Anacopia Fortress — fortress
Hons084 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Anacopia Fortress

  • 2 min read
  • 43.094° N 40.808° E

Interesting facts

  • According to the Georgian chronicle, Marwan's besieging army numbered about 60,000 men, and disease alone carried off some 35,000 of them.
  • The defeat at Anacopia wrecked Marwan's plan to march around the Black Sea through Abkhazia and strike the Byzantine Empire from behind.
  • Two rulers of Kartli, Mir and Archil, took refuge behind these walls during the siege of 736–737, sheltering with the Abkhazian ruler Leon.
  • A second Arab campaign, led by Suleiman ibn Isam in 788, also failed to take the fortress.
  • The gateway is framed by just three monolithic limestone slabs, and it sits so high that a wooden ladder was the only way in.
  • The western round tower guarding the main gate was shaped so its defenders could shoot across an arc of almost 290 degrees.
  • Seven towers reinforce the wall along the gentler southern slope, the side most exposed to attack.
  • A military post stood on the summit long before the walls, built at some point between the 2nd and 4th centuries.
  • Frescoes in the small fortress church show a cross and fish, the ichthys symbol favoured by early Christians.
  • The 1983 historical novel 'At the Walls of Anacopia' by Roman Petrozashvili retells the Arab siege and was printed in 100,000 copies.

Why it is worth it

Anacopia Fortress crowns Mount Iverian above New Athos, with the Black Sea spread out below. It is one of the best-preserved early medieval strongholds on the eastern shore of that sea. The walls enclose an area of about 450 by 150 metres. Their main line was built at the end of the 7th century with Byzantine help, when Constantinople was alarmed by Arab expansion into the Caucasus. They are made of carefully dressed limestone blocks, with square towers on the steeper ground and round ones where attackers could bring up siege engines. The gate was set high above ground, so it could be reached only by a movable ladder.

The fortress earned its place in the region's history in 736–737. Marwan ibn Muhammad, the future Umayyad caliph Marwan II, besieged it with a large army while the princes of Kartli sheltered inside with the Abkhazian ruler Leon. The Georgian chronicle puts the defenders at 1,000 Iberians and 2,000 Abkhazians. It says an epidemic swept the attackers' camp and killed tens of thousands, and that the assault failed. Those figures belong to the chronicle rather than to independent record. Either way, the successful defence is seen as a turning point, and Anacopia went on to serve as a capital of the Kingdom of Abkhazia.

Inside the walls are the remains of a small early Christian church with its stone altar, a spring-fed cistern that is still full, and the tall main tower. The tower dates from the mid-11th century. Restoration completed in 2008 made it safe to climb again, and the view from the top over the coast and the monastery below is the main reason most people make the ascent. A stone path laid by the New Athos monks in the late 19th century climbs from the town through forest to the summit.

Getting there

The fortress is above the town of New Athos, about 22 km by road from Sukhumi. It is reached on foot by the path up Mount Iverian, usually combined with the New Athos Cave and the monastery. Sukhum Airport (SUI), about 37 km away, has had flights to Moscow since 2025 but is not recognised internationally. Most visitors arrive by road through the Psou crossing from the Sochi area in Russia.

Plan your visit

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Nearby places

On these lists

The Most Beautiful Places in Georgia 21The Most Impressive Fortresses 51The Most Beautiful Castles, Palaces and Fortresses 302

From the encyclopaedia

Anakopia Fortress is an ancient military citadel in New Athos in the disputed Abkhazia, Georgia located some 22 km by road along the coast from Sukhumi. The site, approximately 450 × 150 meters in dimensions, is located a mile or so inland, at the top of the Iverian Mountain. It is the most complete surviving building of ancient Anakopia, the former capital of the Kingdom of Abkhazia.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

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