The Battle of Mokhisi () was fought between the armies of the

Kingdom of Kartli The Kingdom of Kartli ( ka, ქართლის სამეფო, tr) was a late medieval/ early modern monarchy in eastern Georgia, centred on the province of Kartli, with its capital at Tbilisi. It emerged in the process of a triparti ...

and the Principality of Guria at the place of Mokhisi in 1520.

History

George II of Kakheti George II ( ka, გიორგი II, ''Giorgi II'') also known as George the Bad, the Mad or the Evil (''Av-Giorgi'', ავგიორგი) (1464–1513), of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was a king of Kakheti in eastern Georgia from 1511 to 1513 ...

led a series of unsuccessful raids into his western neighbor, kingdom of Kartli, ruled by a rival branch of the Bagrationi. In 1513, he was captured and put in prison, while his kingdom was taken over by David X of Kartli. George's heir, Levan was taken by loyal nobles to the mountains and kept there clandestinely until 1518, when they capitalized on the invasion of Kartli by Ismail I, the

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 ...

Shah of Iran, and proclaimed Levan king of Kakheti. David X led his army against Kakheti, but failed to seize Levan and withdrew. In 1520,

Mamia I Gurieli Mamia I Gurieli ( ka, მამია I გურიელი; died 1534), of the House of Gurieli, was Prince of Guria from 1512 until his death in 1534. Succeeding on the death of his father Giorgi I Gurieli, Mamia became involved in the conflict ...

was approached by Levan, now king of

Kakheti Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region (mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises eigh ...

in eastern Georgia, with the request that he marry his daughter to Levan and aid the king against the encroachments of King David X of Kartli. Mamia, having secured for his troops a free passage from the

atabeg Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the title's use was wit ...

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 the ...

, traversed Ghado mountain, advanced into Kartli and defeated David X at Mokhisi. The latter fell back to his capital of

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

and was setting a counter-attack in motion, when a dignitary, sent by Gurieli for parley, persuaded the king to join Mamia and Levan of Kakheti at a peace summit at Mukhrani. After the peace arrangement, Mamia sent his daughter Tinatin to marry Levan.

References

{{Reflist Mokhisi 16th-century conflicts