MTSKHETA

town, Georgia, at the confluence of the Kura and Aragvi rivers, just northwest of Tbilisi. One of the oldest settlements of Transcaucasia, Mtskheta was the capital of Georgia from the 2nd to the 5th century AD. Of historical and architectural interest are the Cathedral of Sveti-Tskhoveli, which was founded in the 4th century and reconstructed in the 15th and 18th centuries; the Samtavro convent; and the Dzhvari Church. The cathedral was the traditional burial place for the kings of Georgia. On a hilltop outside the town stand the ruins of the Armaz-Tsikhe Castle, the oldest in Georgia and the seat of the 2nd5th-century Georgian kings. Pop. (1991 est.) 9,900.