Krtsanisi, Battle of

The Battle of Krtsanisi is fought between the Qajars of Iran and the Georgian armies of the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti and Kingdom of Imereti at the place of Krtsanisi near Tbilisi, Georgia, from September 8 to September 11, 1795, as part of Qajar Emperor Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar's war in response to King Heraclius II of Georgia’s alliance with the Russian Empire.

The battle results in the decisive defeat of the Georgians, capture, and complete destruction of their capital Tbilisi, as well as the temporary absorption of eastern parts of Georgia into the Iranian Empire.

Although the Qajars are victorious and Agha Mohammad Khan keeps his promise to Heraclius (Erekle) that if he will not drop the alliance with Russia and voluntarily reaccept Iranian suzerainty they will invade his kingdom, it also shows that Russia's own ambitions and agenda are set as the most important reason for Russia not to intervene at Krtsanisi, even though the latter had officially declared in the Treaty of Georgievsk of 1783 that it would protect Erekle's kingdom against any new Iranian ambitions to re-subjugate Georgia.

Subsequently, in order to restore Russian prestige, Catherine will launch a punitive campaign against Iran the next year, but it will be shortly recalled after her death.

The following years will remain turbulent and are known as a time of muddle and confusion.

Reestablishment of Iranian rule over Georgia will not last long, for the shah will be assassinated in 1797 in Shusha, and the Georgian king will die the year after.

With Georgia laying in ruins and the central rule in Iran being concerned with the next heir to the throne, it opesthe way for Georgia's annexation by Russia several years later by Tsar Paul.

As Iran cannot permit or allow the cession of Transcaucasia and Dagestan, which have been integral parts of Iran for centuries, the consequences of the Krtsanisi battle directly lead to the bitter Russo-Persian War (1804-1813) and Russo-Persian War (1826-1828), in which Fath Ali Shah, Agha Mohammad Khan's successor, will attempt to reverse Russian military advances and restore Iranian authority north of the Aras and Kura rivers.

After these wars, Iran will cede Transcaucasia and Dagestan to imperial Russia per the Treaty of Gulistan (1813) and the Treaty of Turkmenchay (1828)

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