Tbilisi's favorable and strategic location did not necessarily bode well for its existence as Eastern Georgia's/Iberia's capital. Located strategically in the heart of the Caucasus between Europe and Asia, Tbilisi became an object of rivalry between the region's various powers such as Persia, The Byzantine Empire, Arabia, and the Seljuk Turks. The cultural development of the city was therefore heavily dependent on who ruled the city at various times. Even though Tbilisi (and Eastern Georgia in general) was able to maintain a certain degree of autonomy from its conquerors, the foreign domination of the city began in the latter half of the 6th century and lasted well into the 10th century A.D.

From 570-580 A.D., the Persians took over Tbilisi and ruled it for about a decade. In the year 627 A.D., Tbilisi was sacked by the Byzantine/Khazar armies and later from 736-738, Arab armies entered the town under Marwan II Ibn-Muhammad. After this point, the Arabs established an emirate in Tbilisi. It must be noted that the Arab domination brought a certain order to the region and introduced a more formal/modernized judicial system into Georgia. In 764, Tbilisi was once again sacked by the Khazars, which was still under Arab control. In the year 853 A.D., the armies of Arab leader Bugha Turk (Bugha the Turk) invaded Tbilisi in order to establish a Caliphate. The Arab domination of Tbilisi continued until about 1050 A.D, due to the fact that local Georgians were unsuccessful in their drive to expel the Arabs. In 1068, the city was once again sacked, only this time by the Seljuk Turks under Sultan Alp Arslan.

Tbilisi's "Golden Age" did not last for more than a century. In 1236 A.D., after suffering crushing defeats to the Mongols, Georgia came under Mongol domination. The nation itself maintained a form of semi-independence and did not lose its statehood, but Tbilisi was strongly influenced by the Mongols for the next century both politically and culturally. In the 1320s, the Mongols were forcefully expelled from Georgia and Tbilisi became the capital of an independent Georgian state once again. An outbreak of the plague struck the city in 1366.

From the late 14th until the end of the 18th century, Tbilisi came under the rule of various foreign invaders once again and on several occasions was completely burnt to the ground. In 1386, Tbilisi was invaded by the armies of Tamerlane (Timur). In 1444, the city was invaded and destroyed by Jahan Shah (the Shah of the town of Tabriz in Persia). From 1477 to 1478 the city was held by the Ak Koyunlu tribesmen of Uzun Hassan. In 1522 A.D., Tbilisi came under Persian control but was later freed in 1524 by King David X of Georgia. During this period, many parts of Tbilisi were reconstructed and rebuilt. From the 17-18th centuries, Tbilisi once again became the object of rivalry only this time between the Ottoman Turks and Persia. King Erekle of Georgia tried on several occasions, successfully, to free Tbilisi from Persian rule but in the end Tbilisi was burnt to the ground in 1795 by Shah Agha-Mohammad Khan. At this point, sensing that Georgia could not hold up against Persia alone, Erekle sought the help of Russia.

Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, Tbilisi has experienced periods of significant instability and turmoil. After a brief Civil War which the city endured for two weeks from December 1991 – January 1992 (when pro-Gamsakhurdia and Opposition forces clashed with each other), Tbilisi became the scene of frequent armed confronations between various mafia clans and illegal business entrepreneurs. Even during the Shevardnadze Era (1993-2003), crime and corruption became rampant at most levels of society. Many segments of society became impoverished due to a lack of employment which was caused by the crumbling economy. Average citizens of Tbilisi started to become increasingly disillusioned with the existing quality of life in the city (and in the nation in general). Mass protests took place in November 2003 after falsified parliamentary elections forced more than 100,000 people into the streets and concluded with the Rose Revolution. Since 2003, Tbilisi has experienced considerably more stability, decreasing crime rates, improving economy, and a booming tourist industry similar to (if not more than) what the city experienced during the Soviet times.

Tbilisi is a multicultural city. The city is home to more than 100 different ethnic groups. Around 80% of the population is ethnically Georgian, with significant populations of other ethnic groups which includes Russians, Armenians, and Azeris. Along with the above mentioned groups, Tbilisi is also home to various other ethnic groups including Ossetians, Abkhazians, Ukrainians, Greeks, Jews, Estonians, Germans, Kurds, Assyrians, and others. In recent years, the Turkish and Chinese populations of the city have experienced the fastest rates of growth.

Tbilisi has a fairly rich sports history. Like many other towns of the Near East with strong Asian cultural influences, Tbilisi historically had a special area of town that was designated for sports competitions. The present-day districts of Saburtalo and Didube were the most common areas where such competitions were held. Up until the beginning of the 19th century, sports such as horse-riding (polo in particular), wrestling, boxing, and marksmanship were the most popular city sports. As Tbilisi started to develop socially and economically and integrate more with the West, new sports from Europe were introduced. The Soviet period brought an increased popularization of sports that were common in Europe and to a certain extent, the United States. At the same time, Tbilisi developed the necessary sports infrastructure for various professional sports. By 1978, the city had around 250 large and small sports facilities, including among others, four indoor and six outdoor Olympic sized pools, 185 basketball courts and halls, 192 volleyball facilities, 82 handball arenas, 19 tennis courts, 31 football (soccer) fields, and five stadiums. At present, the largest stadium in Tbilisi is the Boris Paichadze Stadium (58,000 seats) and the second largest is the Mikheil Meshki Stadium Lokomotivi Stadium (24,680 seats). The Sports Palace which usually hosts basketball and tennis tournaments seats approximately 11,000 people.

The most popular sports in Tbilisi today are football, rugby league, basketball, and wrestling. There are several professional football and rugby teams as well as wrestling clubs. NBA players Zaza Pachulia and Nikoloz Tskitishvili are Tbilisi natives. Outside of professional sports, the city has a number of inter-collegiate and amateur sports teams and clubs.

Tbilisi's signature football team, Dinamo Tbilisi, has not won a major European championship since 1981, when it won the European Cup Winners' Cup and became the easternmost team in Europe to achieve the feat. The basketball club Dinamo Tbilisi won the Euroleague in 1962 but also never repeated any such feat.

The large majority of Georgia’s media companies (including television, newspaper and radio) are headquartered in Tbilisi. The city is home to the popular Rustavi 2 television channel which gained considerable fame after its coverage of the Rose Revolution. In addition to Rustavi 2, the remaining three out of the four major public television channels of Georgia (including Imedi TV Mze and the Public Broadcasting Channel) are based in the city as well. Tbilisi’s television market has experienced notable changes since the second half of 2005 when Rustavi 2 successfully bought out the Mze TV Company and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation became a shareholder of Imedi Media Holding at the beginning of 2006. By taking over the Imedi Media Holding Group, News Corporation entered the Post-Soviet media market for the first time in the company's history.

Tbilisi has a number of newspaper publishing houses. Some of the most noteworthy newspapers include the daily 24 Saati (24 Hours), Rezonansi (Resonance), Alia, and the English-language weekly The Georgian Times. Out of the city’s radio stations Imedi Radio (105.9FM), Fortuna, and Radio 105 are some of the more influential competitors with large national audiences.

Tbilisi has a number of important landmarks and sightseeing locations. The parliament and the government (State Chancellery) buildings of Georgia, as well as the Supreme Court of Georgia, are all located in Tbilisi. The city also has important cultural landmarks such as the Tbilisi State Conservatoire, Tbilisi State Opera Theatre (Paliashvili Opera House), Shota Rustaveli State Academic Theatre, Marjanishvili State Academic Theatre, the Sameba Cathedral, the Vorontsov's Palace (also known as the Children's Palace today), many state museums, the National Public Library of the Parliament of Georgia, the National Bank of Georgia and other important institutions. During the Soviet times, Tbilisi continuously ranked in the top 4 cities in the Soviet Union for the number of museums.

Out of the city's historic landmarks, the most notable locations are the Narikala fortress (4th century-17th century AD), Anchiskhati Church (6th century, built up in the 16th century), Sioni Cathedral (8th century, later rebuilt), Church of Metekhi (13th century), etc.