The Avar raids on Georgia (1785) was a military campaign launched by the Avar Khanate under the leadership of Umma Khan V against the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti during the late 18th century. The invasions were one of the most devastating series of conflicts in the raids of Dagestanis to Georgia, also known as Lekianoba. It ended with King Heraclius II accepting a peace agreement under which he agreed to pay annual tribute to Umma Khan.

History

Prelude

Beginning in the 16th century, highlanders from Dagestan carried out numerous raiding expeditions into Georgia.T. Botsvadze. From the History of Georgian–Dagestani Relations in the 15th–18th Centuries. Tbilisi, 1968. The raids became especially frequent after the rise to power of Umma Khan, who, in addition to the Georgians, compelled the khans of Derbent, Quba, Baku, Shirvan, and Shaki, as well as the pasha of Akhaltsikhe, to pay him tribute in exchange for sparing their territories from further attacks.A. A. Neverovsky. A Brief Historical Survey of Northern and Central Dagestan Before the Elimination of Lezgin Influence in Transcaucasia. St. Petersburg, 1848. The Jaro-Belokani jamaats also acknowledged his authority.M. G. Magomedov. History of the Avars. Makhachkala: Dagestan State University, 2005.

The raids

In the autumn of 1785, Umma Khan again invaded the Georgian plain with his Avar forces.Historical Sketch of the Caucasian Wars from Their Beginning to the Annexation of Georgia. Tiflis, 1899. According to Russian sources, he reached the Alazani River on 16 September.N. F. Dubrovin. Istoriya voyny i vladychestva russkikh na Kavkaze [History of the War and Russian Rule in the Caucasus]. St. Petersburg, 1871, Vol. II, pp. 140–141. King Heraclius II assembled his own army and called upon Ossetian and Ingush auxiliaries.History of Ossetia in Documents and Materials. A Russian detachment under Stepan Burnashev also joined the Georgian forces.Georgia, in Military Encyclopedia of Sytin. St. Petersburg, 1911–1915.

Umma Khan rapidly crossed the Karayaz Steppe and captured the fortress of Aghjakala in Borchaly. Georgian losses reportedly amounted to 640 killed and 860 captured. The Avar army subsequently devastated the Akhtala mines and copper smelting works before advancing into Lori, where the region was plundered. In late October or early November, Umma Khan raided Upper Imereti, capturing and destroying the fortress of Vakhan.N. A. Berdzenishvili, V. D. Dondua, M. K. Dumbadze, G. A. Melikishvili, and Sh. A. Meskhia. History of Georgia. Tbilisi: State Educational Publishing House, 1962. Contemporary accounts state that approximately 700 inhabitants were inside the fortress. All adult males were reportedly executed except the noble princes. The fortress was burned, after which Umma Khan marched to Akhaltsikhe, where his army spent the winter.

The presence of the Avar army at Akhaltsikhe alarmed Heraclius II, who no longer considered his kingdom secure.P. G. Budkov. Materialy dlya novoy istorii Kavkaza v 1722–1803 gg. [Materials for the New History of the Caucasus, 1722–1803]. St. Petersburg, 1869, Part II. Umma Khan began preparing another campaign from Akhalkalaki toward the Tskhinvali Gorge.S. S. Kakabadze. Georgian Documents of the Institute of the Peoples of Asia of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Moscow, 1967, p. 226. After learning of these preparations, Heraclius II sought peace. According to historian D. L. Vateishvili, the Georgian king, lacking sufficient military strength, was compelled to accept humiliating peace terms, agreeing to become Umma Khan's tributary.D. L. Vateishvili. Georgia and the European Countries: Essays on the History of Relations, 13th–19th Centuries. Vol. III: Georgia and Russia, 18th–19th Centuries, Book 1, p. 109. Under the agreement, Heraclius was required to pay an annual tribute of 10,000 silver rubles and ransom prisoners at the rate of 50 rubles per captive.V. A. Potto. The Caucasian War. Vol. I. St. Petersburg, 1877.Military Encyclopedia of Sytin. St. Petersburg, 1911–1915.

Aftermath

In April 1786, Umma Khan departed through the Erivan Khanate to Karabakh, where he joined his ally Ibrahim Khalil Khan.A. I. Bregvadze. A Glorious Page in History: The Voluntary Union of Georgia with Russia and Its Socio-Economic Consequences. Moscow: Mysl, 1983. From there he returned to Avaria via Georgia, plundering the Ganja Khanate en route and exacting an indemnity of 5,000 rubles.M. M. Gasanaliev. Relations Between Russia and the Avar Khanate, 1774–1801. Voprosy Istorii, no. 5 (2012).Abbas-Qoli Agha Bakikhanov. Golestan-e Eram. Baku, 1991, pp. 185–186.

In 1788, Umma Khan assembled an army of approximately 20,000 men and once again launched a campaign against Fatali Khan of the Quba Khanate, laying siege to the town of Aghsu. During the campaign, however, the Avar forces advanced too close to the domains of Bammat, the Shamkhal of Tarki, who dispatched an army under the command of his son. The Avar army was decisively defeated by the Shamkhal's forces, forcing Umma Khan to retreat to Karabakh and seek peace with Fatali Khan.Russian State Military Historical Archive (RGVIA), fond 52, opis 194, delo 481, fols. 59–60 (original document). Notes

References

Citations

Sources

Potto, Vasily A. The Caucasian War. 5 vols. Vol. I. St. Petersburg: E. Evdokimov Printing House, 1877. ISBN 978-5-9524-3151-5.