Akhaltsikhe ( ), formerly known as Lomsia ( ), is a city in Georgia's southwestern region () of Samtskhe–Javakheti. It is the administrative center of the Akhaltsikhe Municipality and the Samtskhe–Javakheti region. In 2024, by census reports, the city has a population of 17,287 people. The city lies at an elevation of approximately 1,000 meters (3,280 ft) in the Akhaltsikhe Basin. 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 Georgian translation of Akhaltsikhe is "new fortress"; this is significant of the city's historical use and background as a fortified settlement, as well as existing as strategic stronghold in a heavily contested region of the Caucasus.
Starting from the 13th century, the city served as the seat for the House of Jaqeli ruling dynasty of Georgia as well as the capital of the Samtskhe-Saatabago principality. The Ottomans captured the city during the Ottoman-Safavid War in the 16th century and maintained authority over the city for nearly 250 years.
The 9th-century Akhaltsikhe Castle (Rabati), which was recently restored, is located in the old part of the city. The castle represents the city's multicultural history, as it consists of an Orthodox church, a mosque, and a madrasa within its single walled enclosure. It was restored from 2011-2012 and remains as one of the main heritage sights of the region, alongside Vardzia, Khertvisi, 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 (and ), in Persian as (also spelled as ), and in Turkish sources as . The Azerbaijani village of Axısxa is also named after it, due to the population of the village originating from Akhaltsikhe.
Before the 12th century, the settlement was known as Lomsia which had been preserved into the medieval period by the Armenians and Persians.
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.
|-
! scope="col" style="width:70px;" | Year
! scope="col" colspan=2 style="width:110px;" | Georgians
! scope="col" colspan=2 style="width:115px;" | Armenians
! scope="col" colspan=2 style="width:100px;" | Russians
! scope="col" colspan=2 style="width:90px;" | Jews
! scope="col" colspan=2 style="width:90px;" | Others
! scope="col" style="width:70" | Total
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 1886
| 2,733
| 17%
| 10,417
| 64.6%
| 146
| 0.9%
| 2,545
| 15.8%
| 275
| 1.7%
| 16,116
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 1897
| 3,578
| 23.3%
| 9,035
| 58.8%
| 1,172
| 7.3%
| 438
| 2.9%
| 1,134
| 3.4%
| 15,357
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 1916
|2,783
|10.9%
|18,165
|71.3%
|716
|2.8%
|3,246
|12.7%
|560
|2.2%
|25,470
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 1926
| 1,817
| 14.8%
| 6,516
| 52.9%
| 1,425
| 11.6%
| 94
| 0.8%
| 2,458
|20.0%
! 12,310
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 1959
| 6,801
| 25.7%
| 14,341
| 54.1%
| 3,509
| 13.2%
| 368
| 1.4%
| 1,478
|5.6%
| 26,497
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 1979
| 5,714
| 29.2%
| 10,278
| 52.5%
| 2,208
| 11.3%
| 337
| 1.7%
| 1,050
| 5.4%
| 19,587
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 1989
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
! 24,570
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 2014
| 12,838
| 71.7%
| 4,781
| 26.7%
| 75
| 0.4%
| 11
| 0.06%
| 198
| 1.1%
! 17,903
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |2023
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|16,943
|}
In 1828, the Russian acquisition of Akhaltsikhe introduced roughly 7,000 Armenian families into the economy of Russian Transcaucasia; this contributed to the majority Armenian population that lasted in the city until the late 20th century.
Climate
290px|thumb|View of Akhaltsikhe
Archaeology
290px|thumb|Streets of Akhaltsikhe
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.
Notable people
- Artur Grigoryan, Russian-Armenian former football player
- Aida Babajanyan, Armenian-Georgian actress and dancer
- Hovhannes Kajaznuni, Armenian politician, First Prime Minister of Armenia
- Karp Khachvankyan, Armenian actor and director, People's Artist of Armenia (1967)
See also
- Battle of Akhaltsikhe
- Samtskhe–Javakheti