Fortifications in Lori used to defend against Lezgin Attacks, 18th-early 19th century

During the 18th-early 19th century, The Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti was constantly besieged and raided by Dagestani tribes (collectively referred to as Lezgins back then) in a period known in Georgia as Lekianoba. The Georgian kings did not form a proper response to this issue in Georgian Armenia (Somkheti), so it fell to the locals to formulate one. The locals, particularly in Lori responded by forming a so-called "Sghnakh" (defensive structure). This movement was led by the people of Dsegh, and in the later era, particularly by Hovakim Yuzbashi, an ancestor of Hovhaness Tumanyan. Each village formed armed patrols and people used the old medieval castles and fortifications of Lori as shelter when needed. There are many many stories about these. I will try to give some context on each one, all of them are in order.

Lori Berd was one of the fortresses, where people who were displaced due to the invasions took shelter.

In his work "From the life of the braves"Hovhaness Tumanyan notes how during the Lekianoba period Hovakim Yuzbashi and his 40 braves constantly gave fire from Sisi Berd.

Inside the fortified walls of Haghpat, countless important people took shelter, such as Sayat Nova. In the last case, the Lezgin Omar Khan besieged Haghpat but was driven off due to the resistance of the local villagers, who even a hundred years later were noted as being excellent riflemen.

There is an old legend about Kayanaberd and the neighboring caves now known as "Zarni Parni". These two areas are located next to eachother, and the people who took shelter here communicated with each other using an encrypted language. When either was captured, they would yell "The sky has worn out"and the other would realize that their neighboring fortification had fallen. In one case, one of the fortifications was captured and a girl was kidnapped by the Lezgins. The father of the girl yelled out "Girl, keep your head!" (Stoop on the horse). The girl stooped on the horse, and her father was able to shoot and kill the Lezgin.