The battle of Garisi was fought between the Georgian

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

 and Safavid Iranian

Safavid dynasty

The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...

 armies at the village of Garisi (present-day Tetritsq'aro

Tetritsq'aro

Tetri Tsqaro is a town in Kvemo Kartli in southern Georgia, the name of which translates as "White Spring".- See also :*Gudarekhi...

) in 1556 or 1558, and resulted in a pyrrhic victory

Pyrrhic victory

A Pyrrhic victory is a victory with such a devastating cost to the victor that it carries the implication that another such victory will ultimately cause defeat.-Origin:...

 of the Georgians.

This conflict was an immediate consequence of the Treaty of Amasya signed between the Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 and Safavid empires in 1555. This peace deal left a fragmentized Kingdom of Georgia

Kingdom of Georgia

The Kingdom of Georgia was a medieval monarchy established in AD 978 by Bagrat III.It flourished during the 11th and 12th centuries, the so-called "golden age" of the history of Georgia. It fell to the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, but managed to re-assert sovereignty by 1327...

 divided into spheres of influence. The kingdoms of Kartli

Kartli

Kartli is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari , on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial role in ethnic and political consolidation of the Georgians in the Middle Ages...

 and Kakheti

Kakheti

Kakheti is a historical province in Eastern Georgia inhabited by Kakhetians who speak a local dialect of Georgian. It is bordered by the small mountainous province of Tusheti and the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north, Russian Federation to the Northeast, Azerbaijan to the Southeast, and...

, and the eastern part of the principality of Samtskhe were allotted to the Safavids which had already garrisoned the Georgian capital of Tbilisi

Tbilisi

Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...

.

Luarsab I

Luarsab I of Kartli

Luarsab I , of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a king of the Georgian kingdom of Kartli from 1527 to 1556 or from 1534 to 1558...

, the indomitable king of Kartli, refused to recognize the terms of the Amasya treaty and continued to worry Tbilisi. This provoked another Iranian expedition, the fourth in Luarsab’s reign. The Safavid forces, the Qizilbash, placed by Shah

Shah

Shāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...

 Tahmasp I

Tahmasp I

Tahmasp or Tahmasb I was an influential Shah of Iran, who enjoyed the longest reign of any member of the Safavid dynasty...

 under the command of Shahverdi Sultan, beylerbey

Beylerbey

Beylerbey is the Ottoman and Safavid title used for the highest rank in the hierarchy of provincial administrators It is in western terms a Governor-general, with authority...

 of Ganja, crossed into Kartli in 1556 or 1558. Lursab and his son Svimon

Simon I of Kartli

Simon I also known as Svimon , of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a Georgian king of Kartli from 1556 to 1569 and again from 1578 to 1599...

met the invaders at Garisi. In a pitched battle, the Georgians managed to beat off the Qizilbash, but Luarsab was killed in action.