peasants are miserable cabins, without either windows or
chimnies.
The principal town, Telav, is situated on the lower parts
of the mountains, and it contains an old castle, three forts,
two Armenian and two Greek churches, in addition to the
public buildings belonging to the government functionaries.
Towards the crests of the Caucasus are three small mountain
districts, which are dependencies of Telav. The first
of these, called 'Iuchi, is about 17 miles square, and comprises
the communities of Sove, Tchaghli, Periketel, and
Ghometserb ; it has the Kistes on its northern borders, the
Didajens on the east; on the west the Pehavians, and 011 the
south the Kakhetians. The villages in the mountains are
well built, and they have been bravely defended against the
Lezgi and other tribes. Grain is cultivated, but the crops
are often lost from the coldness of the region.
The Pehavians are surrounded on all sides by mountains,
which serve as intrenchments. To the north their limits are
snow-clad, and the rapid river Araghva flows on the side of
the Khersourians. The district contains thirteen villages,
with a population of 3698 souls, and it can furnish 700 armed
men. But the people are more peaceably inclined, and are
not so^ brave as their neighbours the Tuchians. Their
domestic animals are very numerous.
The Khersourians are situated on the crests of the
Caucasus, and are surrounded by the Ghoudmakars, the
Kistes, Boghasser, and Didajens. They are in a half savage
state, and less peaceable than the Pehavians, or even the
Tuchians; their favourite occupations being pillage or theft.
There are 29 villages and 2670 inhabitants, who are in a
constant state of hostility with the Kistes.1
Kartelinia extends from Kakhetia to Imiretia and the provinces
of the Akhltskhai; and northward, from the Bort-
chalin and Tiflis district to the territories of Gora and
Ossetia. It contains two districts, Duchet on the eastern
side, and Goria towards the west; it has a superficies of about
1 Apergu, &c., Tome II., pp. 377 to 399.
2600 square miles, and was once a separate kingdom, of which
the ruined city, Mtskhetha, 10 miles north of Tiflis, was the
capital. Kartalinia is mountainous, having, towards the
north, an elevated limestone chain, running parallel to the
Caucasus, and gradually diminishing in height towards the
Kur, where there is an extensive plain. There is also a
considerable plain towards the east, in Gori. On the western
side there are three laVge rivers, the Ksan, and the Araghva,1
first and second, with numerous tributaries; there are also
the Narckvavi, the Arghoun, the Medjouda, and several
others. And towards the eastern side are the Kur and its
affluents, the Liaja, the Medjouda, the Lekhoura, and the
Ksan. The soil is not equal to that of the other provinces,
yet it is very productive. Much of the surface is covered
with oak, walnut, and other fine timber of various kinds;
and, in other parts, hemp, madder, tobacco, and grains, are
cultivated with success. There are but two towns: Gourie
is on the borders of the eastern province, and is situated on a
plain close to the left bank of the Kur; it is defended by a
fort, and contains one Greek church, three Georgian, three
Armenian churches, and 600 houses. Duchet, a fortified
place, and the chief town of the district, is situated on the
slope of a mountain, near the river Arghoun; and, in addition
to those of the public functionaries, it has 213 Armenian and
Georgian houses.
Until recently, the kingdoms of Kakhetia and Kartalinia
composed Georgia Proper; but, according to the ukase of
1831, the latter now includes all the territory which is
bounded by Imiretia, the Caucasus, and the Armenian and
Mussulman provinces. Its extent is about 95 miles, from
the borders of Erivan to the Caucasus in the Lezgi country;
and about 175 miles westward, from the borders of Sheki to
those of Kars: it contains nearly 16,743 square miles of
surface, of which Tiflis is the capital, and is the seat of the
general government. This thriving city is divided by the
river Kur into two portions, the northern and the southern
1 The Arhagus, or Arrhabou.— Strabo, lib. X., p. 500.