Anakopia Fortress ( ka, ანაკოფია, tr) is an ancient military citadel in

New Athos New Athos or Akhali Atoni is a town in the Gudauta Municipality of Abkhazia situated some from Sokhumi by the shores of the Black Sea. The town was previously known under the names Nikopol, Acheisos, Anakopia, Nikopia, Nikofia, Nikopsis, Absara ...

(as it is currently known) in the

disputed Controversy (, ) is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an oppo ...

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

located some 22 km (14 miles) by road along the coast from

Sukhumi Sukhumi or Sokhumi is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the Capital city, capital and largest city of Abkhazia, a partially recognised state that most countries consider a part of Georgia (country), Georgia. The ...

. The site, approximately 450 × 150 meters in dimensions, is located a mile or so inland, at the top of the

Iverian Mountain Iverian Mountain or Iberian Mountain is a 344-meter (1129 feet) high''Иверская гора''abhazia777.ru/ref> hill in New Athos, Abkhazia, Georgia (country), Georgia. There are ruins of the ancient capital of Abkhazia, Anakopia, on the mou ...

. It is the most complete surviving building of ancient Anakopia, the former capital of the

Kingdom of Abkhazia The Kingdom of Abkhazia ( ka, აფხაზთა სამეფო, tr; ) was a medieval feudal state in the Caucasus which was established in the 780s. Through dynastic succession, it was united in 1008 with the Kingdom of the Iberians, f ...

History

A military structure was constructed here between the second and fourth centuries. At the end of the seventh century, walls were constructed around the site of the citadel, with support from the Byzantines who had become alarmed by the Islamic Caliphate's expansionism. The walls, up to 60 centimeters (~2 feet) thick, are constructed of largely tightly assembled and carefully hewn limestone blocks. There is a single entrance, a small gate on the south side of the enclosure. At the centre lies a Roman-styled tower, four storeys high, with excellent views in all directions across the surrounding landscape and, to the south-west of the fortress, the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

. A small Christian basilica was also constructed in the centre of the fortress during or before the eighth century. Its stone altar survives to this day (2014), along with some frescoes featuring a cross and some fishes, a

religious symbol A religious symbol is an iconic representation intended to represent a specific religion, or a specific concept within a given religion. Religious symbols have been used in the military in many countries, such as the United States military chap ...

frequently used by

early Christians Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and bey ...

in and around the

Eastern Roman empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

. Next to the church is a cistern filled naturally with spring water, by means of a 25 meter deep well beneath it. During the eighth century, Anakopia found itself near the moving frontier that separated Byzantine Christendom from the

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member o ...

, and in 736/737 Abū ʿAbd Al-Malik Marwān ibn Muḥammad, the future Marwan II, appeared outside the walls with a force of 60,000 men and laid siege to what was by then the capital of the

Abkhazian Kingdom The Kingdom of Abkhazia ( ka, აფხაზთა სამეფო, tr; ) was a Middle Ages, medieval feudalism, feudal state in the Caucasus which was established in the 780s. Through dynastic succession, it Unification of the Georgian rea ...

. The Georgian chronicle relates that the citadel was defended by a force of 1,000 Iberians and 2,000 Abkhazians under the leadership of Leon I of Abkhazia. The chronicle recalls that the Arab forces suffered from an epidemic that killed 35,000 of them while a further 3,000 were killed in the fighting. The successful defence of Anakopia is regarded as a pivotal turning point in the history of the region. A restoration was undertaken in 2008 to improve the safety of the site and reinstate the tower as a usable lookout point.

References

{{Reflist Fortifications in Abkhazia Castles and forts in Georgia (country) Archaeological sites in Georgia (country)