Azord/Enguzek (White) Castle

Azord Castle (Turkish: Ungüzek Kalesi) is a fortress located in the historical southwestern Georgia, Tao, in the modern Republic of Turkey, in the Uzundere Ilçe district of the Erzurum Province. The fortress is located in the historical Tao territory, at an altitude of 1,180 meters above sea level. The fortress had an important function, it controlled the roads. The fortress was built on highways and also performed a transit function, which was dictated by both defensive and economic factors.

The later name of Azord should be Agjakala. Agjakala is a Turkic form and means white fortress in Georgian. The environment is completely rocky, which is why it is often referred to in guidebooks and tourist maps as Dikyar kapiö, which translates directly into Georgian as - many straight rock doors. In the appendix to Ekvtime Takaishvili's 1917 travel book, the fortress of interest to us is given in Figure 150 under the name Agjakala. The second name of the fortress - Uzundere - comes from its location, as it is located in the Uzundere district, which means long valley in Georgian.

The fortress is located in the historical province of Tortomi. The fortress of Agjakala is mainly mentioned in Ottoman sources in connection with the conquest of southern Georgia. In an Ottoman source from the first quarter of the 16th century, in particular in a document from 1532, we read:

“This area is called Khakho (that’s how Khakhuli is called in Turkish written monuments) valley. It is a very good region. In addition, there are several small fortresses, one of which is called Agjakala. The Tortomi fortress was originally Kvarkvaresi, but it temporarily passed into the hands of Kutsin. The old main fortress of Kutsin was Agjakala. The Khsenev fortresses are currently temporarily in the hands of an unruly nobleman named Rostom.”