Akhaltsikhe

Akhaltsikhe, formerly known as Lomsia, is a city in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of southwestern Georgia and the administrative center of both Akhaltsikhe Municipality and the region itself. It had a population of 17,287 at the 2024 census and sits at an elevation of about 1,029 meters. Founded in 1200, its name means new fortress in Georgian, and from the 13th century it served as the seat of the House of Jaqeli and capital of the Samtskhe-Saatabago principality before the Ottomans captured it in 1579 and held it for nearly 250 years until Russian forces retook it in 1828 following the Treaty of Adrianople. The 9th-century Rabati Castle in the city contains an Orthodox church, a mosque and a madrasa within a single walled enclosure.