The Shemokmedi church was built as the burial place of the Gurieli, rulers of Guria, and dates to the 12th century. In the 16th century, after the Turks conquered Samtskhe-Saatabago, Vakhtang I Gurieli purpose-built the domed church "Zarzma" to house the icon of the Transfiguration translated from the Zarzma monastery in the 16th century, along with other precious objects. At the close of the 17th century Bishop Iakob Dumbadze served at Shemokmedi; in 1687 he traveled to Europe and met Pope Innocent XI.