I wrote a short story years ago about a Georgian kid that gets sold into serfdom by his family during a war with the Persians. The problem is that I've forgotten most of the history this story was based on. I know it takes place during the 16th century and is sometime after 1511 because I made a reference to the book "Praise of Folly”. The actual story takes place three years after he was sold into serfdom and during that time I know their is a conflict between France and Italy.
Can anyone pinpoint the time frame? Maybe tell me a bit of history about the time period?
There was some conflict in what is now Georgia during this era, with the region being invaded both by the Ottoman and Persian Empires. Georgia had been nominally a united kingdom until about 1490, when it was split into three kingdoms and a few more principalities. This only served to weaken the region and make attractive for its neighbours, the Ottoman and Persian Empires.
Conflict between the Georgian kingdoms occurred during this era as each tried to consolidate power, and in the vacuum that resulted the Ottoman invaded in 1510 and sacked Kutaisi, the capital of Imereti (the western kingdom).
Not directly related to this, war broke out between the Ottoman and Persians, and Georgia became a battleground for the two. Unable to fight off both major powers, and facing an invasion by the Persians, the major Georgian king, Davit X of Kartli (centred around the modern capital Tbilisi), became a vassal of the Persians, which it remained until 1762 when it nominally broke free only to be subjugated to Russian domination (and eventual annexation).