Ruins of Surami Fortress, Shida Kartli, Georgia
Strategically located at the entrance into the Borjomi Gorge and guarding the road from eastern to western Georgia, Surami became a heavily fortified town in the 12th century. From the 1170s to the latter part of the 14th century, the fortress of Surami was a hereditary fief of the dynasty of the eristavs ("governors") of Kartli. Subsequently, Surami declined but retained its lively trading post as well as the fortress which was reconstructed in the 16th and 17th centuries. By the mid-18th century, according to Prince Vakhushti, Surami had 200 households of Georgians, Armenians and Jews. In the 1740s, Surami was used by Prince Givi Amilakhvari as his base against King Teimuraz II and Persians. After the prince’s surrender in 1745, the fortress was demolished, but later restored and exploited by the Russo-Georgian troops in anti-Ottoman operations during the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774). After the Russian annexation of Georgia in 1801, Surami housed a military post and was later popularized as a mountain climatic resort.
The exact date when the Surami Fortress was built remains obscure. Its earliest structures possibly date to the 12th century, but it has been reconstructed several times since then. A local legend associated with the fortress was brought into classical Georgian literature by the writer Daniel Chonkadze (1830-1860) and further famed by the Armenian filmmaker Sergei Parajanov in his award-winning feature film "The Legend of Suram Fortress" in 1984.
Ruins of Surami Fortress, Shida Kartli, Georgia
Strategically located at the entrance into the Borjomi Gorge and guarding the road from eastern to western Georgia, Surami became a heavily fortified town in the 12th century. From the 1170s to the latter part of the 14th century, the fortress of Surami was a hereditary fief of the dynasty of the eristavs ("governors") of Kartli. Subsequently, Surami declined but retained its lively trading post as well as the fortress which was reconstructed in the 16th and 17th centuries. By the mid-18th century, according to Prince Vakhushti, Surami had 200 households of Georgians, Armenians and Jews. In the 1740s, Surami was used by Prince Givi Amilakhvari as his base against King Teimuraz II and Persians. After the prince’s surrender in 1745, the fortress was demolished, but later restored and exploited by the Russo-Georgian troops in anti-Ottoman operations during the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774). After the Russian annexation of Georgia in 1801, Surami housed a military post and was later popularized as a mountain climatic resort.
The exact date when the Surami Fortress was built remains obscure. Its earliest structures possibly date to the 12th century, but it has been reconstructed several times since then. A local legend associated with the fortress was brought into classical Georgian literature by the writer Daniel Chonkadze (1830-1860) and further famed by the Armenian filmmaker Sergei Parajanov in his award-winning feature film "The Legend of Suram Fortress" in 1984.