Aslan-Beg Abashidze ( ka, ასლან-ბეგ აბაშიძე) (1877–1924) was a
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
Georgian nobleman and general in the service of the
Democratic Republic of Georgia. Like his brother
Memed Abashidze
Memed Abashidze ( ka, მემედ აბაშიძე; January 18, 1873 – 1937) was a Georgian politician, writer and public benefactor. An eminent leader of Muslim Georgian community of Adjarians, he was a major proponent of pro-Georgian ...
, he was one of the principal champions of pro-Georgian orientation in the largely Muslim region of
Adjara
Adjara ( ka, აჭარა ''Ach’ara'' ) or Achara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara ( ka, აჭარის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა ''Ach’aris Avt’onomiuri Resp’ublik’a'' ...
, heavily contested during and immediately after
World War I. After
Soviet takeover of Georgia in 1921, Abashidze fled to
Turkey, where he died in unclear circumstances.
Biography
Born in
Batumi, Aslan-Beg Abashidze was a member of the Muslim branch of the Georgian noble family of
Abashidze, hailing from Adjara. The family continued to be held in high esteem even after the
Russian acquisition of the area from its previous overlord, the
Ottoman Empire, in 1878. The Abashidze family were proponents of the reintegration of the Muslim Georgian community of Adjara into the Georgian society.
[ Gogitidze, M.D. (2001), Грузинский Генералитет 1699–1921 (''Georgian Generals 1699–1921''), p. 15. Kiev, .]
Aslan-Beg and his elder brother Memed-Beg were involved in the
revolutionary turmoil that stuck at the Russian Empire in 1905. Aslan-Beg commanded one of the armed detachments of revolutionaries and left for the Ottoman Empire after the failure of the uprising in 1907. He received military training at
Constantinople and returned to Georgia after the ouster of the Russian monarchy in the
1917 revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...
. During this period of turmoil, Abashidze fought for the integration of Adjara into a newly independent Georgia and formed a legion of Muslim Georgians, which fought against the
Armenian forces in December 1918. He is credited with having written a military song "Aslanuri", popular at that time. He was awarded the rank of general and continued his service in the Georgian ranks until the overthrow of the Georgian republic by the Soviet Russian
Red Army in February–March 1921. Abashidze fled to Turkey, where he died (allegedly poisoned to death) in Constantinople in 1924.
[Mikaberidze, Alexander (ed., 2006)]
Abashidze, Aslan (Aslanbeg)
. Dictionary of Georgian National Biography. Accessed June 14, 2011.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abashidze, Aslan-Beg
1877 births
1924 deaths
Generals from Georgia (country)
Muslims from Georgia (country)
Nobility of Georgia (country)
People from Batumi