 A Georgian document dated to 1516—listing the noble families of Samtskhe—mentions the Slesari, literally, "of Slesa", who shared with the Avalishvili the heritage of the Bumbulidze, "with their cemetery, monastery, and court church".The village of Slesa is first documented, as consisting of 16 households, in an Ottoman fiscal census dated to 1598.The Ottoman conquest of the area resulted in displacement or assimilation of the local population of Samtskhe.