Ketevan Digmelashvili
PhD of History
National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia (Specialist)
Tbilisi, Georgia
Ketevan Digmelashvili
PhD of History
National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia (Specialist)
Tbilisi, Georgia
The tiles with the inscriptions of Aghna from Bebristsikhe Castle and the
Samtavisi Cathedral as a Historical Source
Abstract
The research refers to the flat tiles discovered in 2007 at Bebristsikhe castle and in 2012 at the Samtavisi Cathedral, which were made with one mold and the pleading inscription: "Christ have mercy on Aghna" is engraved in relief. Among the nobles with this name in historical documents, who had the ability and opportunity to beg the Lord for their souls in exchange for certain works, only two people are known: one is the Kakhetian nobleman Aghnia Kherkheulidze in the second half of the 15th century, and the other Aghnia Zedginidze, the brother of Taka Amilakhvari, in the first half of the 16th century. Since the tiles were found on the locations in the territory of Saamilakhvro, and at the same time, according to the same historical documents, Aghnia appears as a donor of property to the Samtavisi and Shiomghvime together with his brother, we think that Aghnia Zedginidze is the one who should be mentioned on the tiles found in Samtavisi and Bebristsikhe. This is also supported by the fact that Gayane, the mother of Aghnia and Taka Zedginidze, was the rebuilder of the Cathedral, according to the construction inscription of Samtavisi.
The identification of Aghna mentioned on the tiles with Aghnia Zedginidze clarifies some unknown details of Georgian history. In particular: it turns out that the entire family of Amirindo Zedginidze was involved in the renovation of Samtavisi Cathedral. In parallel with the rehabilitation of Samtavisi, the Zedginidzes have also carried out some repair works in Bebristsikhe (specifically, this should be related to Aghnia). In addition, the towers on Bebristsikhe could not be covered with tiles, it appears that there should have been a church that was covered with tiles. As of today, there are no traces of the church at Bebristsikhe, however, the inscription tiles found in the castle, a small limestone slab with the image of a cross, and also a blue-glazed grooved tile typical of the late Middle Ages indicate that the castle must have had a door chapel. It seems that Aghnia Zedginidze has renovated its roof at least. This means that Bebristsikhe was a functioning fortress at the beginning of the 16th century.
Keywords: History, source studies, ethnology, anthropology, Samtavisi Cathedral, inscriptions of Aghna.