''sadrosho'' ( ka, სადროშო; literally, "of a banner") was an administrative division in medieval and early modern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

which supplied men for a subdivision of the army marked by its own

banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

. A tactical unit furnished by this territorial unit was also known as ''sadrosho'', each under the command of a military official, '' sardali''.

United Kingdom of Georgia

The origin of the ''sadrosho'' system traces its origin to the period of a united Georgian monarchy, the Bagratid

kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia (), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a Middle Ages, medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in Anno Domini, AD. It reached Georgian Golden Age, its Golden Age of political and economic strength during the reign ...

(1008–1491), which, according to the 18th-century historian

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

, was subdivided into four principal ''sadrosho'': * ''metsinave'' (მეწინავე), "avant-garde", was furnished by the southern provinces of Upper and of Lower Kartli. * ''memarjvene'' (მემარჯვენე), "right flank", was provided by the western provinces 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 mun ...

and

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

. * ''memartskhene'' (მემარცხენე), "left flank", was supplied by the easternmost provinces of

Kakheti Kakheti (; ) is a region of Georgia. Telavi is its administrative center. The region comprises eight administrative districts: Telavi, Gurjaani, Qvareli, Sagarejo, Dedoplistsqaro, Signagi, Lagodekhi and Akhmeta. Kakhetians speak the ...

and

Hereti The Kingdom of Hereti ( ka, ჰერეთის სამეფო, tr) was a medieval Albanian monarchy which emerged in Caucasus on the Iberian- Albanian frontier. Nowadays it roughly corresponds to the southeastern corner of Georgia's Kakh ...

. * ''mepis'' (მეფის), "royal", by Inner Kartli.

After the united monarchy

With the fragmentation of the Kingdom of Georgia in the latter half of the 15th century, the unified military organization collapsed and the three successor kingdoms—

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 ...

, and

—reestablished their own systems of ''sadrosho''. In Kakheti, newly created ''sadrosho'' were put under the command of bishops, generally more loyal to the king than princes (''

tavadi ''Tavadi'' ( ka, თავადი, "prince", lit. "head/chief" an from ka, თავი ''tavi'', "head", with the prefix of agent ''-di'') was a feudal title in Georgia (country), Georgia first applied in the Late Middle Ages usually trans ...

''), who filled the similar positions in Kartli, usually as hereditary offices, and were prone to defiance to the central royal authority. Over time, the number and administration of ''sadrosho'' underwent several changes, but the system survived until the Russian annexation of the Georgian monarchies in the early 19th century.

List of ''sadrosho'' in Kakheti

* ''metsinave'', "avant-garde", was under the bishop of Bodbe (''bodbeli'') and consisted of the district of Kiziki up to the village of Kisiskhevi. * ''memarjvene'', "right flank", was commanded by the bishop of Nekresi (''nekreseli'') and comprised much of Thither Kakheti up to the town of

Gremi Gremi ( ka, გრემი) is a 16th-century architectural monument – the royal citadel and the Church of the Archangels – in Kakheti, Georgia. The complex is what has survived from the once flourishing town of Gremi and is located southwe ...

. * ''memartskhene'', "left flank", was subjected to the bishop of

Rustavi Rustavi ( ka, რუსთავი ) is a city in the southeast of Georgia, in the region of Kvemo Kartli and southeast of capital Tbilisi. It has a population of 127,154 (January 2024), making it the third most populous city in Georgia. Its eco ...

(''rustveli'') and commanded much of Outer Kakheti from Kisiskhevi to the

Aragvi river The Aragvi ( ka, არაგვი, tr ) and its basin are in Georgia on the southern slopes of the Caucasus Mountains. The river is long, and its basin covers an area of . The ground strata are mostly sandstone, slate, and limestone. The Zh ...

, including Martkopi and Saguramo. * ''mepis'', "royal", was commanded by a royally-appointed person, not infrequently by a crown prince, and covered much of Inner Kakheti and the territory of the Bishopric of Alaverdi west from Gremi, including the Pankisi gorge.

List of ''sadrosho'' in Kartli

* ''metsinave'', "avant-garde", included Lower Kartli—the districts of

Somkhiti Somkhiti ( ka, სომხითი, ) was an ambiguous geographic term used in medieval and early modern Georgian historical sources to refer to Armenia on one hand and to the Armeno-Georgian marchlands along the river valleys of Debed and Kh ...

and Sabaratiano—and was under the hereditary command of the Princes Baratashvili and their offshoot, the Princes Orbeliani. * ''memarjvene'', "right flank", included Inner Kartli and was hereditarily commanded by the Princes

Amilakhvari The House of Amilakhvari ( ka, ამილახვარი) was a noble house of Georgia which rose to prominence in the fifteenth century and held a large fiefdom in central Georgia until the Imperial Russian annexation of the country in 1801 ...

. * ''memartskhene'', "left flank", comprised Samukhranbatono and the duchies of

Aragvi The Aragvi ( ka, wikt:არაგვი, არაგვი, tr ) and its basin are in Georgia (country), Georgia on the southern slopes of the Caucasus Mountains. The river is long, and its basin covers an area of . The ground strata are most ...

and

Ksani The Ksani (, , ''Ĉysandon'') is a river in central Georgia, which rises on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range in South Ossetia and flows into the Kura (''Mtkvari''). It is a left tributary of the Kura. The Ksani is long ...

, and was under the hereditary command of the Princes Mukhranbatoni. * ''mepis'', "royal", included parts of Kartli along the right bank of the

Mtkvari The Kura, also known in Georgian as Mtkvari ( ), is an east-flowing transboundary 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 ...

river from

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

to Tashiskari and the estates of the

Catholicos A catholicos (plural: catholicoi) is the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and, in some cases, it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient Greek ( ...

. The banner was under the command of a royally-appointed officer, frequently from the princely family of

Tsitsishvili The House of Tsitsishvili ( ka, ციციშვილი) is an ancient Georgian noble family, with several notable members from the 15th century through the 20th. History The Tsitsishvili family was a continuation of the medieval House of ...

List of ''sadrosho'' in Imereti

* ''metsinave'', "avant-garde", included the districts of Vake and Salominao and the fiefs of the Princes

Chkheidze The House of Chkheidze was an old Nobility of Georgia (country), Georgian noble family, ruling family of the Duchy of Racha, until the late XVIII century. In the 19th century, after the annexation of Georgia by the Russian Empire, they became part ...

and

Chijavadze The House of Chijavadze ( ka, ჩიჯავაძე) or Chizhavadze () were a Georgian noble family (''tavadi''), prominent in the western Kingdom of Imereti in the 16th and 17th centuries. History The Chijavadze of Imereti share origin wi ...

. * ''memarjvene'', "right flank", included 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 6 ...

. * ''memartskhene'', "left flank", was the

Duchy of Racha The Duchy of Racha ( ka, რაჭის საერისთავო, ''rach'is saerist'avo'') was an important fiefdom in medieval and early modern Georgia (country), Georgia, located in the western province of Racha, in the upper Rioni Vall ...

. * ''mepis'', "royal", comprised the districts of

Lechkhumi Lechkhumi ( ) is a historic province in northwestern Georgia (country), Georgia which comprises the area along the middle basin of the Rioni river, Rioni and Tskhenistskali and also the Lajanuri river valley. Now part of the Racha-Lechkhumi and K ...

and Okriba.

References

{{italic title Military history of Georgia (country) Georgian words and phrases