At the beginning of the 6th century, in 503, the Sassanids conquered Iberia and turned it into an ordinary Persian province ruled by a marzpan (governor).

[5][6] As soon as the Arabs were defeated, in 1068 Georgia was invaded by the resurgent Turk-Seljuks from Central Asia, under the command of Sultan Alp Arslan.

During that time Rustavi declined, its economy was ruined, and due to its strategic location it only remained as a well-fortified town in the hands of the emirs in Tbilisi.

In 1069 Bagrat IV defeated emir Fadlun and captured the fortress of Rustavi, Partskhisi, and Agarani.

During the anti-Seljuk campaigns led by David IV Rustavi played an essential role in securing Georgia's southern boundaries.

The development of Rustavi was part of Joseph Stalin's accelerated industrialization process, and included ironworks, steelworks, chemical plants and an important railway station on the Tbilisi–Baku railroad line.

The core of the city's industrial activity was the Rustavi Metallurgical Plant, constructed in 1941–1950 to process iron ore from nearby Azerbaijan.

The industrial activity expanded to include the manufacture of steel products, cement, chemicals, and synthetic fibers.

German POWs who were captured in World War II were enlisted to build the city of Rustavi.

Most of its industrial plants were shut down and 65% of the city's population became unemployed, with the attendant social problems of high crime and acute poverty that such a situation brings.

This BOMB magazine interview Archived 2011-11-06 at the Wayback Machine with La Toya Frazier for the exhibition "Planet of Slums" addresses many of the complexities of Lindquist's work in the Republic of Georgia.

[1] This increase makes Rustavi the fourth most populous city in Georgia, just behind Kutaisi, which is suffering from ongoing contraction.

Following Georgian independence in 1991, and the years of civil war and crisis that followed, many residents emigrated due to unemployment.

Other ethnic minorities included 315 Ukrainians, 239 Yazidis, 166 Greeks, 55 Assyrians and smaller numbers of Kists, Jews, Abkhazian and Bosha.

Migration during and after the fall of the Soviet Union and due to civil conflicts has made the city much more mono-ethnic Georgian.

Rustavi was one of only seven municipalities where the ruling Georgian Dream party failed to secure a council majority in 2021.