Çoruh River
The history of this area goes back to the settlement of the banks of the Çoruh River by the Hurri and Mitanni branches of the Hittites in 2000 BC. The first mention of Ardanuç was in a Urartu monument to the defeat of the local people in battle by King Sarduri II in 753 BC. Then in the 7th century BC the Saka or Scythians are known to have settled and they dominated Artanuj. From the 2nd century BC to the 4th century AD this region formed a part of Greater Armenia. The castle of Artanuj was built by Georgian king Vakhtang Gorgasali (5th century AD). The castle was besieged by Arab caliph Marwan II (688-750) Ummayad in 744 AD. and was restored by Ashot I Bagrationi in the 8th century. He also founded a city, which became the center of the "Kingdom of Georgians" of Tao-Klarjeti.