# Lekianoba > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lekianoba > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lekianoba.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lekianoba > Source revision: 1342406564 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Northeast Caucasian people King [Erekle II](/source/Erekle_II) fights the Lezgians by [Valerian Sidamon-Eristavi](/source/Valerian_Sidamon-Eristavi): the battle against the [Avar](/source/Avar_Khanate) khan Nursal Bek Shah [Soltan Hoseyn](/source/Soltan_Hoseyn)'s *hukms* ("orders") of 1705 on punishing the Dagestanian marauding bands in [Kakheti](/source/Kakheti) **Lekianoba** ([Georgian](/source/Georgian_language): ლეკიანობა) was the name given to sporadic forays by [Northeast Caucasian](/source/Northeast_Caucasian) people into [Georgia](/source/Georgia_(country)) from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The term is derived from *Leki*, by which the [Georgians](/source/Georgians) knew the [Lezgin](/source/Lezgins) people, with the [suffix](/source/Suffix_(linguistics)) –*anoba*, which designates attribution. The references to these raids appear in the epic poetry of the [Avars](/source/Avar_Khanate) with the help of the [Kist people](/source/Kist_people) the names of rulers who led the most devastating attacks, Umma-Khan, Nursal-Bek, and Mallachi, are mentioned in Georgian sources.[1][2] The attacks began with the disintegration of the [Kingdom of Georgia](/source/Kingdom_of_Georgia) and the subsequent decline of its successor states in the incessant defence warfare against the [Persian](/source/Safavid_Empire) and [Ottoman Empires](/source/Ottoman_Empire). In the late 16th century, part of the Georgian marchlands in the [Kingdom of Kakheti](/source/Kingdom_of_Kakheti), later known as [Saingilo](/source/Saingilo), was given by the Persian shah [Abbas I](/source/Abbas_I_of_Persia) to his Dagestani allies, creating a base for subsequent invasions. Though chiefly on a small scale, these assaults were frequent enough to be rather devastating to the fragmented country, with the marauders taking hostages and pillaging the border settlements. From time to time, these attacks evolved into major military operations involving thousands of troops and led by the Dagestani feudal warlords, often in alliance with either the Persians or Ottomans. The Kingdom of Kakheti and [Kingdom of Kartli](/source/Kingdom_of_Kartli) were the two eastern Georgian kingdoms that suffered the most. Often taken by surprise, the Georgians failed to build up an effective defence mechanism against *Lekianoba* largely due to the constant internal conflicts and rivalry among the Georgian polities. Furthermore, Dagestani mercenaries were frequently used by rival Georgian kings and princes against one another.[3] In the early 1720s, the Georgian king [Vakhtang VI](/source/Vakhtang_VI) intensified his efforts to counter the Dagestani inroads. In 1722, he decided to join his forces with the [Russian](/source/Russian_Empire) [tsar](/source/Tsar) [Peter I](/source/Peter_I_of_Russia) and mobilised a large army to campaign against the Dagestanis and their major ally, the Safavid Empire, during the [Russo-Persian War (1722-1723)](/source/Russo-Persian_War_(1722-1723)). However, Peter soon made peace with the Persians, forcing Vakhtang to recall his troops. Georgia's independence finally collapsed again under the Ottoman and Persian aggression over the two subsequent decades, giving the Dagestani tribesmen more chances to attack. In 1744, [Teimuraz II](/source/Teimuraz_II_of_Kartli) and his son [Erekle II](/source/Erekle_II) revived the kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti from their overlord, [Nader Shah](/source/Nader_Shah), and joined their forces to check the Dagestani assaults. From 1750 to 1755, they thrice successfully repulsed a large coalition of the Dagestani clans led by the Avar khan Nursal Bek. In 1774, Erekle II created a special military force that initially, under the command of Erekle's son [Levan](/source/Levan%2C_son_of_Heraclius_II_of_Georgia), served as an effective instrument against the Dagestani marauders. However, facing an internal crisis in his kingdom, Erekle was unable to finally eliminate the threats from the [Caucasian](/source/Caucasus) mountaineers. In 1785 and 1787, the Avar khan [Omar](/source/Umma_Khan_V), who was working with Ottomans, twice attacked Kakheti, leaving several border villages in ruins, and in 1800 Georgians destroyed Omar khan and his large Avar army in the [Battle of Niakhura](/source/Battle_of_Niakhura). Beginning in 1801 with the annexation of Georgia by the [Russian Empire](/source/Russian_Empire), the frequency of Dagestani inroads weakened significantly.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] During the [Caucasian Wars](/source/Caucasian_War), [Imam Shamil](/source/Imam_Shamil) [invaded the Kakhetian marches](/source/Tsinandali) in 1854, an attack largely considered the last incident of *Lekianoba*.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## In culture - *What did Iavnana do?* is an 1890 work of the Georgian writer [Iakob Gogebashvili](/source/Iakob_Gogebashvili). Its [film adaptation](/source/Iavnana_(film)), directed by [Nana Janelidze](/source/Nana_Janelidze), was released in 1994. It tells about the fate of Keto, a Georgian girl abducted and sold by the Lezgins.[4] ## See also - [Battle of Ghartiskari](/source/Battle_of_Ghartiskari) - [Battle of Aspindza](/source/Battle_of_Aspindza) - [Battle of Kvareli](/source/Battle_of_Kvareli) - [Battle of Niakhura](/source/Battle_of_Niakhura) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** "Akhzakov, Alikhadji. Dagestanskiĭ filial Akademii nauk SSSR, In-t istorii, i︠a︡zyka, i literatury im. G. T︠S︡adasy, 1968, p. 37". {{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: Missing or empty |url= ([help](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:CS1_errors#cite_web_url)) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** "Macharadze, Valerian. Posol'stvo Teĭmuraza II V Rossii͡u, 1960. p. 152". {{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: Missing or empty |url= ([help](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:CS1_errors#cite_web_url)) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** "M.R Khalidova, Gamzatov, Hadji. Folk literature of Avars, Mkhachkala: Institute of Literature and Art, 2004, p. 192". {{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: Missing or empty |url= ([help](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:CS1_errors#cite_web_url)) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Iavnana (1994)"](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0325602/plotsummary/?ref_=tt_ov_pl). *[IMDb](/source/IMDb)*. - Georgian (Soviet) Encyclopedia, vol. 6; Tbilisi, 1983: p. 164 (In Georgian) This Georgian history-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Georgia-hist-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3AGeorgia-hist-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Georgia-hist-stub) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lekianoba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lekianoba) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lekianoba?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.