The village Kvishkheti is located in the

Khashuri Khashuri ( ka, ხაშური ) is a town in the central part of Georgia and is the 9th largest settlement in Georgia. It is the administrative centre of Khashuri Municipality. It is located on the Shida Kartli plain, on the Suramula riversi ...

district of the Shida Kartli region in the

Republic of Georgia A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

. It is situated between the Likhi mountain range to the west and the

Trialeti Range Trialeti Range ( ka, თრიალეთის ქედი) is an east-west mountain range of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the Samtskhe–Javakheti region of southern Georgia. The eastern edge of the Range runs along the western border o ...

to the east, and the

Mtkvari River The Kura is an east-flowing river south of the Greater Caucasus Mountains which drains the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus east into the Caspian Sea. It also drains the north side of the Lesser Caucasus while its main tributary, the Ar ...

flows nearby. Kvishkheti's historical significance mainly comes from the 17th and 19th centuries. :''At the beginning of the 17th century Abbas I,

Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

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 ...

, drove the Turks out of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

, Kartli (Iberia) and Kakheti. The Turkish yoke was superseded by that of Iran. But in 1609 Kartli (

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

) was invaded by the Turks and Crimean Tatars. They took prisoner Tevdoré, the priest of the village of Kvelta, and ordered him to show them the way to the residence of King Luarsab II (1605-1615). Tevdoré took the enemy astray and at the cost of his own life gave the king time to prepare for war. The enemy was routed in the battle of Kvishkheti. Giorgi Saakadze, governor of Tbilisi, distinguished himself in the battle.

During the 19th century, Kvishkheti is said to have been a haven for Georgian culture during an intense period of russification. Specifically the summer residence of nobleman Dmitri Kipiani became a place of summer rest for many prominent Georgian writers, such as, Ilia Chavchavadze and

Vazha-Pshavela Vazha-Pshavela ( ka, ვაჟა-ფშაველა), simply referred to as Vazha ( ka, ვაჟა) (26 July 1861 – 10 July 1915), is the pen name of the Georgian poet and writer Luka Razikashvili ( ka, ლუკა რაზიკა ...

See also