Battle of Khresili
Battle of Khresili | |||||||
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The general representation of the positions. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Ottoman Empire | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Strength | |||||||
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Casualties and losses | |||||||
Fewer casualties[3] | 38,000–45,000[3] |
The Battle of Khresili (Georgian: ხრესილის ბრძოლა, Turkish: Hresili Muharebesi) was fought on December 14, 1757, between the armies of the Kingdom of Imereti and the Ottoman Empire. King Solomon I of Imereti established a strong monarchy and unified western Georgia. His actions strained the relations between him and the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans, in particular, sought to stop Solomon's struggle against slavery. They were in an alliance with rebellious Georgian nobles who opposed their monarch. One of them was Levan Abashidze, who lead an Ottoman army to the Kingdom of Imereti. Solomon enticed his enemies into a strategically adroit place near Khresili where his forces would gather to engage them.[4]
Background
In the 17th century, western Georgia was a vassal of the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman garrisons were dispatched to
Battle
The Georgians launched their attack in the early morning of December 14, 1757. The advancing Ottoman army was concentrated and cornered where king Solomon wanted them. The assault was well prepared. Being smaller in size, the Georgian force had to compensate with a superior position, higher morale and determination in order to repulse the invading Turks. King Solomon personally led his army's charge, eventualy reaching Gola Pasha himself and reportedly decapitating him.[6] The Turks panicked and tried to escape. But their leader, Abashidze restored their moral and they returned to battle. However soon Abashidze was killed by Georgian soldier Gegela Tevdoradze (later he was called Gegelashvili). Seeing the death of their commanders, the Ottoman army finally started to rout enmasse and the Georgians proceeded to beat them. A large part of the Ottoman army was destroyed and captured, while some managed to escape. In the battle of Khresili, the commanders of the Ottoman force, Gola Pasha, Kemkha Pasha and Levan Abashidze were all killed.[7]
The Ottomans never recovered from the massive loss of manpower. Two further attempts to invade Imereti after this battle were conducted with smaller armies of 20,000 and 13,000 soldiers, and while they were still numerically superior to Solomon I's small army, those were defeated as well.[8][9]
Strategic ramifications
After the battle of Khresili, in 1758-1766, the Ottomans attacked Imereti many times, but they could not subjugate Solomon I. The Ottomans were eventually forced to sign a treaty with the kingdom of Imereti, which stated that Imereti was no longer an Ottoman vassal but a kingdom under Ottoman protection. The only remnant of past Ottoman glory in this treaty was an annual tribute of 60 women (of any ethnic origin, not necessarily Georgians), which king Solomon failed to honor anyway.[10]
References
- ^ Šotʻa Mesxia, An Outline of Georgian History, (Tbilisi University Press, 1968), 32.
- ^ a b Javakhishvili, Book 2, p. 127
- ^ a b Battle of Khresili
- ^ Iobashvili g. Georgian Soviet History; tome 11, page 508, Tbilisi., 1987.
- ^ Niko Berdzenishvili, issues of the history of Georgia, book II, chapter, 1965, p. 213
- ^ Levan Tkeshelashvili, King Solomon I the Great of Imereti, Kutaisi, 2016, p.40
- ^ M. Rekhviashvili, Imereti in the 18th century, Tbilisi 1982, p. 43
- ^ Shota Lomsadze, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Tbilisi, 1975, p. 216–217
- ISBN 99928-58-36-2
- ^ მარიამ ლორთქიფანიძე, ოთარ ჯაფარიძე, დავით მუსხელიშვილი, როინ მეტრეველი, „საქართველოს ისტორია“ ოთხ ტომად, ტომი III, თბილისი, 2012, გვ.398