | 20.0 (68.0) | 26.0 (78.8) | 30.9 (87.6) | 32.9 (91.2) | 36.6 (97.9) | 40.5 (104.9) | 40.0 (104.0) | 37.0 (98.6) | 35.1 (95.2) | 26.0 (78.8) | 17.5 (63.5) | 40.5 (104.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 3.6 (38.5) | 6.0 (42.8) | 11.8 (53.2) | 17.6 (63.7) | 22.3 (72.1) | 26.1 (79.0) | 29.5 (85.1) | 30.3 (86.5) | 25.6 (78.1) | 19.1 (66.4) | 11.2 (52.2) | 5.1 (41.2) | 17.4 (63.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −2.6 (27.3) | −0.9 (30.4) | 4.0 (39.2) | 9.1 (48.4) | 13.9 (57.0) | 17.7 (63.9) | 21.0 (69.8) | 21.1 (70.0) | 16.6 (61.9) | 10.8 (51.4) | 3.9 (39.0) | −1.0 (30.2) | 9.5 (49.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −6.9 (19.6) | −5.8 (21.6) | −1.8 (28.8) | 2.5 (36.5) | 7.4 (45.3) | 11.3 (52.3) | 14.4 (57.9) | 14.1 (57.4) | 9.6 (49.3) | 4.7 (40.5) | −1.1 (30.0) | −5.2 (22.6) | 3.6 (38.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −25.5 (−13.9) | −22.2 (−8.0) | −21.4 (−6.5) | −14.1 (6.6) | −2.8 (27.0) | −0.4 (31.3) | 4.1 (39.4) | 1.5 (34.7) | −1.5 (29.3) | −7.5 (18.5) | −19.5 (−3.1) | −24.3 (−11.7) | −25.5 (−13.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 22.3 (0.88) | 24.5 (0.96) | 36.5 (1.44) | 48.6 (1.91) | 75.5 (2.97) | 75.1 (2.96) | 58.4 (2.30) | 51.5 (2.03) | 39.9 (1.57) | 41.9 (1.65) | 31.1 (1.22) | 25.2 (0.99) | 530.5 (20.88) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 5.1 | 5.5 | 6.8 | 8.6 | 12.4 | 11 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 6.5 | 7.3 | 5.4 | 5.6 | 90.1 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 81 | 77.7 | 72.9 | 71.9 | 73.6 | 73.7 | 70.2 | 68.8 | 71.4 | 76.6 | 80.3 | 82.2 | 75.0 |
| Source: NOAA ||||||||||||||

## Archaeology

The highland environment between Akhaltsikhe and Aspindza presents a varied and complex array of archaeological features in different locations, elevations and topographies. This includes the alluvial flood-plain of the Kura River, all the way to the high grasslands.
Human habitation is attested already in the Early Bronze Age (4th millennium BC) and later. Artifacts from the Roman and medieval periods are also strongly represented in the area.

### Amiranis Gora

The important archaeological site of Amiranis Gora is located on the northeastern outskirts of Akhaltsikhe. It was excavated by Tariel Chubinishvili. The earliest carbon date for Amiranis Gora is 3790-3373 cal BC. It was obtained from the charcoal of the metallurgical workshop which belonged to the earliest building horizon of Amiranis Gora This indicates a division of metallurgical production into extractive and processing branches.
Amiranis Gora is an important reference point for the study of the Early Bronze Age Kura–Araxes culture, also known as the Early Transcaucasian Culture. The many references include the architecture, burial practices, material culture and metallurgy. Amiranis Gora is one of the best sites with fixed stratigraphy of the Kura-Araxes culture. The carbon date for the Kura-Araxes material at Amiranis Gora is 3630-3048 cal B.C., which is very early.

## People associated with Akhaltsikhe

* Gregorio Pietro Agagianian (1895–1971), Patriarch of Cilicia and the Armenian Catholic Church, Cardinal, and first Eastern Catholic papabile since Cardinal Bessarion during the Renaissance
* Charles Aznavour, world-famous French singer and songwriter of Armenian descent (father, Michael Aznavourian, was born in Akhaltsikhe)
* David Baazov, rabbi at Akhaltsikhe (1918)
* Shio Batmanishvili, hieromonk of the Servites of the Immaculate Conception, first Exarch of the Georgian Greek Catholic Church, and survivor of Solovki prison camp. Martyred by the NKVD during Joseph Stalin's Great Purge and buried in the mass grave at Sandarmokh in the Republic of Karelia.
* Hovhannes Kajaznuni (1868–1938), first prime minister of the First Republic of Armenia
* Ahmed-Pasha Khimshiashvili (?–1836), Pasha of Ahiska
* Sergo Kobuladze (1909–1978), painter and illustrator
* Hakob Kojoyan (1883–1959), Soviet Armenian artist
* Shalva Maglakelidze, plenipotentiary for the Russian Provisional Government and then for the government of Georgia in Akhaltsikhe (1917–1918)
* Stepan Malkhasyants, Armenian academician
* Hakob Manandian, Armenian historian
* Palavandishvili family
* Giorgi Mazniashvili, governor general of Akhaltsikhe (1919–1920)
* Natela Svanidze, Georgian composer
* Michel Tamarati (1858–1911), Georgian Catholic priest and historian
* Vakhtang Tchutchunashvili (?–1668), usurper of the throne of Imereti, fled to Ahiska after being deposed
* Vakhtang V, King of Kartli, fled to Ahiska after a failed coup
* Lusine Zakaryan (1937–1991), Soviet Armenian soprano singer

## International relations
### Twin towns and sister cities

Akhaltsikhe is twinned with:
* Ardahan, Turkey

## Notable People

* Artur Grigoryan, Russian-Armenian former football player
* Aida Babajanyan, Armenian-Georgian actress and dancer
* Karp Khachvankyan, Armenian actor and director, People's Artist of Armenia (1967)