Gagi Castle

Gagi Fortress is located in Kvemo Kartli . Its ruins have been preserved on the plain of the right bank of the lower reaches of the Debedi River, near the village of Kushchi (Marneuli Municipality).

Gagi Fortress is also known as Ağçakala, Ağçakala (Turkish: akçakale — white fortress).

It was first mentioned in sources in the 11th century. According to the Armenian historian Vardan (13th century), the fortress was built by the king of Anis, Gagik I (990-1020). The ruins of the fortress indicate that it is a much older structure and that Gagik I, apparently, only renovated it.

The fortress was located on a trade route. It was built on a rocky hill overlooking a valley, which had been used for habitation since the Early Bronze Age. Gagi Fortress was an outpost of the Georgian state in the southeast. The feudal family of the Gagels of the 12th-13th centuries came from the owners of Gagi. Gagi Fortress is no longer mentioned in the sources of the 14th century. From the 15th century, it is already found under the name Agjakal.

Agjakala was the main fortress of Armenia in the late Middle Ages. It stood on a strategically important highway connecting Georgia with the Middle East, in particular with Iran. Agjakala protected the approaches to Tbilisi from the south. The Iranian rulers persistently tried to capture Agjakala, settle nomads in the Debed Valley, eliminate Georgian feudal agriculture here and destroy the southern approaches to the Kingdom of Kartli. The policy of the Iranian shahs met with stubborn resistance from the Georgian kings, who ultimately retained Agjakala.