Kakhetian Rebellion of 1659

an uprising of the Georgian people against Iranian rule. The rebellion was provoked by the plan of the rulers of Iran to settle the Kakhetia plain with Turkmenian nomadic tribes, threatening the annihilation of the Georgian population living there. The uprising was led by B. Cholokashvili, the Aragvi eristavi (feudal ruler) Zaal, and Zaal’s brother Elizbar, who were killed in battle. Tradition has also preserved the names of the popular heroes Z. Gaprin-dauli, N. Khoshurauli, and Gogolauri (who was from the ethnographic group known as the P’shavy). The inhabitants of Kakhetia, together with the mountain population of the country, cleared their land of Iranian troops and forced the rulers of Iran to abandon their plan.