The Battle of Marabda took place on 30 June 1625, or July 1, 1625, "Marabda, Battle of (1625)", in ''Historical Dictionary of Georgia'', by Alexander Mikaberidze (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015) p. 454 "Iranian Conflict 1609-25", in ''Early Modern Wars 1500–1775'', ed. by Dennis Showalter (Amber Books Ltd, 2013) when the

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian

Safavid Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

army defeated a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

force. This battle occurred after the

Battle of Martqopi The Battle of Martqopi ( ka, მარტყოფის ბრძოლა) was a 1625 military confrontation between the Georgian Kingdom of Kartli and Safavid Iran. The Georgians, led by general Giorgi Saakadze, annihilated an Iranian detachm ...

in the same year, when the Iranian army was routed.

Context

The battle was the result of the Kartli-Kakhetian Uprising of 1625, when Teimuraz I took the leadership of the second rebellion against the

Safavid Empire Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

in his lifetime.

Abbas I of Persia Abbas I ( fa, ; 27 January 157119 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the 5th Safavid dynasty, Safavid Shah (king) of Safavid Iran, Iran, and is generally considered one of the greatest rulers of Iranian history and the Safavi ...

sent a large army under the command of

Isa Khan Safavi Isa Khan Safavi ( fa, عیسی خان صفوی), also known as Isa Khan Shaykhavand () was a Safavid prince, who occupied high offices under king (shah) Abbas I (r. 1588–1629). Biography Isa Khan was the grandson of the Safavid ''vizier'' M ...

(the ''

qurchi-bashi The Qurchi-bashi ( fa, قورچی‌باشی‌), also spelled Qorchi-bashi (), was the head of the '' qurchis'', the royal bodyguard of the Safavid shah. There were also ''qurch-bashis'' who were stationed in some of the provinces and cities. T ...

'') to quell the uprising, and made him the commander of the Safavid forces in

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 the ...

. Abbas I ordered the Safavid governors in the Caucasus to assist Isa Khan. The Safavid army also included the ''beglarbegs'' of

Shirvan Shirvan (from fa, شروان, translit=Shirvān; az, Şirvan; Tat: ''Şirvan''), also spelled as Sharvān, Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical Iranian region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both pre-Islam ...

and

Erivan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and in ...

, as well as soldiers from northern and central Iran.

Shah Abbas I Abbas I ( fa, ; 27 January 157119 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the 5th Safavid Shah (king) of Iran, and is generally considered one of the greatest rulers of Iranian history and the Safavid dynasty. He was the third so ...

was commanding the expedition from southern Azerbaijan, where he was encamped.

Preparation

The Iranian army crossed into Georgian territory at the end of June 1625 and encamped in the valleys of

Algeti River The Algeti ( ka, ალგეთი) is a river in Kvemo Kartli, Georgia, spanning the municipalities of Tetritsqaro and Marneuli. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . Originating at Mount Kldekari, it flows into the deep rocky valley and t ...

on plains of

Marabda Marabda ( ka, მარაბდა) is a community in Georgia, located some 23 km south of the capital Tbilisi, and a few kilometers north of Marneuli. It consists of three villages Akhali Marabda, Kotishi and Dzveli Marabda. According to the ...

. King Teimuraz and

Giorgi Saakadze Giorgi Saakadze the Grand Mouravi ( ka, გიორგი სააკაძე) (c. 1570 – October 3, 1629) was a Georgian politician and military commander who played an important but contradictory role in the politics of the early 17th-cent ...

assembled 20 thousand men and encamped in

Kojori Kojori ( ka, კოჯორი) is a small town ('' daba'') in Georgia, some 20 kilometers southwest of the nation's capital of Tbilisi. It is a so-called "climate resort" and home to several holiday homesf the Tbilisite families. South of the ...

Tabakhmela Tabakhmela ( ka, ტაბახმელა) (Dry Lake - Tba-Lake, Khmeli-dry) is a village in the Kartli region, overlooking the city of Tbilisi, Georgia. The village is also home to several traditional religious festivals throughout a year, parti ...

plains. The Iranians were waiting for the army of Beglarbeg of Azerbaijan, Shah Bende Khan and hence were not planning on launching an attack yet. Georgian commanders were at contention about the specifics of the strategy they would use in battle. Giorgi Saakadze was insisting on waiting for the attack of the Persians in order to utilize the landscape of the Marabda plains, whereas King Teimuraz was suggesting the opposite. In the end, the plan of Teimuraz was favored over that of Giorgi and so the battle began with the personal leadership of the king, removing Giorgi Saakadze from command.

Battle

The Persians were prepared for the attack: sangars had already been built and artillery pieces were laid out in the front, behind of which stood musketeers in four rows. The front of the force was put under the leadership of Amirghuna Khan, while Isa Khan Safavi commanded the center of the army. The Georgians came down from the

highlands during the night and charged the Persian fortifications at dawn. The musketeers and artillery caused heavy casualties but were unable to stop the Georgian attack, which broke through the front and destroyed the Iranian vanguard, mortally wounding Amirghuna Khan. The Georgians were able to break the Persian infantry lines and launched a massive offensive on the center of Isa Khan's army. In the heat of battle, the Persian flanks were unable to help the center, got separated from the main force and, according to Teimuraz's plan, started fleeing from the battlefield. The victory of the Georgians seemed almost inevitable, but Isa-Khan and his personal guard was still stubbornly trying to halt the Georgian advance. After much of the Persian army was routed and the rest of it was reduced into a large pocket, one of the Georgian flanks lost the contact point with the enemy and started to celebrate their soon-to-be-had victory. At the same time, Teimuraz I's cavalry battalions got separated from the main battleground while chasing down the retreating Persians. The

Qizilbash Qizilbash or Kizilbash ( az, Qızılbaş; ota, قزيل باش; fa, قزلباش, Qezelbāš; tr, Kızılbaş, lit=Red head ) were a diverse array of mainly Turkoman Shia militant groups that flourished in Iranian Azerbaijan, Anatolia, the ...

s used the advantage by reassembling their broken lines and concentrating them around Isa Khan's personal guard and launching a powerful counter-attack on the Georgians. Utilizing the newly arrived reinforcements under Shahbandeh Khan (the governor of the

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

Province),

managed to break the decimated Georgian lines and rout them in the direction of

Narrows.

Conclusion

The defeat at Marabda was extremely costly for Georgians, killing many nobles and experienced generals in Teimuraz I's loyal service. The main reasons behind the defeat were non-disciplinary actions of the rebels and the usage of outdated weaponry. Despite the crushing defeat, Georgians continued to fight a

guerrilla war Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactic ...

against the Persians. The costly victory for the Persians at Marabda did not quell the overall uprising in Kakheti. Shortly after the defeat, the Georgian rebels managed to ambush and kill Shahbandeh Khan. Teimuraz, along with his comrades, actively continued to oppose the Persian hegemony. Teimuraz's political and military maneuvers effectively resulted in restoration of autonomy in eastern Georgia, reinstituting the throne of Kakheti to Teimuraz I himself.

References

Sources

References

*History of Georgia, R. Metreveli, Tbilisi State University.

{{coord, 41, 32, 7, N, 44, 45, 33, E, display=title Battles involving the Kingdom of Kartli, Marabda

1625 in Europe 17th century in Georgia (country)

Context

Preparation

Battle

Conclusion

See also

References

Sources

References