Battle of Karagak
Date 1543 Location Karagak Result Georgian victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Imereti Principality of Guria	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Bagrat III of Imereti Rostom Gurieli	Musa Pasha †

TheBattle of Karagak (Georgian:ქარაღაქის ბრძოლა) was fought between the armies of theKingdom of Imereti and theOttoman Empire at the place of Karagak,Meskheti, in 1543.

At the request ofQvarqvare III’s sonKaikhosro, theOttoman Empire invaded Imereti. By orders of the Ottoman Sultan theKurdishbeylerbey ofErzurum, Musa Pasha, was sent to Samtskhe with 22,000 men to conquer the surrounding area. Ottoman army equipped by European cannons besieged the Georgian-garrisoned fortress of Oltisi (nowOltu, Turkey). Bagrat called upon the neighboring Georgian potentates to come to aid. Only theprince of GuriaRostom Gurieli responded, while the prince ofMingrelia,Levan I Dadiani, refused to participate in the alliance, and later sided with the Ottomans, even traveling toIstanbul, where he received gifts and assurances of protection.^[1] Outnumbered Bagrat surrendered to Ottomans, however he resumed fighting as soon as Ottoman main army was retreated to Erzurum. Georgians unexpectedly annihilated remaining Ottoman garrison and later pursued main army which was decisively defeated at the battle of Karagak, Musa Paşa was himself killed in fighting.

The Ottomans returned in force two years later, and moved into the principality ofSamtskhe, where Bagrat and his allyLuarsab I of Kartli suffered a bitter defeat at theBattle of Sokhoista in 1545. As a result, Samtskhe wrested of Bagrat’s control, and came under the Ottoman hegemony.

Samtskhe became vassal of theOttoman Empire.^[2] Qvarqvare III's descendants ruledSamtskhe-Saatabago (until 1628) and thenChildir Eyalet until 1820s.

• Conflicts in 1543
• 16th-century conflicts
• Battles involving Georgia (country)
• Battles involving the Ottoman Empire

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