Battle of Aspindza

Battle of Aspindza
Date20 April 1770
LocationAspindza, Georgia
Result Decisive Georgian victory[1]
Belligerents
Kartl-Kakheti  Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Erekle II Gola Pasha  †
Strength
3000 9500[2]
Casualties and losses
Unknown 4500+[2]

The Battle of Aspindza (Georgian: ასპინძის ბრძოლა) was fought on 20 April 1770 between the Georgians, led by king of Kartli-Kakheti Erekle II, and the Ottoman Empire.[3] The Georgians won a victory over the Turks.[4] The Georgian king asked Russian general Totleben for aid in the battle of Aspindza; in return Erekle would do his best to cultivate good relations with Russia. General Totleben agreed to help. As soon as the small army of Erekle and large army of Totleben were about to meet and merge, Totleben and his army changed course and returned to Russia. Totleben's plan was to let the Ottoman Empire completely destroy the Kartli-Kakhetian army along with the king. Russia, then, could easily incorporate the kingdom into the country. Erekle, along with his outnumbered army, was devastated. Nevertheless, the morale of the Georgians managed to override the Ottoman Turks, and the battle ended with a Georgian victory.

The battle is the subject of the patriotic ode "On the Battle of Aspindza" by Besiki.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Donald Rayfield, Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia, (Reaktion Books Ltd., 2012), 243.
  2. 1 2 Alexander Mikaberidze, Historical Dictionary of Georgia, (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015), 148-149.
  3. ↑ Mesxia, Šotʻa (1968). An outline of Georgian history. Tbilisi University Press. p. 31. OCLC 292912.
  4. ↑ Allen, William Edward David (1971). A history of the Georgian people: from the beginning down to the Russian conquest in the nineteenth century. Taylor & Francis. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-7100-6959-7.
  5. ↑ Kveselava, M. (2002). Anthology of Georgian Poetry. The Minerva Group. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-89875-672-2.

Further reading


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