It is said that in the 5th
century, Vakhtang I
Gorgassali, king of Iberia,
then settled at the Court of
Mtskheta, went out hunting
with his royal falcon in the
neighbourhood forests.
The falcon allegedly caught
a pheasant during the hunt,
after which both birds fell
into a nearby hot spring
and died from burns.
Impressed by this
unexpected discovery, the
monarch decided to build a
city and gave it the name of
“თბილი”, meaning warm in
the old Georgian dialect.
Tpili (თბილი) became
Tbili, then Tbilisi or warm
location, in reference to the
numerous sulphureted hot
springs, coming out from
the ground.