TIMELINE

Georgia and Ossetia under Russian Rule (1774-1917)

1724. Georgia’s eastern kingdom of Kakheti comes under Ottoman rule.

1744. Iran names the Christian Georgian military commander, Erekle II (also called Heraclius II), as the King of Kakheti. 

1762. Erekle II succeeds his father as King of the Georgian Kartli-Kakheti Kingdom. He then extends Georgian rule over various Muslim principalities.

1769. King Erekel II turns to Russia to protect Georgia against attacks by the Ottomans and Persians.

1774. Russia and the Ottoman Empire sign the Treaty of Kucuk Kaynarca which ends the six-year Turko-Russian War.

[There are conflicting histories regarding this Treaty and its intent. The Treaty of Kucuk Kaynarca is a serious point of contention today in the conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia today. South Ossetia argues that this Treaty made the area of north and south Ossetia into one territory—within Russia. Georgia argues that Ossetia did not exist as a territory at the time of the Treaty and the Treaty makes no mention of Ossetia voluntarily joining Russia, so it cannot be the basis for South Ossetia secession.]

1783. Georgia’s Erekle II and Russia’s Catherine the Great sign the Treaty of Georgievsk, in which Russia is required to provide protection to Georgia. Georgia becomes protectorate of Russian Empire.

1795. Persian Shah Agha Mohammed Khan invades Georgia and burns Tbilisi, the capital city, to the ground.

1801. Russia decrees Georgia to be incorporated into the Russian Empire.

1801. Russian General Carl Heinrich Knorring deposes the Crown Prince from the throne of Georgia and establishes a government headed by General Ivan Petrovich Lasarev. Crown Prince.

1805. Russian troops defeat a Persian army attack on Tbilisi.

1810. The Russian Empire conquers the kingdom of Imereti in western Georgia and incorporates it into Georgia. MAP

1812. Rebellion breaks out in village of Akhmet. A Russian officer is accused of raping a Georgian woman and his men are killed.

1861-1907. Ilia Chavchavadze, a Georgian writer, leads a Georgian nationalist movement in Russian-ruled Georgia.

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Ossete (Alan) Migration to the Caucasus

Destruction of Alania; Flight into Georgia (1236-1700)

Georgia and Ossetia under Russian Rule (1774-1917)

Uprising, Then Soviet Repression (1917-1987)