Anakopia Fortress

History

A military structure was built on this site between the second and fourth centuries. At the end of the seventh century, walls were constructed around the citadel with Byzantine support, prompted by concern over the Islamic Caliphate's expansion. These walls, up to 60 centimeters thick, are made of tightly assembled, carefully hewn limestone blocks. A single small gate on the south side provides entry.

At the center stands a four-storey Roman-styled tower offering extensive views of the landscape and the Black Sea to the southwest. A small Christian basilica was built in the fortress's center during or before the eighth century; its stone altar and frescoes depicting a cross and fishes survive. Next to the church, a cistern is naturally filled by spring water from a 25-meter-deep well. In the eighth century, Anakopia lay near the frontier between Byzantine Christendom and the Umayyad Caliphate.

In 736/737, the future Marwan II besieged the capital with 60,000 men. The citadel was defended by 1,000 Iberians and 2,000 Abkhazians under Leon I of Abkhazia.

According to the Georgian chronicle, an epidemic killed 35,000 Arab soldiers, and 3,000 more died in combat. This successful defense is considered a pivotal turning point in regional history. A restoration in 2008 improved site safety and reinstated the tower as a lookout point.