Bakhtrioni uprising

The Bakhtrioni uprising (ბახტრიონის აჯანყება) was a general revolt in the eastern Georgian Kingdom of Kakheti against the political domination of Safavid Persia, in 1659. 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 Teimuraz I had conducted resistance against his Persian overlords, which culminated in the bloody and devastating years of the mid-1610s; after successfully repelling an expedition sent by Shah Abbas I, Kakheti was invaded once again by the Shah himself in 1616, much of its population massacred or deported. In the following years, Qizilbash lords were appointed as governors of Kakheti, while a large number of Qizilbash tribal folk were relocated to Georgia to strengthen the central control. In the early 1630s, the Persians tried to put Kakheti under control of the more submissive Kingdom of Kartli, led by Georgian prince Rostom, a convert to Islam. When such control had been installed, Teimuraz fled to Western Georgia. In the 1650s, the Persians implemented a policy of colonization of Kakheti by Qizilbash Turkoman tribes, for several reasons. One of these reasons was to repopulate this part of the province, while another was to keep an eye on the restless nobles. Yet another reason was because the Safavid possessions in Georgia were geographically close to the Daghestan province. From Daghestan, Lezgian marauders frequently organized raids into parts of the northwestern Safavid domains, including Safavid Georgia. Lastly, it was also decided as a measure against Russia, which had increased its pressure on Daghestan (see also; Russo-Persian War of 1651–1653), a neighboring province of the Georgia province.

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 beylerbey of Karabakh, the rest under that of Nakhchivan. Up to 80,000 Turkomans migrated to Kakheti. They started building a fortress at Bakhtrioni and transforming the ancient monastery of Alaverdi into one.

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. The Eristavi Zaal, Duke of Aragvi, one of the main feudal lords in Kakheti and a former supporter of Teimuraz who had made allegiance to Rostom and the Persians in 1648 and thus gained even more power, took the lead of the uprising. Among the leaders were Bidzina Choloqashvili, Eristavi Shalva of Ksani, and his brother Elizbar Eristvisshvili. Georgian mountain people, such as the Tushs, the Khevsurians, and the Pshavs, also joined the rebellion, 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. They would later be canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church.

Aftermath
Kakheti remained under Persian rule, even if the rebels had succeeded in defeating the Turkomans, who did not remain in the region 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.