Ujarma Fortress from a drone flight

Ujarma Fortress is located some 45 km east from the nation's capital Tbilisi, in the Kakheti region.

We were off for a daytrip to Kakheti, and it was not planned to make a stop at Ujarma, but as I had a drone with myself I decided to take a better look on the fortress complex from above.

Here is what we got:

Ujarma fortress from a drone flight

The fortress consisted of two parts: the Upper Fortress (the Citadel) and the Lower City. A royal palace, consisting of a two-storey building, was located in the eastern part of the Citadel. The Upper Fortress was destroyed in the 10th century by the Arabian conqueror Abul Kassim but was restored in the 12th century by King George III who used it as a treasury.

Nearby road

According to Georgian chronicler Leonti Mroweli, the cornerstone of the Ujarma fortress was built by the Georgian-Iberian king Aspagur in the III-IV centuries. In the reign of King Vakhtang Gorgasali, the fortress was extended and used as a residence.

Ujarma was conquered in 914 when the Arabs invaded the Caucasus mountains, formerly dominated by the Persians. The fight left severe destruction in the building. The upper fortress was destroyed in the 10th century by the Arab conqueror Abul Kassim, but was restored in the 12th century by King George I