HISTORICAL-GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS OF THE COUNTRIES IN HISTORICAL TAO-KLARJETI, MODERN ARDAHAN REGION, ACCORDING TO URARTIAN WRITTEN SOURCES AND EXISTING MONUMENTS OF MATERIAL CULTURE

Abstract

The existence of numerous early polities, tribes, and tribal confederations within the territory of Tao-Klarjeti is well attested. Some of the most important information concerning the earliest peoples and countries of Georgia is preserved in Urartian cuneiform inscriptions, in which numerous countries, cities, and tribes are mentioned in the context of military campaigns and marching routes. With regard to the localization of the places mentioned in these sources, scholarly literature offers a wide range of interpretations. Some of these localizations have been established with relative accuracy, while others remain at the level of assumptions and hypotheses. Consequently, we encounter divergent and often mutually contradictory views among researchers. Owing to the scarcity of sources, the precise localization of these countries constitutes a particularly difficult task. The issue requires a complex approach which, in addition to the correlation of written sources, necessitates the integration of various types of data—such as the historical geography of the region, archaeology, toponymy, and other related fields—within a single analytical framework.

In the present study, the countries mentioned in Urartian sources are examined from a historical- geographical perspective, focusing on those whose location is connected, or may be connected, with the area of Tao-Klarjeti that corresponds to the territory of modern Ardahan. Over different periods, several dozen research expeditions have been conducted in Tao-Klarjeti and its adjacent regions. In recent years, expeditions were organized in Samtskhe-Javakheti and Adjara with the support of the Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia [within the framework of grant PHDF-23-4235]. As a result, more than 500 cyclopean dry-stone structures have been recorded in historical Meskheti, which encompasses the territories of Georgia and Tao-Klarjeti. These structures should represent the material culture of the tribes and countries mentioned in Urartian written sources.

The methodology of the research is based on the analysis of sources with the aim of determining the location or approximate location of ancient “countries” and correlating them with modern data from the study area. As a result, the possibility increases to localize, or further specify, the location of ancient countries and cities. At the same time, such an approach enhances the potential for providing additional arguments in support of existing hypotheses. Through analysis conducted using this method, the study reveals a coherent picture of the countries associated with the Ardahan region, which, on the one hand, refines previously held views and, on the other hand, generates new opportunities for research.

Keywords: Tao-Klarjeti; Ardahan Region; Urartian Written Sources; Cuneiform Inscriptions; Diauehi (Daiaeni); Historical Geography; Localization of Ancient Polities; Cyclopean Architecture.