Battle of Krtsanisi
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| Battle of Krtsanisi | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Persian invasion of Georgia (country) | |||||||
 Modern artistic notion: The Battle of Krtsanisi by Severian Maisashvili |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Georgians | Persians | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Erekle II | Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 5,000 | 35,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 3,000-4,000 | 10,000[citation needed] | ||||||
The Battle of Krtsanisi was fought between Persian and Georgian troops at the place of Krtsanisi near Tbilisi on September 8-September 11, 1795.
The Persian ruler Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar demanded from Erekle II, king of Kartl-Kakheti (eastern Georgia) to denounce the Treaty of Georgievsk with Russia and recognize Georgia's suzerainty to the Persian Empire. King Erekle II refused a Persian ultimatum, counting on the alliance with Russia to save his small kingdom. Mindful of the Persian might, Russians did not send troops to support her ally.
Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar invaded Kartl-Kakheti with 35,000 troops in September 1795. King Erekle managed to organize only a defense militia of 5,000 due to the lack of regular forces and betrayal of some nobles. Persians broke desperate resistance of a tiny Georgian force in the three-day bloody battle near Tbilisi, took the city and burned it to the ground. King Erekle II, 75, made a sortie with a few bodyguards and left the burning capital for the mountains to organize guerrilla warfare against the invaders. The battle resulted in a complete destruction of the city of Tbilisi. Many of its inhabitants died in the street fights. Thousands of refugees fled to other regions of the country. The Persian army also suffered huge losses and had soon to leave Georgia taking some 2,000-3,000 captives. The Kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti never recovered from this invasion and was annexed by the Russian Empire a few years later.
