Khornabuji Fortress (Region of Kakheti)
Khornabuji Fortress (Georgian: ხორნაბუჯის ციხე) – An ancient fortress in the eastern part of Georgia. One of the most beautiful castle towns in the country. The ruined walls of the fortress rise on the majestic Tsiv-Gombori ridge (Georgia ცივ – გომბორის ქედი) and the main citadel of the castle, built on an impregnable rock, offers a beautiful view of the Alazani Valley (Georgian: ალაზანი). Originally, it was erected at the end of the first millennium BC. The city-fortress served as the only fortification controlling the valleys of the Iori River (Georgian: იორი) and Alazani. The first surviving written evidence about it dates back to the reign of the Iberian king Vakhtang Gorgasali in the 5th century. At that time, Khornabuji was one of the largest settlements in the Kakheti region.
At the end of the 5th or beginning of the 6th century, the fortress was conquered by the Sassanids. It is likely that the surrounding town was destroyed, although something of the fortress itself survived, and over the next centuries the town reappeared on the plain to the south of the fortress rock. In the 12th century, during the reign of Queen Tamara, the fortress town experienced a particularly great upsurge. The carefully restored castle is still called Tamara Castle. In the 13th century, after the devastating campaign of the Mongols, urban life in Khornabuji was destroyed and never resumed. However, the castle did not lose its fortification function. Today, the walls of the inner castle, tunnels, reservoirs, numerous corridors and stairs have been preserved here. Situated on a high mountain, Khornabuji Fortress still makes a great impression on the visitor.
Karagaji village (Georgian: სოფელი ყარაღაჯი), Municipality of Dedoplistskaro (Georgian: დედოფლისწყაროს მუნიციპალიტეტი)