Bakhtrioni Fortress
Bakhtrioni is a ruined feudal-era fortress in Kakheti, on the left side of the Alazani River.
Shah Abbas II ordered for it to be built at the end of the 1650s. Bakhtrioni Fortress was one of the main strongholds to reinforce the dominance of Kizilbash forces in Kakheti and ensure the security of settled nomadic Turkmen. It was named after the village of Bakhtrioni, the name of which, in turn, must be derived from the Bakhtarashvili family. During the Kakheti rebellion (1660), the main battle took place near this fortress (see Battle of Bakhtrioni 1660).
The rebels destroyed the garrison and the fortress. It has not been restored since then. The population still calls the hill the Bakhtrioni Fortress stood on the “Bakhtrioni Hill”. The ruins of three cobblestone towers and the remains of a fence and some other structures have been preserved, as well as two floors of the eastside tower. The 1st floor had a door to the north, niches to the east, a fireplace in the middle — one gunport on each side. In the eastern part, there is a church built entirely of cobblestone. The church belongs to the late Middle Ages.
The church was restored in 2008.
In connection with the 300th anniversary of the Kakheti rebellion, an obelisk was erected here.
Literature: ზ ა ქ ა რ ა ი ა პ., კახეთის საფორტიფიკაციო ნაგებობანი, თბ., 1962.
N. Asatiani
P. Zakaraia
