The fortress first appears in the 13th century records but archaeological evidence shows that the area had already been fortified in the last centuries BC . The fortress controlled major strategic and economic routes and accommodated a large garrison . In the 16th century the Ottomans captured it to overawe Tbilisi . In 1598 the Georgians besieged it to no avail ; in 1599 they feigned a relaxation of the siege for Lent before launching a surprise attack at night to regain the citadel . The fortress continued to change hands between the Georgians and the Persians in the 17th century . The citadel acquired the present-day form under the Georgian kings Rostom of Kartli in the 1630s and Erekle II in 1774 . After the Russian annexation of Georgia in 1801 , the fortress was garrisoned by a Russian grenadier battalion , but its importance gradually declined and the fortifications went defunct . The British '' Encyclopædia Metropolitana '' reported in 1845 : Gori Fortress was significantly damaged by the earthquake in 1920 . The best preserved structure is Tskhra-kara ( " the Nine-gated " ) , which looks to the west , and is adjoined by the supplementary walls on the south and east
earthquake in 1920
1920 Gori earthquake
Gori Fortress