Lecture "Ancient West and East: Mtskheta, Capital of Caucasian
Iberia" Thu, February 9, 2006 • 1:00 PM • Chicano Culture Room,
Texas Union 4.206 Thanks to its geographical position, Caucasian
Iberia, situated in modern-day eastern Georgia, has always been
considered as a meeting-point of the cultures of the ancient
West and East. It has proved more dif- ficult than was first
thought to apply hard evidence to this cliche. In the Archaic
and Classical periods, Iberia was part of the Achaemenid
kingdom, most probably one of its satrapies. The Iberian
kingdom, with its capital Mtskheta, was created in the early
Hellenistic period and until the 5th century AD, when the
capital was moved to Tbilisi, it was heavily influenced by
ancient Persian culture and practices. This is visible
especially in Mtskheta and in how the royal court was organised
and displayed itself. At the same time, ancient Greek became the
language of the elite and Greek architects were employed to
construct royal residences. From the 1st century