View source for Gonio (fortress)

{{Short description|Roman fortress in Adjara, Georgia}}
{{Infobox ancient site
  |name = Gonio-Apsaros Fortress
  |native_name = 
  |alternate_name = 
  |image = [[File:Castle of Gonio2.jpg|260px]]
  |alt = 
  |caption = Aerial view of Gonio fortress
  |map_type = Georgia
  |map_alt = Location in Georgia
  |map_size = 250px
  |coordinates = {{coord|41|34|23|N|41|34|25|E|display=inline,title}}
  |location = [[Adjara]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]
  |region = [[Lazica]]
  |type = Settlement
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  |excavations = 
  |archaeologists = 
  |condition = In ruins
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}}
'''Gonio''' ({{lang-ka| გონიოს ციხე}}, previously called '''Apsarus''' or '''Apsaros''' ({{langx|grc|Ἄψαρος}})<ref>Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica, §A153.14</ref> and '''Apsyrtus''' or '''Apsyrtos''' (Ἄψυρτος)<ref>[https://el.wikisource.org/wiki/Περίπλους_Ευξείνου_Πόντου#7  Periplus of the Euxine Sea, Arrian, § 7]</ref>) is a Roman fortification in [[Adjara]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], on the [[Black Sea]], 15&nbsp;km south of [[Batumi]], at the mouth of the [[Chorokhi]] river.  The village sits 4&nbsp;km north of the Turkish border. Its name was connected with the myth of [[Medea]] and her brother Absyrtus.<ref>{{Cite Stephanus|''s.v.'' Ἀψυρτίδες}}</ref>

The oldest reference to the fortress is by [[Pliny the Elder]]<ref name="pliny">{{Cite Pliny|6.4}}</ref> in the ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]]'' (1st century AD). There is also a reference to the ancient name of the site in [[Appian]]’s ''Mithridatic Wars''<ref name="appian">App. Mithr. 15.101.</ref> (2nd century AD). In the 2nd century AD it was a well-fortified Roman city within [[Colchis]]. The town was also known for its theatre and hippodrome. [[Procopius]], writing in the 6th century, speaks of the remains of its public buildings as proving that it was once a place of some importance.<ref>[[Procopius]], ''Bell. Goth.'' 4.2.</ref>

It later came under Byzantine influence. The name "Gonio" is first attested in [[Michael Panaretos]] in the 14th century.<ref>Panaretos, ch. 99. Greek text and English translation in Scott Kennedy, ''Two Works on Trebizond'', Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library 52 (Cambridge: Harvard University, 2019), p. 49</ref> In addition, there was a short-lived Genoese trade factory at the site. In 1547, Gonio was taken by the [[Ottoman Empire]], who held it until 1878, when, via the [[Treaty of San Stefano|San-Stefano Treaty]], Adjara became part of the [[Russian Empire]]. In the fall of 1647, according to [[Evliya Çelebi]], Gonio was captured by a [[Cossacks|Cossack]] navy of 70 [[Chaika (boat)|chaikas]], but quickly recovered by Ghazi Sidi Ahmed, ruler of the [[Tortum]] sanjak, with a force of 1,000 Turks and 3,000 "Mingrelians".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Çelebi|first1=Evliya|author-link1=Evliya Çelebi|editor1-last=Hammer-Purgstall|editor1-first=Joseph von|editor1-link=Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall|title=Narrative of travels in Europe, Asia, and Africa, in the Seventeenth Century, vol. 2|date=1834|publisher=Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland|location=London|pages=191–196|url=https://archive.org/stream/narrativeoftrave02evli#page/194/mode/2up/search/Gonia}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Tivadze|first1=Tamar|title=კაზაკების მიერ გონიოს ციხის აღების საკითხისათვის|journal=Matsne|date=1977|volume=1|pages=76–83|trans-title=For the Cossack capture of Gonio Fortress|language=ka}}</ref>

[[File:Gonio Fortress. entrance.jpg|thumb|left|The gate of the Gonio castle]]
The grave of [[Saint Matthias]], one of the [[twelve apostles]], is believed to be inside the Gonio fortress. This is unverifiable as the Georgian government currently prohibits digging near the supposed graveside.  Other archaeological excavations are however taking place on the grounds of the fortress, focusing on Roman layers.

Gonio is currently experiencing a tourism boom.  Most tourists come from Tbilisi in the summer months to enjoy beaches that are generally regarded as cleaner than [[Batumi]]'s beaches (located 15&nbsp;km to the north).
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== Archaeological investigations ==
From 1995, the Gornio-Apsarus archaeological expedition has carried out investigations at the Roman fort.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kakhidze |first1=A. |last2=Mamuladze |first2=Sh |last3=Inaishvili |first3=N. |last4=Tavamaishvili |first4=G. |last5=Khalvashi |first5=Merab |last6=Kakhidze |first6=E. |last7=Ebralidze |first7=T. |last8=Varshalomidze |first8=I. |date=2002 |title=Recent archaeological finds in Gonio-Apsarus |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/ista_0000-0000_2002_act_853_1_2252 |journal=Pont Euxin et commerce: La genèse de la "route de la soie". Actes du IXe Symposium de Vani (Colchide, 1999) |volume=853 |issue=1 |language=English |pages=255}}</ref> The Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology at the [[University of Warsaw]] funded photogrammetric, topographical, and geophysical surveys of the site in 2012.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Misiewicz |first1=Krzysztof |last2=Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski |first2=Radosław |date=2012 |title=Gonio (Georgia): non-invasive surveys of the Roman Fort of Asparos - season 2012 |url=https://bazhum.muzhp.pl/media/files/Swiatowit_rocznik_poswiecony_archeologii_przeddziejowej_i_badaniom_pierwotnej_kultury_polskiej_i_slowianskiej/Swiatowit_rocznik_poswiecony_archeologii_przeddziejowej_i_badaniom_pierwotnej_kultury_polskiej_i_slowianskiej-r2012-t10_(51)-nA/Swiatowit_rocznik_poswiecony_archeologii_przeddziejowej_i_badaniom_pierwotnej_kultury_polskiej_i_slowianskiej-r2012-t10_(51)-nA-s117-121/Swiatowit_rocznik_poswiecony_archeologii_przeddziejowej_i_badaniom_pierwotnej_kultury_polskiej_i_slowianskiej-r2012-t10_(51)-nA-s117-121.pdf |journal=Światowit: Rocznik poświęcony archeologii przeddziejowej i badaniom pierwotnej kultury polskiej i słowiańskiej |volume=10 |pages=117–121}}</ref>

== Layout ==
The fortress is rectangular, and was built with four gates and 22 towers along the circuit of walls enclosing the site; 18 of the towers still survive.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kakhidze |first1=A. |last2=Mamuladze |first2=Sh. |last3=Inaishvili |first3=N. |last4=Tavamaishvili |first4=G. |last5=Khalvashi |first5=Merab |last6=Kakhidze |first6=E. |last7=Ebralidze |first7=T. |last8=Varshalomidze |first8=I. |date=2002 |title=Recent archaeological finds in Gonio-Apsarus |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/ista_0000-0000_2002_act_853_1_2252 |journal=Pont Euxin et commerce: La genèse de la "route de la soie". Actes du IXe Symposium de Vani (Colchide, 1999) |volume=853 |issue=1 |language=English |pages=251–262}}</ref>

==Further reading==
* Radoslaw Karasiewicz-Szczypiorski: ''Apsaros. Early Headquarters Building (Principia). New Localization?'' In: ''Pro Georgia'' 26, 2016, S.&nbsp;53-63.
* Shota Mamuladze: ''Recent archaeological finds in Apsarus''. In: ''The Bosporus'', Archaeopress, Oxford 2013, S.&nbsp;355-361.
* [[Angelika Geyer]] (Hrsg.): ''Neue Forschungen in Apsaros, 2002–2002'' (= ''Jenaer Forschungen in Georgien'' 1). Logos, Tbilissi 2003, {{ISBN|99940-762-9-9}}.
* Angelika Geyer, Shota Mamuladze: ''Gonio-Apsaros. 3. Georgisch-deutsche archäologische Expedition Gonio-Apsaros. Erster vorläufiger Bericht, Arbeiten im Jahre 2000''. Logos, Tbilissi 2002
* [[Annegret Plontke-Lüning]]: ''Das Kastell Apsaros als Zentrum der Akkulturation im Ostschwarzmeergebiet in Kaiserzeit und Spätantike''. In: ''Archaeologia Circumpontica'' 1 (2003), p.&nbsp;13-15.
* Annegret Plontke-Lüning: ''Das römische Kastell Apsaros''. In: ''Georgica'' 17 (1994), p.&nbsp;23-28. 
* Annegret Plontke-Lüning: ''Apsaros und der pontische Limes''. In: ''La ciutat en el món romà. La ciudad en el mundo romano''. 2. Comunicacions. 14 Congrés Internacional d'Arqueología Clàssica, Tarragona 1993, p.&nbsp;336-337.
* [[Michael Alexander Speidel]]: ''The Caucasus Frontier. Second century garrisons at Apsarus, Petra and Phasis''. In: ''Studien zu den Militärgrenzen Roms'' III, 13. Internationaler Limeskongress (Stuttgart 1986), p.&nbsp;657-658.

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
{{DGRG|title=Apsarus}}

==References==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080402005759/http://www.fhs.cuni.cz/conference/blacksea2005/default.asp?id=8 Kakhidze, Emzar, Recent Archaeological Finds in Apsarus]. Third International Congress on Black Sea Antiquities, 2005.

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[[Category:Buildings and structures in Adjara]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Adjara]]
[[Category:Batum oblast]]
[[Category:Roman legionary fortresses in Georgia]]
[[Category:Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance of Georgia]]
[[Category:Roman fortifications in Cappadocia]]