Battle of Krtsanisi

Battle of Krtsanisi
Part of Persian invasions of Georgia

Battle of Krtsanisi by Valerian Sidamon-Eristavi
DateSeptember 8–11, 1795 (1795-09-08 – 1795-09-11)
Location41°36′35″N 44°54′10″E / 41.60972°N 44.90278°E / 41.60972; 44.90278
Result Qajar victory
Territorial
changes
Tbilisi conquered and sacked, eastern Georgia briefly reoccupied by Persia[1][2][3][4]
Belligerents
Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti
Kingdom of Imereti

Qajar Iran

Commanders and leaders
Heraclius II
Solomon II
Agha Mohammad Khan
Strength

3,000
2,000


per Persian sources

10,000[5][6]
35,000[7][8] or 40,000[9]
Casualties and losses
4,000 troops killed. Unknown number of wounded or captured.[7]
15,000[9][10][11] captives (civilians) moved to mainland Persia.
13,000 killed. Unknown number of wounded or captured.[7]

The Battle of Krtsanisi (Georgian: კრწანისის ბრძოლა, romanized: k'rts'anisis brdzola, Persian: نبرد کرتسانیسی) was fought between the army of Qajar Iran (Persia) and the Georgian armies of the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti and Kingdom of Imereti at the place of Krtsanisi near Tbilisi, Georgia, from September 8 to September 11, 1795, as part of Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar's war in response to King Heraclius II of Georgia’s alliance with the Russian Empire.[12] The battle resulted in the decisive defeat of the Georgians, capture, and complete destruction of their capital Tbilisi,[10] as well as the temporary absorption of eastern parts of Georgia into the Iranian empire.[3][4][13][14]

Although the Russian Empire had officially declared in the Treaty of Georgievsk of 1783 that it would protect Heraclius's kingdom against any new Iranian attempts to re-subjugate Georgia, Russia did not intervene to protect its ally. Subsequently, in order to restore Russian prestige, Catherine the Great launched a punitive campaign against Iran in 1796, but it was soon recalled after Catherine's death the same year. The reestablishment of Iranian rule over Georgia did not last long, for the shah was assassinated in 1797 in Shusha, and the Georgian king died the year after. With Georgia laying in ruins and the central authorities in Iran occupied with the question of succession, the way was opened for Georgia's annexation by Russia several years later by Tsar Paul.

As Iran could not allow the cession of Transcaucasia and Dagestan, which were integral parts of Iran for centuries, the Battle of Krtsanisi directly led to two bitter Russo-Persian wars in 1804–1813 and 1826–1828, in which Fath Ali Shah, Agha Mohammad Khan's successor, unsuccessfully attempted to reverse Russian military advances and restore Iranian authority north of the Aras and Kura rivers.[15] After these wars, Iran ceded Transcaucasia and Dagestan to imperial Russia per the Treaty of Gulistan (1813) and the Treaty of Turkmenchay (1828).[15]

  1. ^ Yarshater, Ehsan (2010). Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. 8. Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 72. (..) Aga Mohammad Khan then proceeded to punish Erekle and capture Tbilisi, which resulted in the bloody conquest of eastern Georgia.
  2. ^ Fisher, William Bayne (1991). The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 7. Cambridge University Press. pp. 128–129. Agha Muhammad Khan remained nine days in the vicinity of Tiflis. His victory proclaimed the restoration of Iranian military power in the region formerly under Safavid domination.
  3. ^ a b Axworthy, Michael (2010). Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant. I.B.Tauris. p. 283. The Qajars eventually won the struggle, and under Agha Mohammad Khan set about re-establishing Persia's traditional boundaries. Agha Mohammad Khan reconquered Georgia in September 1795.
  4. ^ a b Michael Axworthy. Iran: Empire of the Mind: A History from Zoroaster to the Present Day Penguin UK, 6 nov. 2008 ISBN 0141903414
  5. ^ Saeed Nafisi, Social and political history of Iran in the contemporary period p. 71
  6. ^ Ates 2014, p. 49.
  7. ^ a b c Donald Rayfield. Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia Reaktion Books, 15 feb. 2013 ISBN 1780230702 p 255
  8. ^ Kalistrat Salia. History of the Georgian nation N. Salia, 1983. University of Wisconsin - Madison p 351
  9. ^ a b Fisher et al. 1991, p. 128.
  10. ^ a b Lang, David Marshall (1962), A Modern History of Georgia, p. 38. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
  11. ^ Malcolm, Sir John (1829), The History of Persia from the Most Early Period to the Present Time, pp. 189-191. London: John Murray.
  12. ^ "Tiflis", in: Yust, Walter (ed., 1952), The Encyclopædia Britannica - A new survey of universal knowledge. Volume 14, p. 209.
  13. ^ Fisher, William Bayne (1991). The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 7. Cambridge University Press. pp. 128–129. (...) Agha Muhammad Khan remained nine days in the vicinity of Tiflis. His victory proclaimed the restoration of Iranian military power in the region formerly under Safavid domination.
  14. ^ Yarshater, Ehsan (2010). Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. 8. Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 72. (..) Aga Mohammad Khan then proceeded to punish Erekle and capture Tbilisi, which resulted in the bloody conquest of eastern Georgia.
  15. ^ a b Fisher et al. 1991, pp. 329–330.

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