city
Mtskheta (Svetitskhoveli, Jvari)
Mtskheta, Georgia · Armenia & Georgia
41.839, 44.706
Attested. The conversion of the Iberian king through a captive woman is attested by 4th-5th-century Greek and Latin historians, who say they heard it from an Iberian prince. Her name, Nino, and the later details are Georgian tradition.
Mtskheta was the capital of the kingdom of Iberia (Kartli). Rufinus, Socrates and Sozomen tell how a captive Christian woman, known in Georgian tradition as Nino, healed the queen and led King Mirian to convert in the 4th century. The Svetitskhoveli Cathedral and the 6th-century Jvari church on the hill above mark this beginning.
Source stance: insider. Christian church historians (insider), drawing on an Iberian informant.
People and groups named here
- Nino
- King Mirian III
- Queen Nana
Sources
- Historical Monuments of Mtskheta (UNESCO World Heritage List no. 708)
UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Socrates Scholasticus, Church History I.20 (conversion of the Iberians)
tr. A. C. Zenos, NPNF2 vol. 2 (1890), public domain; New Advent. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History II.7 (the captive woman and the Iberians)
tr. C. D. Hartranft, NPNF2 vol. 2 (1890), public domain; New Advent. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Pleiades place 863840: Meschistha
Pleiades Gazetteer (ISAW, NYU). Accessed 2026-11-11.
Further reading
Councils here
None in this list.