Shalva Akhaltsikheli

Shalva Akhaltsikheli (შალვა თორელი-ახალციხელი) (died 1227) was a Georgian military commander, and a Court official of the Kingdom of Georgia holding the offices of Mechurchletukhutsesi (Lord High Treasurer) and Mandaturtukhutsesi (Lord High Mandator). He was member of the House of Toreli-Akhaltsikheli. He was also the duke (eristavi) of Akhalkalaki.

Biography
Together with his brother Ivane, Shalva was in command of vanguard traditionally composed of the Meskhetian troops from south Georgia. In the battle of Shamkor against the Eldiguzids in 1195, he captured a war banner sent by the Caliph to the Muslim army which was then donated to the revered icon of Our Lady of Khakhuli.

Local Meskhetian forces under Shalva Akhaltsikheli, Ivane Akhaltsikheli and Sargis Tmogveli had been blockading Kars intermittently for some years, and Queen Tamar decided to send a special army under David Soslan and brothers Zakare and Ivane Zakarian to assist their efforts. In 1206–1207, the Georgians besieged Kars and pressed hard on those within. The emir of Kars asked the Shah-Armens for help, but its rulers did not provide any assistance. After the long siege, the emir of Kars, seeing that no assistance was coming, decided to hand over his domain to Georgians in exchange for a large amount of money and a fiefdom for him. Tamar appointed Shalva's brother, Ivane Akhaltsikheli as the ruler of Kars.

When the Khwarazmid shah Jalal al-Din Mangburni surged into the Caucasus in 1225, Shalva and his brother Ivane were again placed in charge of the vanguard of the Georgian army commanded by atabeg Ivane Mkhargrdzeli. There was some enmity between Ivane and the two Akhaltsikheli brothers. This was possibly the reason why Mkhargrdzeli did not allow his army to fight in the battle of Garni. The two brothers did battle and were routed. Shalva was wounded and captured and his brother Ivane was killed while retreating to the mountains. Having spent some time in honorary captivity, Shalva was put to death for not apostatizing to Islam at Jalal al-Din's order. Subsequently, he was canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church which commemorates him on June 17/June 30 (O.S.).

Shalva is traditionally believed to be praised in a patriotic Georgian folk ballad Shavlego, which was particularly popular during the national mobilization against the Soviet Union in the late 1980s.