დიაუხის ქვეყნის ნაფუძარზე: შუა საუკუნეების ქართული ცენტრები ისტორიულ ტაოში

Abstract

The present paper aims to identify revised locations of Shashilu, Shesheti, Zua(ni), Utukhai, Ashkalashi, Bia(ni), Khusha(ni), Ultuza, Uldini (Didi), Kada (Qada), the Country Gate, Khushalkhi, and Kulkha – ancient cities and centers of the Diauehi (Diaokhi) Kingdom, as recorded on cuneiform tablets of the Urartian kings Menua, Argishti I (son of Menua), and Sarduri II (son of Argishti I). Drawing on an analysis of historical sources and research, a comparison of toponyms found in historical atlases and online satellite maps (Google Maps), as well as multiple field visits conducted between 2016 and 2018, this article attempts to localize each of the aforementioned cities or ‘countries’ of Diauehi, along with the ‘Georgian Gate’ (Gürcü-Kapı), the ‘Three Gates’ (Sami-kari), and the ‘Engüzek Gate’ (Engüzek-kapı), within the gorges of the Tortum-Su (Tortumists’q’ali, Tortum Çayı) and the Oltu-Su (Oltisis Ts’q’ali, Oltu Çayı) rivers. In particular, Shasharoz, the name of an unidentified chapel discovered in 2016 south of Uzundere (Tortum Gorge), with Georgian lapidary inscriptions, probably from the 10^th century, bears a resemblance to that of the ancient Diauehi capital, Shashilu: Shashilu // Shashilo // Shashalo // Shasharo-z.
Mapping of ancient cities also showed that the geography of Urartian military campaigns coincides with an important trade route, which passed from Erzurum through the Georgian Gates, Tortum-Su, Oltu-Su and the Chorokhi river and continued to Sarpi, the modern Georgian-Turkish border, which corresponds to the theories of the settlement of Colchis from the southeast (presumably, from Kola) in the Black Sea region. Moreover, the studies also indicate that David III Kouropalates, the 10^th-century King of Georgia, who resided at Oltu Castle with its religious center at Bana (Oltu Gorge), had to build the main Christian centers in the Tortum Gorge (Khakhuli, Oshki, Ishkhani, Otkhta, Parkhali), all in the immediate vicinity of old Diauehi cities which, after the reintegration of Tortum into the medieval Georgian Kingdom of Tao, epitomised the country’s strength and power.
Viewed from a broader historical and geographical perspective, one can observe that from the rocky heights along the road from Erzurum to Tortum, the headwaters of three major rivers are visible. One of these – the Ch’orokhi (via its tributaries, the Tortum-Su and Oltu-Su) flows northward into the Black Sea; the Araks (Aras), which has one of its sources in the Gioklia Pass and flows into the Caspian Sea following a confluence with the Kura (Mtkvari) River; the Dumlu-Su, Kara-Su and Sercham-Su, which join the Euphrates, flowing southwards into the Persian Gulf. Therefore, the Moskhi Mountains, in conjunction with the Kop Mountains, which demarcate its southern border from the Anti-Taurus Mountains, constitute a pivotal watershed not only for the aforementioned rivers but also for the ancient civilisations. Two branches of its inhabitants, along the basins of the Ch’orokhi and Kura rivers, played a significant role in the formation of the Georgian ethnos and its statehood over millennia of migrations, wars and peace, trade and mutual exchange.