The Battle of Sokhoista ( ka, სოხოისტის ბრძოლა, tr, Sohoista Savaşı) was fought between the Ottoman and Georgian armies at the Sokhoista field in what is now northeastern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

in 1545. It was the last attempt of the separate Georgian dynasts to fight as one unit against the Ottoman expansion, but ended in their decisive defeat.C. Max Kortepeter (1991), ''The Ottoman Turks: Nomad Kingdom to World Empire'', p. 76. Isis Press, . This might be the same battle as mentioned by Rüstem Pasha to have been fought at nearby Zivin.Pitcher, Donald Edgar (1972), ''An Historical Geography of the Ottoman Empire from Earliest Times to the End of the Sixteenth Century'', p. 139. Brill

Background

The battle was preceded by an unsuccessful siege of the Georgian-garrisoned fortress of Oltisi (now

Oltu Oltu (; ) is a town and district of Erzurum Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The mayor is Necmettin Taşçı, from the AKP. The population was 31,087 in 2020. History An inscription found in Oltu’s castle has been dated to the ...

, Turkey) by the Ottoman

beylerbey ''Beylerbey'' ( ota, بكلربكی, beylerbeyi, lit= bey of beys, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords') was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Selj ...

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...

Musa Paşa also known as Kizil-Ahmedlu, and his subsequent defeat at Karagak in 1543. Musa Paşa was himself killed in fighting. The Ottomans returned in force two years later, and moved into the principality of Samtskhe, then under the control of Bagrat III, king of

Imereti Imereti ( Georgian: იმერეთი) is a region of Georgia situated in the central-western part of the republic along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni River. Imereti is the most populous region in Georgia. It consists of 11 munic ...

in western Georgia. Bagrat called upon the neighboring Georgian potentates to come to aid. Only the king of

Kartli Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...

Luarsab I and the

prince of Guria The Principality of Guria ( ka, გურიის სამთავრო, tr) was a historical state in Georgia. Centered on modern-day Guria, a southwestern region in Georgia, it was located between the Black Sea and Lesser Caucasus, and was ...

Rostom Gurieli Rostom Gurieli ( ka, როსტომ გურიელი; died 1564), of the House of Gurieli, was Prince of Guria from 1534 until his death in 1564. Alongside his royal suzerain, Bagrat III of Imereti, Rostom fought against the expanding Otto ...

responded, while the prince of

Mingrelia Mingrelia ( ka, სამეგრელო, tr; xmf, სამარგალო, samargalo; ab, Агырны, Agirni) is a historic province in the western part of Georgia (country), Georgia, formerly known as Odishi. It is primarily inhabited ...

, Levan I Dadiani, refused to participate in the alliance.

Battle

The two opposing armies met at the locale called Sokhoista which lay on the border of the district of Basean (now

Pasinler District Pasinler is a town and district of Erzurum Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly ...

, Turkey). The Georgian chronicle of Prince

Vakhushti Vakhushti ( ka, ვახუშტი, tr) (1696–1757) was a Georgian royal prince ('' batonishvili''), geographer, historian and cartographer. His principal historical and geographic works, '' Description of the Kingdom of Georgia'' and the '' ...

provides with some details of the battle. According to this source, the nobles of Samtskhe resented the refusal of the Georgian kings to allow them to fight in the vanguard as it long had been established by a medieval custom, and refused to take part in the battle at all. The hard-contested action lasted from the dawn to the evening, and ended in a decisive Ottoman victory. The victory at Sokhoista gave to the Ottomans the upper hand in southwestern

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

and allowed them to overrun Samtskhe, where they installed their protégé,

atabek 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 ...

Kaikhosro III.

Tortum Tortum ( ota, تورتوم) is a town and district of Erzurum Province in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. The population is 4,507 as of 2010. The current mayor is Muammer Yiğider from the Great Unity Party (BBP). History Tortum was part ...

İspir İspir ( hy, Սպեր, Sper; ka, სპერი, Speri) is a town and district of Erzurum Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, on the Çoruh River. They also appear as the Sasperi, the name Sper with a Georgian prefix of place Sa ...

, and Pasin were detached from Samtskhe and annexed to the Ottoman Empire. The battle also created a favorable precondition prior to the Ottoman-

Saffavid The Safavid dynasty (; fa, دودمان صفوی, Dudmâne Safavi, ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of th ...

peace deal at Amasya in 1555. Dündar Aydın. Erzurum beylerbeyliği ve teşkilatı: kuruluş ve genişleme devri (1535-1566), Ankara 1988, s. 66, 99.

References

{{coord missing, Turkey Sokhoista Sokhoista Sokhoista Suleiman the Magnificent History of Erzurum Province 16th century in Georgia (country) 1545 in the Ottoman Empire