from the earliest times, hereti came under the rule of the caucasian albania. with the decline of caucasian albania, the area was gradually incorporated into the iberian kingdom forming one of its duchies (saeristavo) in the 5th century and its peoples were eventually assimilated into the georgians proper. it was when the name hereti first appeared in the georgian sources. hereti was populated by caucasian albanians, dagestani, armenians, persians and georgians. it had flourishing towns that traded with persia and armenia.