Vartsikhe
Vartsikhe
ვარციხე | |
|---|---|
Village | |
A 17th-century church in Vartsikhe | |
| Coordinates: 42°08′38″N 42°43′04″E / 42.14389°N 42.71778°E | |
| Country | Georgia |
| Region | Imereti |
| Municipality | Baghdati |
| Elevation | 80 m (260 ft) |
| Population (2014) | |
• Total | 1,559 |
| Time zone | Georgian Time (UTC+4) |
Vartsikhe (Georgian: ვარციხე [väɾt̪͡s̪ʰiχe̞]) is a village in the Baghdati Municipality, Imereti, Georgia. It is located in western part of the country, in the Imereti Lowlands, at the confluence of the Rioni and Khanitskali rivers, some 17 km northwest of the town of Baghdati. Its population as of the 2014 census was 1,559.
Vartsikhe, formerly Vardtsikhe, is the Rhodopolis of the Eastern Roman authors of Late Antiquity. Rhodopolis was one of the key towns in Lazica, contested between the Eastern Roman and Sasanian empires in the 6th century. From the late 15th century into the early 19th, Vardtsikhe functioned as one of the castles of the kings of Imereti.