Argveti

The area lay on the historic Iberian-Lazican frontier, i.e., between what are now eastern and western parts of Georgia.

Argveti was a semi-independent princedom (samtavro) during the early Middle Ages, famed for its 8th-century nobles David and Constantine Mkheidze who fought against the Arabs in the 730s.

It was then a patrimony of the powerful Baghvashi ducal family, which went back in 1103, allowing King David IV to donate part of Argveti to Gelati Monastery.

In the late medieval period, Argveti was distributed among the fiefdoms of various noble families of Imereti, particularly the Tsereteli, Abashidze, Chkheidze, and Mkheidze.

Some of the important historic monuments scattered across the area are the fortresses of Shorapani, Skanda, Sveri, Chikha, Mukhuri, and the churches of Ubisi, Jruchi, Tabakini, and Katskhi.