Kldekari Fortress

Kldekari fortress is located on the rocky peak of the Trialeti Range, Tetritskaro Municipality, in Kvemo Kartli region. It was located at an important crossroads and was controlling caravan road. The territories of Tsalka and Manglisi, as well as the gorges of the rivers, Tana and Tedzami are visible from here. The fortress is built on the Trialeti Ridge and has two entrances cut in the rock. Klde in Georgian means rock, kari means door, the combination of two words mean door in the rock so the name of the fortress comes from here.

The fortress was the main fortress of the Baghvashi and it was built after the feudal Liparit I Baghvashi moved to Trialeti in the second half of IX century. He has witnessed many battles. The history of Kldekari fortress is directly related to the Baghvashi ancestry and their conflict with the king and the local feudals. The fortress is heavily damaged and its original form is difficult to recover, it remains show that it was a large-scale structure. Today there are traces of towers and palaces here. The fortress, its location and amazing views always impress the visitors.

History

Kldekari fortress was built by Liparit I Baghvashi in IX century. From this period, the Kldekari’s Eristavi( Georgian dukes) became so much stronger, that they didn’t even obey the king. The battle between the king and Eristavi of Kldekari has been quite intense since the beginning of XI, and has lasted for several decades. Firstly, the owner of Kldekari, Eristavi Liparit Baghvashi IV was the follower of Bagrat IV. When the Byzantine Emperor Constantine sent a commander Parakimanos to Georgia with enormous army in 1028, Liparit fight against them near Kldekari fortress and made the enemy to move back. There has been a split between Bagrat and Liparit since the 50s. After this, Lipartit Baghvashi became so powerful that it occupied all of western Georgia and increased his authority so much, that he was mentoring the young prince. The other nobles didn’t like this fact and they formed a conspiracy against Liparit. Sula Kalmakheli, who was the leader of those nobles, captured Liparit and his son Ivan and resembled the king. Sula took away the fortresses from Lipariti. The king forced Liparit to become a monk. Later, Ivan took back Kldekari fortress, but how it happened, it is not known. During the first years of David the Builder's reign, Liparit was loyal to the King, but this commitment did not last long. In 1094, David the builder captured Liparit and after a two years imprisonment, he was banished to Greece. Also, the King abolished the Saeristavo( Georgian feudal office) of Kldekari. After that, the Kldekari fortress lost its significance. In 1177, the fortress of Koldekari witnessed an event: The nephew of the king, Demna rebelled against George III. Many dukes supported to Demna. At first the rebels were going to win, but the situation changed. The rebels used Kldekari fortress as a shelter, but the king's army seized the fortress, punished the rebels, and they burned Demna’s eyes too. In the following centuries, Kldekari Saeristavo didn’t play a big role in the political life of Georgia, and the fortress is rarely mentioned in historical sources.