class="apple-converted-space"> Mtkvari River
from at least the fifth century BC,
while
rock cut architecture
in the context of
Georgian Christianity
is known from Zedazeni
and Garedzhi from the sixth century
AD, and more locally from
Vanis
Kvabebi, Cholta and Margastani from the eighth century.
Four distinct building phases have
been identified at Vardzia: the first during the reign of
Giorgi III
(1156-1184), when the site was laid
out and the first cave dwellings excavated; the second between his death and
the marriage of his successor Tamar
in
1186, when the Church of the Dormition was carved out and decorated; the third
from that date until the
Battle
of Basianc.1203, during which time many more dwellings as well as the defenses,
water supply, and irrigation network were constructed; while the fourth was a
period of partial rebuilding after heavy damage in the earthquake of 1283.
A number of documentary sources supplement
the knowledge derived from the site's physical fabric. The collection of
chronicles known as the History
of Georgia refers to Tamar
erecting a church to house the
