The Battle of Chikhori was fought between the armies of King
George VIII of Georgia and the rebellious nobles led by a royal kinsman
Bagrat
Bagrat ( hy, Բագրատ, in Western Armenian pronounced Pakrad, ka, ბაგრატ) is a male name popular in Georgia and Armenia. It is derived from the Old Persian ''Bagadāta'', "gift of God".
The names of the Armenian Bagratuni and ...
in 1463. It took place near the fortress Chikhori in the district of
Argveti
Argveti (), also Margveti (), is a historic district in Imereti, western Georgia.
Overview
The area lay on the historic Iberian- Lazican frontier, i.e., between what are now eastern and western parts of Georgia. From the 3rd century BC to the ...
in western
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to t ...
, and ended in the king's decisive defeat.
The battle was the culmination of a fierce and extended internal struggle for hegemony in Georgia that began after the brief reign of
Vakhtang IV
Vakhtang IV ( Georgian: ვახტანგ IV) (c. 1413 – December 1446), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a King of Georgia who reigned from 1433 to his death, associated to the throne of his father Alexander I from 1433 to the latter's a ...
(1442-1446), and would eventually end with fission of the kingdom. The rebellion against Vakhtang’s brother and successor George VIII, whose legitimacy was disputed, was fomented in western and southern provinces of the
Kingdom of Georgia
The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economi ...
. The western Georgian
dukes rallied behind George’s relative Bagrat in a powerful coalition and met the royal army on the battlefield at Chikhori. George was defeated, and Bagrat was crowned
king of Imereti at
Kutaisi
Kutaisi (, ka, ქუთაისი ) is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the third-most populous city in Georgia, traditionally, second in importance, after the capital city of Tbilisi. Situated west of Tbilis ...
. But in return for their aid, the new monarch was obliged to create a principality for each of his four major allies. Henceforth, the
Gelovani family in
Svaneti
Svaneti or Svanetia (Suania in ancient sources; ka, სვანეთი ) is a historic province in the northwestern part of Georgia. It is inhabited by the Svans, an ethnic subgroup of Georgians.
Geography
Situated on the southern sl ...
, the
Sharvashidze
The House of Sharvashidze or Chachba or Shervashidze ( ka, შარვაშიძე-შერვაშიძე-ჩაჩბა) was a Georgian- Abkhazian ruling family of Principality of Abkhazia. The family was later recognized as one of th ...
in
Abkhazia
Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which v ...
, the
Dadiani
The House of Dadiani ( ka, დადიანი ), later known as the House of Dadiani- Chikovani, was a Georgian family of nobles, dukes and princes, and a ruling dynasty of the western Georgian province of Mingrelia.
The House of Dadiani
Th ...
in
Mingrelia
Mingrelia ( ka, სამეგრელო, tr; xmf, სამარგალო, samargalo; ab, Агырны, Agirni) is a historic province in the western part of Georgia, formerly known as Odishi. It is primarily inhabited by the Mingrelia ...
, and the
Vardanidze-
Gurieli
The House of Gurieli () was a Georgian princely ('' mtavari'') family and a ruling dynasty (dukes) of the southwestern Georgian province of Guria, which was autonomous and later, for a few centuries, independent. A few ducal rulers of the dyna ...
in
Guria
Guria ( ka, გურია) is a region ('' mkhare'') in Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 113,000 (2016), with Ozurgeti as the regional capital.
Geograph ...
ruled as semi-independent princes.
Suny, Ronald Grigor
Ronald Grigor Suny (born September 25, 1940) is an American historian and political scientist. Suny is the William H. Sewell Jr. Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Michigan and served as director of the Eisenberg Ins ...
(1994), ''The Making of the Georgian Nation: 2nd edition''. Indiana University Press
Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes ...
, Toumanoff, Cyril
Cyril Leo Toumanoff (russian: Кирилл Львович Туманов; 13 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Russian-born Georgian historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armenia, ...
(1949–51). The Fifteenth-Century Bagratids and the Institution of Collegial Sovereignty in Georgia. ''Traditio'' 7: 192.
Odishi
Odishi ( ka, ოდიში) was a historical district in western Georgia, the core fiefdom of the former Principality of Mingrelia, with which the name "Odishi" was frequently coterminous. Since the early 19th century, this toponym has been su ...
(
Mingrelia
Mingrelia ( ka, სამეგრელო, tr; xmf, სამარგალო, samargalo; ab, Агырны, Agirni) is a historic province in the western part of Georgia, formerly known as Odishi. It is primarily inhabited by the Mingrelia ...
),
Guria
Guria ( ka, გურია) is a region ('' mkhare'') in Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 113,000 (2016), with Ozurgeti as the regional capital.
Geograph ...
,
Abkhazia
Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which v ...
,
Svaneti
Svaneti or Svanetia (Suania in ancient sources; ka, სვანეთი ) is a historic province in the northwestern part of Georgia. It is inhabited by the Svans, an ethnic subgroup of Georgians.
Geography
Situated on the southern sl ...
and
Samtskhe
Meskheti ( ka, მესხეთი) or Samtskhe ( ka, სამცხე) ( Moschia in ancient sources), is a mountainous area in southwestern Georgia.
History
Ancient tribes known as the Mushki (or Moschi) and Mosiniks (or Mossynoeci) were t ...
– dominated by their own feudal clans.
References
{{coord, 42, 14, 24, N, 43, 4, 12, E, display=title
Chikhori
Chikhori
1463 in Asia
1463 in Europe
15th century in the Kingdom of Georgia
1460s in the Middle East