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'''''sadrosho''''' ({{lang-ka|სადროშო}}; literally, "of a banner") was an administrative division in medieval and early modern [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] which supplied men for a subdivision of the army marked by its own [[banner]]. A tactical unit furnished by this territorial unit was also known as ''sadrosho'', each under the command of a military official, ''[[wikt:სარდალი|sardali]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Suny|first=Ronald Grigor|title=The Making of the Georgian Nation|date=1994|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=0253209153|page=353|authorlink=Ronald Grigor Suny}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Salia|first=Kalistrat|title=History of the Georgian nation|date=1983|publisher=Académie française|location=Paris|pages=254, 265|authorlink=Kalistrat Salia}}</ref><ref name="gse">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Asatiani|first=N.|encyclopedia=ქართული საბჭოთა ენცილოპედია [Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia]|title=სადროშო |trans-title=sadrosho |year=1984 |volume=8 |publisher=Georgian Academy of Sciences Press |location=Tbilisi |pages=623–624|language=Georgian}}</ref>
==United Kingdom of Georgia==
The origin of the ''sadrosho'' system traces its origin to the period of a united Georgian monarchy, the [[Bagrationi dynasty|Bagratid]] [[kingdom of Georgia]] (1008–1491), which, according to the 18th-century historian [[Prince Vakhushti]], was subdivided into four principal ''sadrosho'':
* ''metsinave'' (მეწინავე), "avant-garde", was furnished by the southern provinces of Upper and of [[Lower Kartli]].
* ''memarjvene'' (მემარჯვენე), "right flank", was provided by the western provinces of [[Imereti]] and [[Abkhazia]].
* ''memartskhene'' (მემარცხენე), "left flank", was supplied by the easternmost provinces of [[Kakheti]] and [[Hereti]].
* ''mepis'' (მეფის), "royal", by [[Inner Kartli]].<ref name="gse"/>
==After the united monarchy==
With the fragmentation of the Kingdom of Georgia in the latter half of the 15th century, the unified military organization collapsed and the three successor kingdoms—[[Kingdom of Kakheti|Kakheti]], [[Kingdom of Kartli (1484–1762)|Kartli]], and [[Kingdom of Imereti|Imereti]]—reestablished their own systems of ''sadrosho''. In Kakheti, newly created ''sadrosho'' were put under the command of bishops, generally more loyal to the king than princes (''[[tavadi]]''), who filled the similar positions in Kartli, usually as hereditary offices, and were prone to defiance to the central royal authority. Over time, the number and administration of ''sadrosho'' underwent several changes, but the system survived until the [[Georgia within the Russian Empire|Russian annexation]] of the Georgian monarchies in the early 19th century.<ref name="gse"/>
===List of ''sadrosho'' in Kakheti===
* ''metsinave'', "avant-garde", was under the bishop of [[Bodbe Monastery|Bodbe]] (''bodbeli'') and consisted of the district of Kiziki up to the village of Kisiskhevi.
* ''memarjvene'', "right flank", was commanded by the bishop of [[Nekresi]] (''nekreseli'') and comprised much of Thither Kakheti up to the town of [[Gremi]].
* ''memartskhene'', "left flank", was subjected to the bishop of [[Rustavi]] (''rustveli'') and commanded much of Outer Kakheti from Kisiskhevi to the [[Aragvi river]], including [[Martkopi]] and Saguramo.
* ''mepis'', "royal", was commanded by a royally-appointed person, not infrequently by a crown prince, and covered much of Inner Kakheti and the territory of the Bishopric of [[Alaverdi, Armenia|Alaverdi]] west from Gremi, including the [[Pankisi gorge]].<ref name="gse"/>
===List of ''sadrosho'' in Kartli===
* ''metsinave'', "avant-garde", included Lower Kartli—the districts of [[Somkhiti]] and Sabaratiano—and was under the hereditary command of the Princes [[Baratashvili]] and their offshoot, the Princes [[Orbeliani]].
* ''memarjvene'', "right flank", included Inner Kartli and was hereditarily commanded by the Princes [[Amilakhvari]].
* ''memartskhene'', "left flank", comprised [[Mukhrani|Samukhranbatono]] and the duchies of [[Duchy of Aragvi|Aragvi]] and [[Duchy of Ksani|Ksani]], and was under the hereditary command of the Princes [[House of Mukhrani|Mukhranbatoni]].
* ''mepis'', "royal", included parts of Kartli along the right bank of the [[Mtkvari]] river from [[Tbilisi]] to Tashiskari and the estates of the [[Catholicos Patriarch of Georgia|Catholicos]]. The banner was under the command of a royally-appointed officer, frequently from the princely family of [[Tsitsishvili]].<ref name="gse"/>
===List of ''sadrosho'' in Imereti===
* ''metsinave'', "avant-garde", included the districts of Vake and Salominao and the fiefs of the Princes [[Chkheidze]] and [[Chijavadze]].
* ''memarjvene'', "right flank", included the district of [[Argveti]].
* ''memartskhene'', "left flank", was the [[Duchy of Racha]].
* ''mepis'', "royal", comprised the districts of [[Lechkhumi]] and Okriba.<ref name="gse"/>
== References ==
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[[Category:Military history of Georgia (country)]]
[[Category:Georgian words and phrases]]