The Three Hundred Aragvians ( ka, სამასი არაგველი, tr) is the name by which the Georgian historiography refers to a detachment of the highlanders from the Aragvi valley who fought the last stand at the

battle of Krtsanisi The Battle of Krtsanisi ( ka, კრწანისის ბრძოლა, tr, ) was fought between the army of Qajar Iran (Persia) and the Georgian armies of the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti and Kingdom of Imereti at the place of Krtsanisi n ...

, defending

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 ( ...

against the invading Qajar army in 1795. The

Georgian Orthodox Church The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonl ...

had the 300 Aragvians and those who fought and died in the battle canonized as

martyrs A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

in 2008.

History

The 300 Aragvians were part of the contingent raised from the highland districts on the Aragvi river which saw action under Prince Royal Vakhtang of Georgia, on the approaches of the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, on 11 September 1795. The heavy fighting, unfolding in the fields of

Krtsanisi The Battle of Krtsanisi ( ka, კრწანისის ბრძოლა, tr, ) was fought between the army of Qajar Iran (Persia) and the Georgian armies of the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti and Kingdom of Imereti at the place of Krtsanisi nea ...

and continuing in the streets of Tbilisi, saw the defeat of the aging and hopelessly outnumbered Georgian king Heraclius II at the hands of the Qajar army led by

Agha Muhammad Khan Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar (; 14 March 1742 – 17 June 1797), also known by his regnal name of Agha Mohammad Shah (), was the founder of the Qajar dynasty of Iran, ruling from 1789 to 1797 as Shah. Originally a chieftain of the Quwanlu branch of t ...

, and the sack of the capital. According to the Georgian accounts, the Aragvians had pledged themselves to fight to the death and stayed true to their oath. Most of them were killed, fighting the

last stand A last stand, or final stand, is a military situation in which a body of troops holds a defensive position in the face of overwhelming and virtually insurmountable odds. Troops may make a last stand due to a sense of duty; because they are d ...

at Tbilisi and giving Heraclius a means of retreat.

Memory

The 300 Aragvian soldiers were first eulogized in his history by Prince Royal Teimuraz, himself a teenage participant of the 1795 events. The leading figures of the Georgian literature of the 19th and 20th centuries, such as

Grigol Orbeliani Prince Grigol Orbeliani or Jambakur-Orbeliani ( ka, გრიგოლ ორბელიანი; ჯამბაკურ-ორბელიანი) (2 October 1804 – 21 March 1883) was a Georgian Romanticist poet and general in Imp ...

Ilia Chavchavadze Tavadi, Tavadi (Prince) Ilia Chavchavadze ( ka, ილია ჭავჭავაძე; 27 October 1837 – 12 September 1907) was a Georgians, Georgian journalist, publisher, writer and poet who spearheaded the revival of Georgian nationalism ...

Iakob Gogebashvili Iakob Gogebashvili ( ka, იაკობ გოგებაშვილი) (October 27, 1840 – June 1, 1912) was a Georgian educator, children’s writer and journalist, considered to be the founder of the scientific pedagogy in Georgia. Throu ...

Vazha-Pshavela Vazha-Pshavela ( ka, ვაჟა-ფშაველა), simply referred to as Vazha ( ka, ვაჟა) (14 July 1861 – 10 July 1915), is the pen name of the Georgian poet and writer Luka Razikashvili ( ka, ლუკა რაზიკა� ...

, Galaktion Tabidze, and

Lado Asatiani Vladimer (Lado) Asatiani ( ka, ვლადიმერ ��ადოასათიანი) (14 January 1917 – 23 June 1943) was a Georgian poet. His poetic career, lasting only for seven years, made him one of the best-loved Georgian poe ...

, paid tribute to their memory and helped establish their standing as national heroes. A monument to the 300 Aragvians, authored by A. Bakradze, was erected in 1959 at the place where remnants of the graves of those who died in 1795 were unearthed. A nearby park and a bridge over 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 ...

bear the name of the 300 Aragvians and a

Tbilisi Metro The Tbilisi Metro ( ka, თბილისის მეტროპოლიტენი, tr) is a rapid transit system in the Georgia (country), Georgian capital Tbilisi. Opened on 11 January 1966, it was the List of metro systems in the Soviet ...

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

opened in 1967 was also named in their honor. On 27 June 2008, the

Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox ...

of the

presided by Catholicos-Patriarch

Ilia II Ilia may refer to: Science and medicine *''Apatura ilia'' or lesser purple emperor, a butterfly *Ilium (bone) (plural: "ilia"), pelvic bone People * Ilia (name), numerous ** Ilia II, the current Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Places * Ili ...

canonized the "300 Aragvians, clergy, and laymen perished in the battle of Krtsanisi of 1795" as "holy martyrs", setting 11 September ( NS: 24 September) as the day of their commemoration.

References

{{Reflist 18th-century births 1795 deaths Battle of Krtsanisi 18th-century Eastern Orthodox martyrs Christian saints from Georgia (country) Military history of Tbilisi Military personnel from Georgia (country)

History

Memory

See also

References