Dato Tabakhmelashvili
PhD Student
Sokhumi State University
Tbilisi, Georgia
Dato Tabakhmelashvili
PhD Student
Sokhumi State University
Tbilisi, Georgia
To find out the identity of the Beburishvili brothers
who died in the battle of Kars in 1789
Abstract
The Vachnadze feudal family had a special place among the feudal families in Georgia. The representatives of this family were exceptionally loyal to the king's authority, which is confirmed by the documents issued by the royal authorities to the Vachnadze-Beburishvili family (Blood Certificates and others). One of the outstanding examples of loyalty and dedication to the motherland and the King is the battle of Kars in 1789. By the order of King Erekle, his grandson Davit Bagrationi (son of Georgi XII) went to march to Kars with a thousand men. The campaign turned out to be successful; many prisoners were captured; however, when they turned back, the Turkish army caught up with them, and another fight took place. In the second battle, the Georgians won again, but the Turks killed the Beburishvili brothers. Teimuraz Bagrationi describes this story in "New History," and the same author tells us in more detail in "History of Davit Bagrationi:" "...at the same time, two brothers, the Kakhetians, were killed in a battle fought by the king's son, surnamed Beburishvili. They fought very bravely against the Turks, and they killed some strong Turkish fighters. Many Turks were captured by the king's son and the Turks chased them for a long distance from the place where the first fight was held..." (Teimuraz Bagrationi, "History of David Bagrationi", pp. 24-25).
This is the only narrative source about the Beburishvili brothers. It is known that the settlement area of Vachnadze extended over many villages of Kakheti. From the writings of Ioane Batonishvili - "A Brief Description of the Surnames of the Chiefs and Nobles Living in Georgia" - it becomes known to us where (in which village/villages) the Beburo-Vachnadzes lived. Ioane Bagrationi notes that:
"... these Vachnadzes are also called by their estate names and other surnames, that is, sons of Asati and sons of Agathoshvili and sons of Onana, and the first among them are the residents: 1) Beburi shvili (sons of Bebur), 2) Kapa shvili (sons of Kapa), 3) Giorgi shvili (sons of Giorgi), 4) Aideburi shvili (sons of Aidebur), 5) Tamara shvili (sons of Tamar) and Omana shvili (sons of Oman). They live in Kardenakhi, Agathoshvili live in - Bakurtsikhe and Onanashvili - live in - Kolag...".
From this part of Ioane Batonishvili's works, it is clear that the settlement area of Beburishvili is the village of Kardenakhi. It is also noteworthy that the Vachnadze feudal clan had its ancestral cemetery in the village of Kardenakhi. In this regard, we find interesting information in the work of Vakhushti Bagrationi "Description of the Kingdom of Georgia." The text, added by a copyist in the 19th century, contains interesting information. In particular, in this village (Kardenakhi), there is a monastery named after Saint Saba, whose cemetery also belongs to the Vachnadze family (Vakhushti, 544, 7).
It was in the courtyard of the monastery, named after Saint Saba, in the village of Kardenakhi that a significant discovery was made. A fragment of a tombstone was found, bearing an inscription that the grave belonged to Mourav Revaz of Gavazi, whose two sons had perished in the Battle of Kars. The inscription also mentioned that Revaz Vachnadze rests with his sons. The date of Revaz Vachnadze's death, 1808, is known from the lapidary inscription. Based on this, it is plausible to conclude that the Beburishvili brothers who died in the Battle of Kars and the "son" mentioned in Revaz Vachnadze's tombstone inscription are the same person.
Keywords: Beburishvili-Vachnadze, Brathers Beburishvili.