Three Hundred Aragvians

The Three Hundred Aragvians (Georgian: სამასი არაგველი, romanized: samasi aragveli) is the name by which the Georgian historiography refers to a detachment of the highlanders from the Aragvi valley who fought the last stand at the battle of Krtsanisi, defending Tbilisi against the invading Qajar army in 1795.

The 300 Aragvians were part of the contingent raised from the highland districts on the Aragvi river which saw action under Prince Royal Vakhtang of Georgia, on the approaches of the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, on 11 September 1795.

The heavy fighting, unfolding in the fields of Krtsanisi and continuing in the streets of Tbilisi, saw the defeat of the aging and hopelessly outnumbered Georgian king Heraclius II at the hands of the Persian army led by Agha Muhammad Khan, and the sack of the capital.

The leading figures of the Georgian literature of the 19th and 20th centuries, such as Grigol Orbeliani, Ilia Chavchavadze, Iakob Gogebashvili, Vazha-Pshavela, Galaktion Tabidze, and Lado Asatiani, paid tribute to their memory and helped establish their standing as national heroes.

[4] On 27 June 2008, the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church presided by Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II canonized the "300 Aragvians, clergy, and laymen perished in the battle of Krtsanisi of 1795" as "holy martyrs", setting 11 September (NS: 24 September) as the day of their commemoration.

Monument to the 300 Aragvians in Tbilisi.