Bakhtrioni uprising
Bakhtrioni uprising | |||||||
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Alaverdi Monastery, one of the crucial battlefields during the uprising. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Khevsurs |
Safavid Empire Turcoman tribes | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Bidzina Cholokashvili Zaal of Aragvi Shalva of Ksani Elizbar of Ksani |
Shah Abbas II | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | 80,000 Turcomans killed or expelled from Kakheti |
The Bakhtrioni uprising (Georgian: ბახტრიონის აჯანყება) was a general revolt in the eastern Georgian Kingdom of Kakheti against the political domination of Safavid Persia, in 1659.[2] It was named after the main battle, which took place at the fortress of Bakhtrioni.
Background
In the first half of the 17th century, Kakhetian king
The forced installation of the Qizilbash was the immediate motive for the uprising. Kakheti had been divided into two administrative regions: he south-eastern part was under the power of the
Uprising
As in 1615, the uprising was inspired by the main noble families who had remained faithful to Teimuraz I. However, according to Georgian accounts, the mass of the population took part in it, as they were being evicted from their villages and farms by the incomers.[ under the leadership of Zezva Gaprindauli, Nadir Khosharauli, and Gogolauri.
The Georgian forces, once united, attacked the Turkoman fortresses at Bakhtrioni and Alaverdi and vanquished them. They then defeated Turkoman forces in other places of Kakheti. However, the weak organization and isolation of the rebels allowed the Persians, now under the personal direction of Shah Abbas II, to successfully counter-attack and defeat them.
Zaal was murdered by his nephews at the order of the shah, and his children were sent to the Persian court. Upon that news, Bidzina Choloqashvili, Shalva of Ksani, and Elizbar Eristvisshvili asked the shah for forgiveness, but he had them delivered to the tribes that the insurgents had massacred earlier. They were tortured and put to death.[5] They would later be canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church.[citation needed]
Aftermath
Kakheti remained under Persian rule, even if the rebels had succeeded in defeating the Turkomans, who did not remain in the region[6][7] In 1664, the Persians agreed to have Archil (Shah-Nazar Khan), son of the king/wali of Kartli, installed as king/wali of Kakheti.
The uprising soon entered Georgian collective memory, and many songs and poems were composed about it, while the mountain warriors became well-known folk heroes. The battle at Bakhtrioni, and the heroism of the mountaineers, inspired Vazha-Pshavela to write his epic poem Bakhtrioni (1892), while Akaki Tsereteli wrote the novel Bashi-Achuki about it.[citation needed]
References
- ^ [1] I. Javakhishvili, Essays of Georgian History, Part IV, Soviet Georgia Publishing, Tbilisi 1970, pg 230-233.
- ^ Hitchins, Keith (2001). "GEORGIA ii. History of Iranian-Georgian Relations". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. X, Fasc. 4. pp. 464–470.
In order to end resistance in Kakheti once and for all, the shah revived ʿAbbās I's plan to populate the country with Turkmen nomads, a measure that incited a general uprising of nobles in 1659. Although they halted the settlement of Turkmens, they failed to shake Persian control of their country (Berdzenishvili et al., I, pp. 369-72).
- ^ Suny 1994, pp. 50–52.
- ^ a b c Matthee 2012, p. 145.
- ^ a b Rayfield 2012, p. 210.
- ^ Suny 1994, p. 53.
- ^ Hitchins, Keith (2001). "GEORGIA ii. History of Iranian-Georgian Relations". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. X, Fasc. 4. pp. 464–470.
Sources
- Matthee, Rudi (2012). Persia in Crisis: Safavid Decline and the Fall of Isfahan. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-1845117450.
- Rayfield, Donald (2012). The Edges of Empire (Kindle ed.). Reaktion Books. ISBN 978-1780230306.
- ISBN 978-0253209153.
- საქართველოს ისტორიის ნარკვევები, ტ. 4, თბ., 1973;
- ნარსია გ., ქსე, ტ. 5, გვ. 447, თბ., 1980