Mithridatic Wars
The oldest reference to the fortress is by Pliny the Elder in the "Natural History" (1st century AD). There is also a reference to the ancient name of the site in Appian’s "Mithridatic Wars" (2nd century AD). In the 2nd century AD it was a well-fortified Roman city within Colchis. The town was also known for its theatre and hippodrome. Procopius, writing in the 6th century, speaks of the remains of its public buildings as proving that it was once a place of some importance.