13 Asureli Mama Street

Overview

Tsameti Asureli Mama Street (Georgian: ცამეტი ასურელი მამის ქუჩა, “Thirteen Assyrian Fathers Street”) is a street in the Saburtalo district of Tbilisi, in Didi Dighomi in the north-west of the city. According to OpenStreetMap (OSM), it starts at Kviratskhoveli Street in the south-west, runs north and then east, and ends at David Aghmashenebeli Alley. It is about 2.8 km long.

The street is named after the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers, a group of monks who, according to Georgian church tradition, came to Georgia from Mesopotamia in the 6th century and founded several monasteries. In OSM it is also tagged with the alternative names “13 Assyrian Father Street” (English) and “улица 13 Ассирийских Отцов” (Russian).

Location

According to OSM, the street consists of seven sections with a total length of 2,817 m. The south-western end is at Kviratskhoveli Street (about 41.7722° N, 44.7405° E). From there the street runs north for about 0.25 km, then north-east to Vazha-Pshavela Street, and then almost straight to the east. The eastern end is at David Aghmashenebeli Alley (about 41.7770° N, 44.7684° E). The ends are about 2.4 km apart in a straight line. The midpoint is at about 41.7775° N, 44.7515° E. The street's postcode is 0159 (OSM).

From south-west to east, the street crosses or meets:

• Kviratskhoveli Street (south-western end)

• Tsameti Asureli Mama 1st and 2nd Lanes

• Svetitskhoveli Street and Mariam Ugrelidze Street

• Tsameti Asureli Mama 1st to 9th Dead Ends

• Vazha-Pshavela Street and Aleksandre Kazbegi Street

• Tsameti Asureli Mama 3rd and 4th Lanes

• Vazha-Pshavela 1st Lane

• Nestan-Darejani Street

• Tarieli Street

• Avtandili Street

• Tinatini Street

• Rostevani Street

• Grigol Chkhikvadze Street and Vakhtang VI Street

• David Aghmashenebeli Alley (eastern end)

In OSM, most of the street is mapped as a tertiary road. A section of about 0.44 km between Vazha-Pshavela Street and Vazha-Pshavela 1st Lane is mapped as a residential street. East of Tinatini Street the road is asphalt, with a 40 km/h speed limit.

Several streets named after characters of Shota Rustaveli’s poem The Knight in the Panther’s Skin (Nestan-Darejani, Tarieli, Avtandili, Tinatini, Rostevani) cross the eastern part of the street. Shermadini Street, also named after a character of the poem, runs parallel to it about 0.2 km to the north.

Transport

There is no metro station near the street. Based on OSM coordinates, the nearest stations, Ghrmaghele and Guramishvili, are each about 2.2–2.3 km in a straight line from the eastern end of the street. OSM shows a bus stop named “13 Asureli Mama Street” (No. 2064) next to the street.

The name: the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers

We could not find the official decision naming this street in the Legislative Herald of Georgia, so the date of naming is unknown.

According to Georgian Wikipedia, the Assyrian Fathers were a group of church figures who came to Georgia from Syria in the 6th century. The sources call them the “twelve” or “thirteen” Assyrian Fathers; in reality there were more of them, and the number 12–13 seems to have a symbolic meaning. Their leader was Ioane Zedazneli (John of Zedazeni). Davit Garejeli came first, from Antioch, in the first half of the 6th century; Ioane Zedazneli came with his disciples around the middle of the century, and Abibos Nekreseli in the 570s.

Other fathers named in the tradition include Shio Mghvimeli, Ioseb Alaverdeli, Anton Martkopeli, Tadeoz Stefantsmindeli, Piros Breteli, Ise Tsilkneli, Stefane Khirseli, Isidore Samtavneli, Mikael Ulumboeli and Zenon Ikaltoeli. Georgian Wikipedia credits them with founding many monasteries in eastern Georgia, including Zedazeni, Shiomghvime, David Gareja, Nekresi, Martkopi, Alaverdi and Khirsa, which also became centres of Georgian learning.

English Wikipedia notes that their lives are known from a cycle of medieval Georgian hagiographic texts and are not attested in other sources. Scholars disagree on whether they were Assyrians or Georgians educated in Syria, and on their theological position.

Another Tbilisi street is named after one of the fathers: by Tbilisi City Council decision No. 110 of 4 May 2018, an unnamed street near Kakheti Highway in the Samgori district was named after Ioseb Alaverdeli.

Nearby places

• Kviratskhoveli Church — about 0.15 km from the south-western end of the street.

• Church of the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers — a Georgian Orthodox church on Mirian Mepe Street, about 1.2 km to the north.

Distances are calculated from OSM coordinates, in a straight line.

FAQ

1) Where is Tsameti Asureli Mama Street?
In Didi Dighomi, in the Saburtalo district of Tbilisi. It runs from Kviratskhoveli Street in the south-west to David Aghmashenebeli Alley in the east.

2) How long is the street?
About 2.8 km according to OpenStreetMap (seven sections, 2,817 m in total). Its ends are about 2.4 km apart in a straight line.

3) What does the name mean?
“Tsameti Asureli Mama” means “Thirteen Assyrian Fathers” — the 6th-century monks who, according to Georgian church tradition, came to Georgia from Mesopotamia (Syria) and founded monasteries.

4) Who were the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers?
According to Georgian Wikipedia, a group of church figures led by Ioane Zedazneli. Among them were Davit Garejeli, Shio Mghvimeli, Ioseb Alaverdeli, Abibos Nekreseli and others. The number 13 is considered largely symbolic.

5) Which monasteries are linked with them?
Georgian Wikipedia lists Zedazeni, Shiomghvime, David Gareja, Nekresi, Martkopi, Alaverdi and Khirsa among the monasteries founded by the Assyrian Fathers.

6) When was the street named?
We could not find the official naming decision, so the date is unknown.

7) Which streets does it cross?
Among others: Kviratskhoveli, Svetitskhoveli, Mariam Ugrelidze, Vazha-Pshavela, Aleksandre Kazbegi, Nestan-Darejani, Tarieli, Avtandili, Tinatini, Rostevani, Grigol Chkhikvadze and Vakhtang VI Streets, and David Aghmashenebeli Alley.

8) Does the street have side lanes?
Yes. OpenStreetMap shows four numbered lanes (1st–4th) and nine numbered dead ends (1st–9th) with the name of the street.

9) What is the nearest metro station?
There is no metro nearby. Ghrmaghele and Guramishvili stations are each about 2.2–2.3 km in a straight line from the eastern end of the street.

10) Is the Church of the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers on this street?
No. The church stands on Mirian Mepe Street, about 1.2 km in a straight line to the north of the street.

Sources

• Tsameti Asureli Mama Street (central section) — OpenStreetMap (7 sections in total, incl. 1490238759, 894931963, 949697712)

• Assyrian Fathers — Georgian Wikipedia

• Thirteen Assyrian Fathers — English Wikipedia

• Tbilisi City Council decision No. 110 of 4 May 2018 (Ioseb Alaverdeli Street, Samgori district) — Legislative Herald of Georgia (in Georgian)