Battle of Krtsanisi

The Battle of Krtsanisi by Valerian Sidamon-Eristavi

The Battle of Krtsanisi occurred on September 11, 1795 between the armed forces of Georgia and Persia . It ended in a defeat for the Georgians, the sacking of their capital Tbilisi, and the regaining of dominance by the Persians over Georgia.

Christian Georgia had been part of the Persian Empire for centuries. As the Safavid dynasty was in decline, the Georgians began to expand their influence in the South Caucasus and seek alliances with Russia against the Persian and Ottoman Empire . In 1783 , King Erekle II concluded the Treaty of Georgievsk with the Russian Tsarina Catherine II , in which Georgia undertook to recognize the Russian protectorate and to put its armed forces at the service of the Russian Empire. Russia guaranteed the territorial integrity of the Georgian kingdom and promised military and political assistance against external threats. Russia was to station two battalions and four cannons in Georgia, and the Russian commander for the Caucasian border was responsible for providing additional troops in the event of an invasion.

The Persian Shah Mohammad Khan Qajar , which ends the time of the lack of leadership in Persia and the dynasty of the Qajar had built, looked at the contract as aggression and demanded that Erekle II. To terminate the contract. Erekle refused. However, Russia did not meet its contractual obligations and withdrew the two symbolic battalions in 1787 because of the Russo-Austrian Turkish War .

In the late summer of 1795, Aga Mohammed Shah invaded eastern Georgia with 35,000 soldiers and marched towards Tbilisi. Erekle could only muster a force of 5,000 men. On September 8th and 9th, 1795, the Georgians successfully stopped the Persians in the valleys that led towards Tbilisi. The decisive battle began on September 10 in Krtsanisi near Tbilisi, with the Georgians successfully resisting the Persians. Aga Mohammed was already thinking of retreating, but two deserters from Tbilisi revealed to the Persians the weaknesses of the Georgian defense. On September 11th, the Georgians were defeated, with the 75-year-old King Erekle II excelling himself on the battlefield.

As a result of that defeat, Tbilisi was occupied, looted and destroyed for nine days, with the Persian forces causing a massacre. About 15,000 prisoners were taken away. Persian supremacy over Georgia was restored.

Individual evidence

↑ Alexander Mikaberidze: Historical Dictionary of Georgia . Scarecrow Press, Plymouth 2007, ISBN 978-0-8108-5580-9 , pp. 326 .
↑ Alexander Mikaberidze: Historical Dictionary of Georgia . Scarecrow Press, Plymouth 2007, ISBN 978-0-8108-5580-9 , pp. 412 .
↑ ^a ^b Firuz Kazemzadeh: Iranian relations with Russia and the Soviet Union, to 1921 . In: Peter Avery, Gavin Hambly and Charles Melville (Eds.): The Cambridge History of Iran . tape 7 . Cambridge University Press, 1991, ISBN 978-0-521-20095-0 , pp. 329 .
↑ Alexander Mikaberidze: Historical Dictionary of Georgia . Scarecrow Press, Plymouth 2007, ISBN 978-0-8108-5580-9 , pp. 412 f .

[Mikaberidze326-1] Alexander Mikaberidze: Historical Dictionary of Georgia . Scarecrow Press, Plymouth 2007, ISBN 978-0-8108-5580-9 , pp. 326 .

[Mikaberidze412-2] Alexander Mikaberidze: Historical Dictionary of Georgia . Scarecrow Press, Plymouth 2007, ISBN 978-0-8108-5580-9 , pp. 412 .

[Kazemzadeh329-3] Firuz Kazemzadeh: Iranian relations with Russia and the Soviet Union, to 1921 . In: Peter Avery, Gavin Hambly and Charles Melville (Eds.): The Cambridge History of Iran . tape 7 . Cambridge University Press, 1991, ISBN 978-0-521-20095-0 , pp. 329 .

[Mikaberidze412f-4] Alexander Mikaberidze: Historical Dictionary of Georgia . Scarecrow Press, Plymouth 2007, ISBN 978-0-8108-5580-9 , pp. 412 f .