Battle of Krtsanisi

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Krtsanisi
partof=Persian invasion of Georgia


caption="The Battle of Krtsanisi" by Severian Maisashvili
date=September 8-September 11, 1795
place=Krtsanisi, Tbilisi
casus=
territory=
result=Persian victory
combatant1=Kartli-Kakheti, Imereti
combatant2=Persian Empire
commander1=Heraclius II
commander2=Agha Mohammad Khan
strength1=5,000
strength2=35,000
casualties1=
casualties2=

The Battle of Krtsanisi was fought between Persian and Georgian armies at the place of Krtsanisi near Tbilisi, Georgia, from September 8 to September 11, 1795, as part of the war intended by the Persian ruler Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar as a reprisal for King Heraclius II of Georgia’s alliance with the Russian Empire. ["Tiflis", in: Yust, Walter (ed., 1952), "The Encyclopaedia Britannica - A new survey of universal knowledge". Volume 14, p. 209.] The battle resulted in the defeat of Georgians and complete destruction of their capital Tbilisi.Lang, David Marshall (1962), "A Modern History of Georgia", p. 38. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.]

Background

Eastern Georgia, composed of the kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti, had been under the Persian suzerainty since 1555. However, with the death of Nader Shah in 1747, both kingdoms broke free of the Persian control and were reunified through a personal union under the energetic king Heraclius II (Erekle) in 1762. In 1783, Heraclius placed his kingdom under the protection of the Russian Empire in the Treaty of Georgievsk. A limited Russian contingent of two infantry battalions with four artillery pieces arrived in Tbilisi in 1784, but was withdrawn, despite the frantic protests from the Georgians, in 1787. Despite being left on his devices, Heraclius still cherished a dream of establishing, with Russian protection, a strong and united monarchy, into which the western Georgian kingdom of Imereti and the lost provinces under Ottoman rule would all eventually be drawn.

The consequence of these events was seen in a few years later, when a new dynasty, that of the Qajars, emerged victorious in a protracted power struggle in Persia. Its head, the eunuch Agha Mohammad Khan, resolved to bring the Caucasus once more into a Persian orbit. Finding an interval of quiet amid their own quarrels, the Persians now demanded from Heraclius of Georgia to renounce the treaty with Russia in return for peace and security. In vain did Heraclius send appeals to the Empress Catherine II of Russia at St. Petersburg. The promise of protection was not fulfilled, but Heraclius rejected the khan’s ultimatum.Suny, Ronald Grigor (1994), "The Making of the Georgian Nation", p. 59. Indiana University Press, ISBN 0253209153]

The Persian invasion

Later in August, Agha Mohammad Khan led his 35,000-strong army into the Caucasus, forcing the khans of Ganja and Erivan into alliance. [Tapper, Richard (1997), "Frontier Nomads of Iran: A Political and Social History of the Shahsevan", p. 122. Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521583365.] Having abandoned the siege of Shusha in the Karabakh Khanate, the khan marched directly on Tbilisi, and attacked the heavily fortified Georgian positions on the southwestern approaches to the city. Abandoned by several of his nobles, Heraclius managed to mobilize around 5,000 troops, including some 2,000 auxiliaries from Imereti under the king Solomon II. The Georgians offered a desperate resistance and succeeding in rolling back a series of Persian attacks on September 9 and 10. Early on September 11, Agha Mohammad Khan personally led an all-out offensive against the Georgians. Amid an artillery duel and a fierce cavalry charge, the Persians managed to cross the Kura River and outflanked the decimating Georgian army. Heraclius attempted to mount a counterattack, but he had eventually to retreat to the last available positions at the outskirt of Tbilisi. By the nightfall, the Georgian forces had been exhausted and almost completely destroyed. The last surviving Georgian artillerists briefly held the advancing Persians to allow Heraclius and his retinue of some 150 men to escape through the city to the mountains. The fighting continued in the streets of Tbilisi and at the fortress of Narikala. In a few hours, Agha Mohammad Khan was in full control of the Georgian capital which was completely sacked and its population massacred. The Persian army marched back laden with spoil and carrying off some 15,000 captives. [Malcolm, Sir John (1829), [http://books.google.com/books/pdf/The_History_of_Persia.pdf?id=4zA-5-gEcD0C&output=pdf&sig=MbnqGAWC2-QDo5sjvjn1uioiAa8 "The History of Persia from the Most Early Period to the Present Time"] , pp. 189-191. London: John Murray.]

Aftermath

On his return, Agha Mohammad was crowned shah in 1796. Heraclius II returned to Tbilisi to rebuild the city, but the destruction of his capital was a death blow to his hopes and projects. To restore Russian prestige, Catherine II declared war on Persia and sent an army under Valerian Zubov in the Qajar possessions, but her successor Paul I shortly recalled it. Agha Mohammad Shah was assassinated while preparing a new expedition against Georgia in 1797, and the seasoned king Heraclius died early in 1798. The next three years were a time of muddle and confusion, and the weakened and devastated Georgian kingdom, with its capital half in ruins, was easily absorbed by Russia in 1801.

See also

* List of Georgian battles
* Persian Expedition of 1796

References