The exact time of the found­ing of the fortress in Tbil­isi is unknown, but it already exist­ed in the 4th cen­tu­ry. In the era of late feu­dal­ism, the name Narikala was car­ried by the low­er tow­er of the city fortress, but lat­er it was trans­ferred to the entire citadel. Under David the Builder, the fortress was for­ti­fied and expand­ed. The fortress was rebuilt in the 16th-17th cen­turies. The walls of the fortress descend­ed par­al­lel to the riv­er, which, along with the fortress of Metekhi, locat­ed on the left bank, gave the dom­i­nant posi­tion of the citadel in the region. The Tbil­isi citadel acquired a close to mod­ern look in the 17th-18th cen­turies, but the explo­sion of a pow­der ware­house in 1827 caused irrepara­ble dam­age to it.