Nine Brothers Kherkheulidze
Encyclopedia
Nine Brothers Kherkheulidze with their mother and sister were heroes of the Battle of Marabda
. All of them died defending their motherland.
In 1625, Shah Abbas I of Persia
marched his largest army toward Georgia’s
eastern provinces, Kartli
and Kakheti
, under the leadership of Isa-Khan Qurchibash
. The Georgian Army consisted of twenty thousand men. The banner of the Georgian army was entrusted to the Nine Brothers Kherkheulidze.
The Persians
panicked upon coming face-to-face with the courage and fortitude of the Georgian soldiers, but the experienced commander Isa-Khan Qurchibash would not yield. Help arrived from Beglerbeg Shaybani-Khan, and with the extra forces the Persians soon gained the advantage over the Georgian army. The Georgian colonel, Teimuraz Mukhranbatoni, was fatally wounded, and rumors of his death threw the soldiers into a panic, since they mistakenly believed that the dead man was King Teimuraz I of Kakheti
, their commander.
Believing that their leader had fallen, the Georgian soldiers became anxious. Before long, they recognized their mistake, but it was too late, as the fate of the battle had already been decided.
The military leaders and the bishops of Rustavi and Kharchasho all were killed in the battle at Marabda
. The nine banner-bearing Kherkheulidze brothers were also killed. When the banner, that had led their army through the battles at Didgori
and Basiani
, fell from the hands of the youngest brother, their sister grabbed hold of it immediately, and when she also fell, the banner and symbol of Georgian invincibility was raised up again by their mother, who also was killed.
The Georgians
fought heroically to the last moment. The battle that had begun at dawn finally ended late that night with the defeat of the Georgian army. Nine thousand Georgians gave their lives for Christ
and their motherland on the battlefield at Marabda. For their heroism, Nine Brothers Kherkheulidze with their mother and sister and nine thousand martyrs of Marabda where canonized by Georgian Orthodox Church. The self-sacrifice of Nine Brothers was represented in Georgian poetry.
Battle of Marabda
The Battle of Marabda , when the Iranian army defeated a Georgian force. This battle occurred after the Battle of Martqopi in the same year, when the Iranian army was routed.-References:...
. All of them died defending their motherland.
In 1625, Shah Abbas I of Persia
Abbas I of Persia
Shāh ‘Abbās the Great was Shah of Iran, and generally considered the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty. He was the third son of Shah Mohammad....
marched his largest army toward Georgia’s
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
eastern provinces, Kartli
Kartli
Kartli is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari , on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial role in ethnic and political consolidation of the Georgians in the Middle Ages...
and Kakheti
Kakheti
Kakheti is a historical province in Eastern Georgia inhabited by Kakhetians who speak a local dialect of Georgian. It is bordered by the small mountainous province of Tusheti and the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north, Russian Federation to the Northeast, Azerbaijan to the Southeast, and...
, under the leadership of Isa-Khan Qurchibash
Jesse of Kakheti
Jesse or Isā Khān , of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was a ruler of Kakheti in eastern Georgia from 1614 to 1615....
. The Georgian Army consisted of twenty thousand men. The banner of the Georgian army was entrusted to the Nine Brothers Kherkheulidze.
The Persians
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
panicked upon coming face-to-face with the courage and fortitude of the Georgian soldiers, but the experienced commander Isa-Khan Qurchibash would not yield. Help arrived from Beglerbeg Shaybani-Khan, and with the extra forces the Persians soon gained the advantage over the Georgian army. The Georgian colonel, Teimuraz Mukhranbatoni, was fatally wounded, and rumors of his death threw the soldiers into a panic, since they mistakenly believed that the dead man was King Teimuraz I of Kakheti
Teimuraz I of Kakheti
Teimuraz I , of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was a Georgian monarch who ruled, with intermissions, as King of Kakheti from 1605 to 1648 and also of Kartli from 1625 to 1633...
, their commander.
Believing that their leader had fallen, the Georgian soldiers became anxious. Before long, they recognized their mistake, but it was too late, as the fate of the battle had already been decided.
The military leaders and the bishops of Rustavi and Kharchasho all were killed in the battle at Marabda
Marabda
Marabda is a town in Georgia, located some 23 km south of the capital Tbilisi, and a few kilometers north of Marneuli.- Transport :Marabda is served by a Georgian Railway station on the Tbilisi–Gyumri line, 23 km south of Tbilisi Junction...
. The nine banner-bearing Kherkheulidze brothers were also killed. When the banner, that had led their army through the battles at Didgori
Battle of Didgori
The Battle of Didgori was fought between the armies of the Kingdom of Georgia and the crumbling Great Seljuq Empire at the place of Didgori, 40 km west of Tbilisi, the modern-day capital of Georgia, on August 12, 1121...
and Basiani
Battle of Basian
The Battle of Basian was fought, in the 13th century, between the armies of the Kingdom of Georgia and the Seljuqid Sultanate of Rüm in the Basian vale 60 km northeast of the city of Erzurum in what is now northeast Republic of Turkey. The battle is variously dated between 1202 and 1205, but...
, fell from the hands of the youngest brother, their sister grabbed hold of it immediately, and when she also fell, the banner and symbol of Georgian invincibility was raised up again by their mother, who also was killed.
The Georgians
Georgian people
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
fought heroically to the last moment. The battle that had begun at dawn finally ended late that night with the defeat of the Georgian army. Nine thousand Georgians gave their lives for Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
and their motherland on the battlefield at Marabda. For their heroism, Nine Brothers Kherkheulidze with their mother and sister and nine thousand martyrs of Marabda where canonized by Georgian Orthodox Church. The self-sacrifice of Nine Brothers was represented in Georgian poetry.