Trialeti Range

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Trialeti Mountains

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The Trialeti mountain range (Georgian თრიალეთის ქედი, Trialetis Kedi ) is a mountain range in Georgia. It is located in the Lesser Caucasus in the center of the country and extends 144 kilometers east-west direction. Its width is 30 kilometers. The highest peak is the 2850 meter high mountain Schawiklde ( "Black Rock ").

The eastern edge of the mountain range runs along the western border of the Georgian capital Tbilisi, the western end is located on the Kura River, southwest of Borjomi. It is ( called in the middle and lower reaches Chrami ) traversed full length of the river Kzia. The mountain range was formed by volcanic activity during the Paleogene. In the western part of the mountain range is dominated by young, andesitic lavas.

The slopes of the mountain range are mainly covered by deciduous forests, including oak, beech and hornbeam. The western part is covered by coniferous wood species and mixed forests with firs, spruces, pines, beeches and oaks.

The Trialeti mountain range has been inhabited since the Early Bronze Age in the 4th millennium. On the Zalka Plateau (also Tsalka plateau or plateau ) dug archaeologists from appropriate findings of Trialeti culture. Later, the mountains were crossed by trade routes that connected Iberia with the Byzantine Empire and Armenia. Testify ruins of ancient caravanserais. Traders built in Trialeti Mountains also Manglisi, Georgia's oldest city.

On the Zalka Plateau many churches were built in the 6th and 7th centuries and between the 10th and 13th centuries, including the basilicas Tetrizqaro, Tak kili, Kush Chi and Edrani. Hillside Didgori (1647 meters) in the eastern part of the Trialeti mountain range, the Georgian King Dawit defeated IV the Builder on August 12, 1121 a quantitatively far superior Seljuk army led by Emir Nejm add- din -il- Ghazi.