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Gonio Fortress - Castle of Apsaros Gonio Fortress, also known as the Fortress or Castle of Apsaros, is a well-preserved 1st century AD Roman fort located in western Georgia, just before the modern Turkish border. There are many myths and legends surrounding Gonio, and a visit to the fortress is a great way to immerse yourself in history and take your mind off the beach and the city of Batumi for a while. Two different names 1. Apsaros Fortress The original name of the fortress was Apsaros. According to the Greek historian Procopius of Caesarea, Absyrtos, son of King Aietes (Kingdom of Colchis), is buried on the site of the fortress and that is why it was called Apsaros. 2. Gonio fortress The fortress must have been called Gonio in the 12th-13th centuries, during the period of intensive trade relations with the Italian city of Genoa, but Gonio was not mentioned in writing until the 17th century by the Ottoman-Turkish polymath Kâtib Çelebi. According to him, Gonio was both a fortress and a small town on the Black Sea. It is also believed that during the Byzantine period, Genoese were mainly involved in the construction of the fortress, which is why the fortress was given a modified form of Genoa, Gonio. Location Gonio Fortress is located 12 km from Batumi in Adjara Region, 4 km from the Turkish border. It is 800 metres from the sea and 500 metres from the dry bank of the Chorokhi River. Complex and architecture General information Gonio Fortress has a rectangular shape with a total area of 4.5 hectares. The length of the wall is 228 metres and the width is 195 metres. The height of the wall is between 5 and 7 metres, and of the original 22, there are now 18 defence towers of different shapes and sizes, the largest of which are the corner towers on four sides of the complex. The fort had entrances on all four sides, but only the western entrance is in use today. Different construction periods There are three main periods of construction in the castle: I. The Roman period, from the 1st to the 3rd century. The building stones from the Roman period are the largest, then those from the Byzantine period become smaller and in the Ottoman period the wall was raised with river stones, 90 to 95 cm. and in addition the fortress was crenelated with merlons approximately 140 cm. high. high merlons were added. Complex of buildings inside the fort The fortress had soldiers' dormitories, a praetorium, baths, workshops, various economic and storage rooms, water cisterns and wells, as well as a well-developed canalization and water supply system. There was also an Amphitheatre and a hippodrome in the immediate vicinity of the fortress. History of Gonio fortress The Roman scholar Gaius Pliny reported in the 1st century AD that "140,000 paces from Trapezund is a river called Apsaros and at its mouth is a city-fortress of the same name". The Roman historian Arrian writes in the 2nd century AD that 5 Roman cohorts were stationed in the fortress of Apsaros. A cohort was a military unit and consisted of 480 to 500 soldiers, so there must have been about 3,000 soldiers stationed in the fortress, but some scholars believe that there could have been 1,000 to 1,200 soldiers permanently or for a longer period in the fortress. The cohorts mentioned by Arrian may have been a reserve unit that came to the fort for reinforcement. Why did the Romans build a fort in Georgia? The Roman Empire became interested in Georgia (then the kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia) as early as the 1st century BC, when the Roman Empire was fighting against the Kingdom of Pontos. In 65 B.C. the Roman general Pompey Magnus conquered East Georgia (Kingdom of Iberia) and in the following decades the Romans also conquered West Georgia (Kingdom of Colchis), where in the 1st century A.D. they began to build several fortresses, including Gonio, as an important military base for the Roman army units on the Black Sea. The Gonio fortress under Byzantium After the "Perpetual Peace" between the Eastern Roman and Sassanid Empires in 532, western Georgia (the Kingdom of Lasika) remained under Byzantine influence. Soon, however, a rebellion against Byzantium broke out in Western Georgia, which developed into a 20-year war. During this time, the fortress of Gonio was first partially destroyed and then rebuilt by Byzantium in the mid-6th century. Western Georgia remained under Byzantine influence, but under better conditions. The fortress of Gonio under the Ottomans After the Ottomans took Constantinople in 1453, their raids into Georgia became more frequent. They first conquered the southern parts of the country, Tao-Klardscheti, and then the region of Samtskhe-Dschavakheti. In 1552, the Ottomans also conquered the west coast of Georgia and the region of Achara with the fortress of Gonio. The Ottomans continued to expand Gonio and stationed a large Ottoman garrison in the fortress. Georgian kings and princes often tried to recapture Gonio Fortress and the Achara region and had short-term success, but in the end the fortress remained in Ottoman hands until 1878. Gonio after the Russian-Turkish wars in the 19th century. The last war between the Russian and Ottoman Empires took place in 1877-1878. After its defeat, the Ottoman Empire had to give up several territories in the Caucasus and the Balkans that it had conquered over centuries. After the Peace of San Stefano, signed in 1878, Gonio and the region of Achara became part of Georgia again, within Tsarist Russia. From 1878 to 1930, Russian and then Soviet garrisons were stationed in Gonio. From the middle of the 20th century, the fortress lost its military function and became a tourist attraction. Gonio Fortress in Soviet times and today The first archaeological exploration of the area took place in 1959 and the first official archaeological excavation was carried out in 1961. In 1994 the area of the Gonio fortress was declared a museum and since then excavations have been carried out regularly. During the archaeological work in 2005, the foundations of the Roman soldiers' houses were found, as well as Roman baths with mosaic floors and small sculptures from the 1st century AD. The Gonio Museum The fortress houses a museum with artefacts dating from pre-Christian times to the 80s of the last century. The museum and the fortress are open every day from 10 am to 6 pm and the entrance fee is 5 lari (as of 2020). Facts, legends and myths Archaeological findings have shown that the first settlements on the territory of today's Gonio were established between the 8th and 7th centuries BC. These settlements were part of the Kingdom of Colchis, which was later conquered by the Kingdom of Pontos and then by the Romans. Gonio and the myth of the Argonauts After Jason stole the Golden Fleece with the help of Medea, the princess of Cologne, he and his companions fled across the sea. However, they were pursued and almost captured by the Colchian prince, Medea's brother, Absyrtos. Medea again helped Jason, luring her own brother into her boat and having him killed by the Argonauts. His body was then thrown into the sea. Procopius of Caesarea, a 6th century Byzantine historian, writes that the body of Absyrtos was brought to the coast by the locals and buried in the fortress of Apsaros. The Tomb of the Apostle Matthew According to Epiphanios of Salamis, a Greek scholar who lived in the 4th century and was bishop of Constantia, the twelfth apostle, Matthias, also preached in Georgia (then Colchis), where he died and was buried in Gonio (the fortress of Apsaros). There are several versions of the death and burial place of the Apostle Matthew. His tomb is also said to be in Trier. Matthew was added to the remaining eleven apostles of Jesus after Judas took his own life. However, Paul of Tarsus is also counted as the twelfth apostle. On following trip, you will visit Gonio Fortress |
