1703 and 1704 Georgia-Abkhaz Campaign and the Cost of the Campaign
Eyüp KulGeorgia is a place of steep mountains and deep valleys, which led to frequent flooding. The effect of this natural structure was the main factor in armies facing serious difficulties during expeditions to the region. Ottoman–Georgian relations, which started in the fifteenth century, were also strategically effective in pursuing a policy based on local feudal lords against Iran, rather than conquering the region directly. The geography of Georgia, which became the field of Ottoman–Safavid rivalry in time, was shared between the two states. After the Treaty of Karlowitz, going on an expedition became a recurrent issue to prevent the increasing rebel movements against the Ottoman Empire and to strengthen the Ottoman authority in the region. Indeed, the expedition in which soldiers from Erzurum, Trabzon, Çıldır/Akhaltsikhe, and Kars provinces and 1,350 members of the central army took charge under the command of Vizier Köse Halil Pasha started in 1703 and ended in the following year. In this study, the route of the expedition, the events on the expedition route, when the expedition started and when it ended, whether the expedition reached its goal, whether the Ottoman army remained in the region, what kind of measures were taken in the region at the end of the expedition, whether the old order was maintained in the region, and the cost of the expedition to the Ottoman treasury are emphasized, and the information found in the Ottoman and Georgian sources are analyzed comparatively.
1703-1704 Gürcistan-Abaza Seferi ve Seferin Maliyeti
Eyüp KulGürcistan coğrafyası sarp dağlara, ormanlık ve derin vadilere sahip, sel baskınlarının sıklıkla yaşandığı bir yerdi. Bu doğal yapının etkisi ile bölgeye yapılan seferler, ordular için ciddi zorluklarla karşı karşıya kalınmasında ana etkendi. 15. yüzyılda başlayan Osmanlı-Gürcü ilişkileri de stratejik olarak bölgeyi doğrudan fethetmek yerine, İran’a karşı yerel feodal beylere dayanan bir siyaset güdülmesinde etkili olmuştur. Zaman içinde Osmanlı-Safevi rekabet sahası haline gelen Gürcistan coğrafyası, iki devlet arasında paylaşılmış ve Güril, Dadyan, Açıkbaş meliklikleri ile Abhazya bölgesi Osmanlı tabiiyetinde bulunmuştur. Osmanlı’nın 1683’de başarısızlıkla sonuçlanan Viyana Kuşatması sonrasında dört cephede mücadelesi ve Rusya’nın da bu durumdan istifade ile Karadeniz’e yayılma planı Gürcü melikliklerini de harekete geçirmiştir. Karlofça Antlaşması sonrası Osmanlı Devleti’ne karşı artan asi hareketlerin engellenmesi ve bölgede Osmanlı otoritesinin sağlamlaştırılması gayesiyle sefer açılması gündeme gelmiştir. Vezir Köse Halil Paşa komutasında Erzurum, Trabzon, Çıldır/ Ahıska ve Kars eyaletleri askerleri ve 1.350 kişilik merkezi ordu mensubunun görev aldığı sefer, 1703 yılında başlamış ve ertesi yıl sona ermiştir. Osmanlı arşiv vesikalarında Gürcistan ve Abaza, Gürcü kaynaklarında ise “Büyük Türk Seferi” olarak ifade edilen bu harekât ile ilgili bugüne kadar ayrıntılı bir bilgi kaynaklarda yer almamaktadır. İşte bu çalışmada seferin güzergâhı, sefer güzergâhı üzerinde yaşanan hadiseler, seferin ne zaman başlayıp ne zaman bittiği, seferin hedefine ulaşıp ulaşmadığı, Osmanlı ordusunun bölgede kalıp kalmadığı sorusuna yanıt aranacaktır. Ayrıca sefer sonunda bölgede ne gibi tedbirlerin alındığı, bölgede eski düzenin sağlanıp sağlanamadığı, varılan anlaşma şartları ile seferin Osmanlı hazinesine maliyeti üzerinde durulacak, Osmanlı ve Gürcü kaynaklarında yer alan bilgiler karşılaştırmalı olarak analiz edilecektir.
The geography of Georgia is characterized by steep mountains, deep, forested valleys, rivers that cut through these valleys, abundant rainfall, and consequently, frequent flooding. The impact of this natural structure was the main factor in armies facing serious difficulties during expeditions to the region. Yavuz Sultan Selim faced serious difficulties during his raid on Georgia in the spring of 1508, when he was a prince in Trabzon, and Vizier Halil Pasha, the vizier of the Georgian campaign, experienced similar problems. Beginning in the fifteenth century, Ottoman–Georgian relations were also strategically effective in pursuing a policy based on local feudal lords against Iran, rather than conquering the region directly.
In the seventeenth century, frequent rivalries in the region, especially the four-front war that the Ottoman Empire faced after the 1683 Vienna defeat played a major role in the hostile attitude of the states in the region toward the Ottomans. The Ottoman struggle on four fronts and Russia’s plan to expand to the Black Sea by taking advantage of this situation also mobilized the Georgian principalities, which ceased their obedience and rebelled against the Ottomans. Archil, one of the Georgian kings, who attempted at least five times between 1663 and 1698 to sit on the throne of the Imereti, was at the forefront of these rebellions and subsequently sought support from Russia, where he sought refuge, to organize an expedition to the region. In particular, the murder of Simon, who had been appointed as the ruler of Açıkbaş/Imereti, and then Giorgi, who had been appointed in his place, by Guria and Mamya, the rulers of Dadiani, the raids of Abazas on Muslim merchant ships, the nonpayment of jizyas and the rebellious movements pushed the Ottoman Empire to take measures. In point of fact, after the Treaty of Karlowitz, an expedition was launched to prevent the increasing number of rebellious movements against the Ottoman Empire and to consolidate Ottoman authority in the region. There is no detailed information about this campaign, which is referred to as the Georgian and Abaza War in Ottoman archival documents and the Great Turkish War in Georgian sources. Accordingly, Vizier Köse Halil Pasha was appointed as a serdar for the Georgian campaign with the assignment of Erzurum Province. Under the command of Vizier Köse Halil Pasha, the expedition, which included the soldiers of Erzurum, Trabzon, Çıldır/Akhaltsikhe, and Kars provinces, the beys and soldiers of the sanjaks administered as dynasty estates (yurtluk-ocaklık), and 1,350 members of the central army, started in 1703 and ended the following year. Halil Pasha made the necessary preparations for the expedition by traveling from Istanbul to Trabzon, then to Erzurum by land, and then back to Trabzon. The other column of soldiers headed toward Akhaltsikhe via Çıldır. According to the plan of the two armies, the meeting point was determined as Baghdati.
The cannons and ammunition for the campaign were supplied from the Tophane-i Amire in Istanbul and loaded onto 40 prepared ships. Some of the cannons and ammunition were shipped by sea via Trabzon and Gonio, while some were brought to Trabzon and then shipped by land to Akhaltsikhe via Erzurum.
Vizier Halil Pasha arrived in Gonio from Trabzon, from where he traveled to Kobuleti via Batumi, and then southward via Ozurgeti to Guria. The army, arriving via Akhaltsikhe, reached Baghdati earlier than planned and, captured the Fortress of Kutaisi, from where it reached Shuamta to meet the main army coming from the Black Sea. Later, when the army reached Rokiti, it was informed that Sultan Ahmed III had ascended the throne. On the order to continue the expedition, the army decided to conquer the Castle of Shorapani. Moreover, it is possible to obtain detailed information about the cost of the expedition from the ledgers kept. While the amount spent for the 1703 expedition was 283 thousand kurush, this figure was realized as approximately 18 thousand kurush in 1704.
In this study, the route of the expedition, the events that took place on the route of the expedition, when the expedition started and when it ended, whether the expedition reached its goal, whether the Ottoman army stayed in the region, what measures were taken in the region at the end of the expedition, whether the old order was restored in the region, the terms of the agreement reached, and the cost of the expedition to the Ottoman treasury are analyzed comparatively, and the information found in Ottoman and Georgian sources are also analyzed comparatively.
