The Abuletisdze family ( Georgian : აბულეთისძე ) was a Georgian noble family – eristavs – with its most prominent members in the 12th and 13th century. The family held appanages in the valleys of Aragvi and Tedzami in the eastern province of Kakheti .
96-460: The dynastic name Abuletidze (literally, "sons/descendants of Abulet") is derived from a male name Abulet. A person with this name appears as a commander under the Georgian king David IV (r. 1089-1125). He was among those nobles who recovered the fortress of Samshvilde from Seljuk Turks in 1110. Later, Abulet was a governor of Ani in 1124. He is last heard of in 1130. The Abuletisdze's loyalty to
192-582: A Mechurchletukhutsesi , the minister of finance and administrator of the kingdom's cities. The king's reforms did not stop at the country's administrative system. At the same time, he set up the darbazi (High Council of State), which included the highest dignitaries of the Church, such as the Catholicos-Patriarch and the superiors of the major monasteries, and the Saadjo kari (literally, ‘Court of Petitions’),
288-463: A coup d'état . David IV's contemporary chronicler limits himself to mentioning the change of power as a coronation of the young prince by his father, which pushes certain historians such as Cyril Toumanoff to suggest a co-regency between George II and David IV, at least until 1112, while frescoes found in the Ateni Sioni Church depict him in monk's robes, which would mean that his abdication
384-651: A Seljuk cadet who governs Azerbaijan and Arran from Nakhchivan , Arab forces of the Mazyadid emir Dubays ibn Sadaka, troops led by Najm ad-Din Ilghazi ibn Artuq from Aleppo , and garrisons from Ganja and Armenia, with the aim of invade the Kingdom of Georgia . Mahmud II also appointed General Ilghazi, famous for his battles against the Europeans in the Holy Land and having concluded
480-702: A certain period and we can thus see religious buildings constructed through bilateral efforts, such as the major renovation of the Mokvi Cathedral . David IV the Builder considered the security of the Caucasus and, therefore, the liberation of the region from the Seljuks to be the main goal of his reign. It was for this reason that, well before the start of the main negotiations with the Kipchaks , he already began to fight against
576-510: A co-ruler with his father sometime before his becoming a king-regant in 1089; a document of 1085 mentions David as "king and sebastos ", the latter being a Byzantine title. The accession of David IV was welcomed by several factions in the country as a sign of liberation for the Kingdom of Georgia , which was suffering politically, economically, culturally and even religiously. Expressions such as ‘a coronation from God’ appear in contemporary accounts. The Georgian Chronicles describe: Then
672-479: A covenant with the Almighty God and vow that we would rather die for His love than escape from the enemy. And if any one of us should wish to retreat, let us take branches and block the entrance to the gorge to prevent this. When the enemy approaches, let us attack fiercely! The king personally launches the attack, rushing his troops towards the attackers with a ferocity comparable to that of a "rambling monster". From
768-516: A hereditary transfer of power. The reform of David IV thus combined the Mtsignobartukhutsesi with the bishopric of Chkondidi , the main religious entity in Georgia after the Catholicos-Patriarch, and created the new position of Mtsignobartukhutsesi-Chkondideli, i.e. the first person in the kingdom after the king and the first person in the Church after the Catholicos-Patriarch. George of Chkondidi,
864-483: A kind of Supreme Court headed by the Mtsignobartukhutsesi-Chkondideli to ‘defend the oppressed and humiliated’ and where the king personally came to administer justice. Finally, the king's reforms ended with a change in the military establishment. Under Kings Bagrat IV and George II , the general decline in the economy had been accompanied by a significant fall in the population and an increase in
960-453: A personal guard, the monaspa , which depended entirely and directly on the king. In addition, the feudal militias were abolished, once again reinforcing central power. In addition to these measures, the king divided the army into two other fundamental parts: one consisting of garrisons charged with protecting towns and fortresses, and the other making up the basic army that ‘was constantly campaigning, both in winter and summer’. Troop discipline
1056-404: A power change in favour of the young David; George of Chqondidi would have been one of these opponents. The Life of King of Kings David does not recount the details of the change of power between George II and his son. Nodar Asatiani describes the event as a ‘palace revolution’ involving several dignitaries in 1089. Other historians speak of pressure on the Georgian king to abdicate rather than
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#17328772244381152-477: A regional power in the Caucasus under the reign of Bagrat III , the Byzantine Empire and Georgia have clashed on several occasions, both diplomatically and militarily, notably over the province of Tao-Klarjeti . In addition to several wars between the two countries , each of these states interfered in the internal affairs of the other by openly or secretly supporting candidates to the throne, usurpers or, in
1248-752: A secret visit by King Baldwin II of Jerusalem to the Georgian royal court. The existence of a powerful Kingdom of Georgia is also felt in the Arab world, where the Georgian monarch's kindness to his Muslim subjects and his knowledge of the Quran are renowned. A coin with the Arabic inscription “King of Kings David, the Sword of the Messiah” then circulated throughout the Middle East. The defeat of
1344-521: A separate church, Catholicosate of Abkhazia , independent from the Patriarchate of Mtskheta (i.e., Georgian Orthodox Church ). To justify this step, he asked Michael IV , Patriarch of Antioch and Jerusalem , to compose a "Law of Faith" which stated that western and eastern Georgia had different history of conversion and, therefore, they should be independent from each other. Once freed from captivity, George VIII attempted to recover his throne, but
1440-458: A temporary truce with the crusading Latins, as commander of these massive Muslim troops, whose numbers rose, d 'according to the sources, from 200,000 to 400,000 or even 600,000 soldiers. Having learned of the declaration of jihad by Mahmud II, David IV understood that the defeat of such an army would lead to the total liberation of the Caucasus and, therefore, the completion of the political goal of
1536-602: The Armenian princess Rusudan , David IV married the daughter of the Khan of the Kipchaks Otrok , who was soon baptised with the name Gurandukht . However, this alliance did not last and there was no sign of bilateral relations for the next decade. But soon, as Georgia began its new campaigns against the Seljuks, the king did not hesitate to call on his father-in-law for military aid. At
1632-506: The Bagrationi dynasty , was a king ( mepe ) of Imereti (as Bagrat II ) from 1463, and a king of Georgia from 1465 until his death. He was the son of Prince George . Around 1455, he was granted the title of Eristavi (duke) of Samokalako ( Kutaisi , western Imereti, and the surroundings) by the Georgian king George VIII . In the early 1460s, Bagrat supported the rebel prince Qvarqvare II Jaqeli , atabeg (prince) of Samtskhe , and
1728-596: The Bagrationi dynasty , was the 5th king ( mepe ) of the Kingdom of Georgia from 1089 until his death in 1125. Popularly considered to be the greatest and most successful Georgian ruler in history and an original architect of the Georgian Golden Age , he succeeded in driving the Seljuk Turks out of the country, winning the Battle of Didgori in 1121. His reforms of the army and administration enabled him to reunite
1824-602: The Battle of Didgori had an important repercussion on the fate of the Crusades , whose leaders were then seeking crucial aid against the Turks, and stories, sometimes exaggerated, of Didgori's victory were told in the royal courts of the West as a new hope against Muslim power. Besides Europe , David IV established relations with the Middle East . This is how he maintained close relations with
1920-635: The Georgian kingdom , an enclave having lost all relations with other Muslim states since the start of King David's conquests. This corresponds to the Emirate of Tbilisi , which had been occupied by the Arabs for almost five centuries, and contains the regions of Tbilisi and Dmanisi . Already in June 1121, David IV had put the city of Tbilisi under siege but was content with a formal allegiance with an annual tribute, in view of
2016-693: The Georgian language , changed their nomadic habits and became sedentary, gradually mixing with the Georgians. The central government then asked each family to provide at least one soldier for the Georgian army. However, the Kipchaks, who were hardly accustomed to a sedentary life and loyal to a single person, found themselves in a new landscape that they took to be hostile. Thus, until his death, David IV survived several assassination attempts and coups d'état organised by certain Kipchak groups. But this did little to change
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#17328772244382112-628: The Ottoman Turks in 1476-7). Bagrat had to make peace with the invaders, abandoning Tbilisi to the enemy. It was only after Uzun Hasan's death (1478) when the Georgians were able to recover their capital. In 1477, Eristav of Odishi, Vameq II Dadiani opposed Bagrat's rule in Western Georgia, he then assembled the Abkhazians and Gurians and began the raids in Imereti. The reaction of the king of Georgia
2208-603: The Seljuk Empire at the Battle of Didgori in August 1121 allowed David IV to liberate the Caucasus from Muslim domination dating back several centuries. Georgia's enemies found themselves decisively defeated, preventing them from retaliating against the northern Christian advance, while the Crusades raged in the west of the Turkic world. However, there remains a last Islamic enclave within
2304-545: The Seljuk Empire remained a permanent threat to his kingdom until the security of the Caucasus against Muslim invaders was assured. To this end, the king drew up a plan to unite the Caucasian peoples under his sceptre. Assisted by his closest advisers, the Georgian sovereign began by establishing solid relations with the many tribes of North Caucasus and beyond the Great Caucasus . Shortly after his 1107/1108 divorce from
2400-515: The Seljukid sultan of the Shah-Armenid state centered at Akhlat . The sultan enfeoffed him with Arsharunik whence he launched several raids into Georgia. Kirkish was eventually captured and cast into prison by Demetrius. When Demetrius was temporarily overthrown by his son David V , was restored to favor and granted the office of amirspasalar of which the rival Orbeli clan was dispossessed by
2496-430: The Seljuks and pay tribute to the invaders. Internally, the foundations of the Georgian state, based on Orthodoxy and central royal power, were undermined, bringing a supposedly unified kingdom to the brink of destruction. Several historians compare the young sovereign's task to that of David III of Tao and Ivane Marushidze, the princes who unified the Georgian realm . The first step taken by David IV to re-establish
2592-828: The Shervashidze (Sharvashidze) in Abkhazia , the Dadiani in Odishi (Mingrelia), and the Vardanidze in Guria ruled as semi-independent princes. In 1465, after the king George VIII was defeated and imprisoned by Qvarqvare of Samtskhe, Bagrat used the opportunity and crossed the borders of East Georgia (Inner Kartli ), where he proclaimed himself King of all Georgia . In fact, he possessed only west Georgia and Inner Kartli and remained mostly in western Georgia. In his western possessions, he also established
2688-464: The ordinals assigned to the Georgian Bagratids , especially in the early period of their history, as the numbering of successive rulers moves between the many branches of the family. Scholars in Georgia favor David IV, his namesake predecessors being: David I Kouropalates (died 881), David II Magistros (died 937), and David III Kuropalates (died 1001), all members of the principal line of
2784-550: The Alanians. To consolidate peace with the Alanians, David IV betrothed his youngest daughter Rusudan to Jadaron, son of the Alanian king Athon and heir to the Alanian throne. Taking both Alanians and Kipchaks as hostages, he managed to negotiate a lasting peace between the two peoples and returned to the kingdom of Georgia with almost 40,000 Kipchak families (almost 200,000 individuals), led be Otrok himself, after recovering and securing
2880-470: The Bagrationi dynasty. David was born in 1073 and was the son of King George II of Georgia and his wife, Queen Elene. He was probably educated by George of Chqondidi , a member of the royal court. David grew up in a time of war and desolation, due to the ravages of the Seljuks and his father's many defeats against these invaders. In such a situation, a major opposition to George II arose, which led to
2976-544: The Crusader forces, and in particular with King Baldwin I of Jerusalem (r. 1100–1118), with whom he exchanged numerous gifts as a sign of support. In addition, as stated above, a battalion of Latins composed of 200 to 1,000 men participated during the Battle of Didgori . Some sources also speak of the participation of Georgian auxiliary forces during the Siege of Jerusalem in 1099. The historian Prince Ioane of Georgia even reports
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3072-453: The Georgian economy was to put an end to Turkish raids into Georgia . Since 1080 and the capture of Kutaisi by Amir Ahmed, the Kingdom of Georgia had been obliged to accept Seljuk suzerainty and pay annual tribute. Despite these measures, the Muslims did not stop their seasonal devastation and several nomadic Turkish tribes settled in Georgia at the expense of the Georgian population, causing
3168-494: The Georgian forces. The Muslim monarch, fed up with the victories won by an increasingly powerful Christian kingdom while the Crusaders already found themselves powerful enemies of the Turks in the west, then declared jihad (holy war of Islam ) against Georgia and unifies a large Turkish army with detachments formed by the Seljuks of Turks coming from all over the Middle East (from Damascus and Aleppo to Caucasus) with: Tughril
3264-462: The Georgian ruler. In turn, he assembled a large army, composed of 40,000 Georgians , 15,000 Kipchaks and 5,000 Alans (60,000 troops in total), to which was added a detachment of 200 to 1,000 Crusaders from Western Europe . The king decided to let the Turks penetrate into Georgia proper, with the idea of benefiting from the local geography, and finally intercepted the enemy on the roads linking Trialeti to interior Kartli . The two armies met near
3360-471: The Georgian troops, led personally by David IV, whose exploits are recounted in the Georgian Chronicles . His chronicler compares the bravery of David IV to the biblical David and reports the ferocity of his blows. Three of his horses died during the battle, but the king, mounted on his fourth horse, succeeded in drawing with his sword ‘a thickened and congealed mass of blood ’. Having re-established
3456-422: The Georgians led by Crown Prince Demetrius invaded Shirvan after capturing the fortress of Gishi , which had been in the hands of rebellious nobles. Demetrius fought ‘marvellous battles’ in the region and captured the fortress of Kaladzori , before returning home with many captives and much wealth. The Georgian army's first notable defeat came in 1118, when General Beshken II Jaqeli [ ka ]
3552-620: The North Caucasus by making the regional sovereigns his vassals and controlling the routes leading from South Caucasus to North Caucasus via the Great Caucasus mountain range. He fortified the Djvari and Darial crossings and set up Georgian trading posts on the road to Derbent , whose sovereign swore allegiance to the King of Georgia. Since the creation of the Kingdom of Georgia and its beginnings as
3648-624: The Shio-Mghvime Monastery. Later in the 13th century, the family went in decline. By 1405, their fiefdom in Kakheti had passed to a branch of the Abazasdze . This article about a member of the Georgian nobility is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . David IV of Georgia David IV , also known as David IV the Builder ( Georgian : დავით IV აღმაშენებელი , romanized : davit IV aghmashenebeli ) (1073–1125), of
3744-456: The Turkish presence in Caucasus in 1110. Up until that year, the Turks had occupied the towns of Tbilisi and Rustavi , the regions of Samshvilde and Agarani and Armenia , where hundreds of Muslim settlers arrived every year during the harvest period. The Georgians , led by George of Chqondidi , his nephew Theodore, governor of Trialeti , Abuleti and Ivane I Orbeli , retaliated against
3840-416: The Turkish settlement and recaptured the town of Samshvilde without a major battle, adding it to the royal domains. Following this capture, the Seljuks left a large part of their occupied territories, allowing Georgian troops to capture Dzerna [ ka ] . In response to this double defeat, Sultan Muhammad I Tapar sent a large army of 100,000 soldiers to invade Georgia in 1110. Knowing that
3936-542: The Turkish strategy therefore lay in a rapid invasion of central and eastern Georgia . Soon, Seljuk forces occupied much of Kartli , as far as the Greater Caucasus . However, King David, having learned of the situation in the rest of his kingdom, rushed out of Abkhazia and ordered his soldiers to dig a passage through Likhi Range , then impassable and thus separating eastern Georgia from its part Western. The Georgian troops attacked Khunan and engaged in bloody combat until
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4032-423: The Turkish troops were approaching, David IV left his residence at Nacharmagevi with a personal guard of just 1,500 and set out to meet the invaders during the night. The two armies, clearly unequal, clashed the next day at the Battle of Trialeti in a fierce battle that ended in a decisive victory for Georgia. The Georgian Chronicles recount that, not believing in such a simple victory, the king stayed on until
4128-581: The Turks stationed at Barda and Arabia in June. The Muslims, according to Georgian historiography, were then “reduced to the brink” by a long series of costly defeats for more than ten years. Shortly after the double defeat of Barda and Arabia, the Turkish settlers of South Caucasus and the Muslim merchants of Ganja , Tbilisi and Dmanisi sent representatives to the Seljuk Sultan of Iraq Mahmud II (r. 1118–1131), formally requesting military support against
4224-589: The Turks the confidence to return. Learning that he was away, they camped at Botora. The Turks were many and they set up camps to spend the winter. On February 14, David IV suddenly attacked the Turks and completely destroyed them at the Battle of Botora . Only a few of them managed to get on their horses and flee. In the battle the Georgians captured many Turks and took much booty. Only two months later, David IV again led his troops to intervene in Shirvan : after capturing
4320-460: The Turks. Under the terms of the treaty, David IV undertook to pay the tribute established during his father's reign in exchange for a total end to Seljuk raids. However, this did not stop some Turks, whose troops were massacred by Georgian units, while the Turcomans established in the countryside were gradually expelled from the country, allowing Georgians to return to their villages. Little by little,
4416-499: The agreement between Byzantium and David IV, according to which the noble rebels against the Georgian king were sent to prison in Greece . At the same time, David definitively renounced Byzantium's political influence in Georgia by renouncing the Byzantine title of Panhypersebastos , a title created by Emperor Alexios I Komnenos for the closest allies of the imperial family. Finally, from
4512-416: The arbitrariness of the great feudal lords, leading to a deterioration in the quality of the Georgian army by undermining the discipline of the troops. David IV, considering the future wars he would have to wage against the Muslims , therefore decided to use the military organisation of the Seljuk Turks as a basis for reforming his own army. David IV began by gathering together his most loyal warriors to form
4608-650: The beginning of the conquest of Armenia by medieval Georgia, while the Agarani region was recaptured in July of the same year, after just one day of fighting. It was after this victory at Agarani that David IV and George of Chqondidi travelled to North Caucasus , realising that despite the encouraging signs of a total defeat for the Seljuk forces, the Georgian army would have to be considerably strengthened to achieve this goal. The royal administration, now headed by Simon of Chqondidi since
4704-455: The breath of life began to blow and the clouds appeared to ascend; and after twelve years of such miseries in the very midst of pitchdarkness, the sun of all the kingdoms began to rise, and the namesake of David, father of the Lord, great be his name and still greater his deeds, appeared, the seventy second descendant of David . Having become king at the age of 16, the young David IV found himself at
4800-403: The building of Georgian churches among the local peoples, and developed the economies of these peoples by helping to found urban communities and introduce the Georgian feudal system to the region. Georgian culture also became an integral part of local organised societies, with Georgian social terminology being introduced. Politically, David IV decided to strengthen the influence of his kingdom in
4896-641: The case of the Byzantine strategy, rebellious nobles against the power of the king. Despite several peace proposals over the years, it was not until the Battle of Manzikert between the Byzantines and the Seljuks that Byzanitne and the Kingdom of Georgia allied themselves against the Turkish Muslims . However, this alliance had little political impact due to the considerable weakening of the Byzantine Empire in
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#17328772244384992-523: The charter issued in the name of "King of Kings Bagrat " in 1452 and becomes firmly affixed to him in the works of the 17th- and 18th-century historians such as Parsadan Gorgijanidze , Beri Egnatashvili and Prince Vakhushti . Epigraphic data also provide evidence for the early use of David's other epithet, "the Great" (დიდი, didi ). Retrospectively, David the Builder has been variously referred to as David II, III, and IV, reflecting substantial variation in
5088-479: The cities and the army. This was a declaration of war, but the sultan of the Seljuk empire did not respond. After putting an end to Turkish invasions and re-establishing the traditional feudal system, David IV decided to strengthen central power before embarking on more important projects. Just after the Georgian economy was restored, a large part of the nobility, including the duke Liparit V of Kldekari and Prince Niania Kakhaberisdze, pledged their allegiance to
5184-405: The city of Qabala and returning to Georgia with large loads of gold, he returned to the region on May 7, 1120 and ravaged the country from Arbia-lizhatat to Khishtalanti and Kurdevan. At the same time, David IV managed to convince his vassal of Derbent to invade Shirvan and a war between the two parties soon broke out. In November, the Derbentians killed Shirvanshah Afridun I in combat, giving
5280-433: The collapse of the local feudal system. Contemporary historiography reports that by the time of David the Builder, Inner Georgia no longer had a rural population, the inhabitants having all taken refuge in the local citadels. To expel the Turkomans from his territories, King David began by reorganising an army whose morale was at its lowest due to its many defeats; he then formed several small military detachments made up of
5376-417: The conquest, devastating the mosques and other signs of the Islamization of the Georgian city, but soon calmed down. and, in the words of the 15th-century Arab historian Badr al-Din al-Ayni , "respected the feelings of Muslims more than Muslim rulers had done before." Bagrat VI of Georgia Bagrat VI ( Georgian : ბაგრატ VI ; c. 1439 – 1478), a representative of the Imeretian branch of
5472-415: The country and bring most of the lands of the Caucasus under Georgia's control. A friend of the Church and a notable promoter of Christian culture , he was canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church . The epithet aghmashenebeli ( აღმაშენებელი ), which is translated as "the Builder" (in the sense of "built completely"), "the Rebuilder", or "the Restorer", first appears as the sobriquet of David in
5568-434: The crown was not permanent, however. In the early 12th century, they were among the most powerful vassals and rivals of the kings of Georgia. Thus, already in the reign of David IV, Dzagan Abuletisdze is reported to have defied the royal authority, but was eventually to take refuge at the Shio-Mghvime Monastery which surrendered him to the king. Dzagan's brother Modistos was a catholicos of the Georgian Orthodox Church , and
5664-460: The death of George, devoted the year 1119 exclusively to establishing a new strategy against the Turks, while establishing Kipchak mercenaries on Georgian territory, before launching a new offensive at the beginning of 1120. King David IV used to go to Abkhazia and the Turks wintered near the banks of the Mtkvari . The Turks had been watching David IV and were following his tracks. David IV went to Geguti and from there to Khupati and thus gave
5760-410: The discontent of the nobility in his own kingdom, who were hardly satisfied by their sovereign's change of religion. In 1104, a conspiracy led by the Heretian nobles Arishiani , Baram and their uncle Kavtar Baramisdze dethroned Aghsartan II and handed him over to David IV, who then had no need to resort to arms, as every Kakhetian citadel and fortress capitulated to the approaching Georgian forces. Once
5856-426: The face of the Seljuks, to whom Georgia had to submit. However, the liberation of the Caucasus from Turkish suzerainty in the 1090s changed events and led David IV to adopt a new policy towards Byzantium. This involved a combination of closer cooperation, while at the same time putting itself on the same political footing as the Empire and opposing the Byzantines on certain issues. Bilateral relations were resumed with
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#17328772244385952-400: The first attack, the Muslims were forced to retreat despite their numerical superiority, allowing the Georgians to multiply such attacks. Soon, these maneuvers bring the enemy to such a degree of excitement and disorientation that they make him lose composure. At this moment, David IV launched a new attack, which turned into a coup de grace for the Muslim allies on the battlefield: suddenly,
6048-417: The following day, waiting for another Seljuk retaliation, and only then realised the Seljuk defeat. The situation developed only slightly over the next five years. But in 1115, George of Chqondidi, who commanded the Georgian forces while David IV was in Mukhrani , captured Rustavi , one of the strong Turkish strongholds in southern Georgia. The Turks were then forced to leave their winter quarters, while
6144-521: The fortresses of the Great Caucasus, but leaving behind George of Chqondidi, who died during the negotiations in Alania. The many Kipchak families settled in colonial establishments in Shida Kartli , where a large part of the Georgian population had been exterminated by the Seljuks in the 1080s, but also in Hereti and in the north of Georgian Armenia , with the aim of reinforcing the borders. They were also accompanied by Alanian, avaricious and Kurdish mercenaries. They soon adopted Christianity , learned
6240-404: The head of a kingdom that had lost a large part of its 1010 territories. The kingdom of Georgia , which at the beginning of the 11th century had extended from Shirvan to the east coast of the Black Sea , was now limited to Abkhazia and Kartli . The ravages caused by Turkish raids since the 1080s represented an economic danger for the country, which was forced to recognise itself as a vassal of
6336-420: The help provided by Georgian agents accompanying Princess Kata's retinue in the seizure of power by John II Komnenos in 1118. As a result, from the beginning of John II's reign, relations between the two countries improved considerably and the Georgian chronicles refer to the two monarchs as ‘brothers’. And, despite the competition in the religious sphere, the Byzantines and Georgians cooperated culturally for
6432-401: The ideas of the 11th-century monk George the Hagiorite , the king and his adviser George of Chqondidi aligned themselves with the demands of the majority of his subjects to overcome the reactionary part of the ecclesiastical class and replace dishonest subjects with virtuous priests. The Council of Ruisi-Urbnisi , led only indirectly by David IV who, as a lay sovereign, could not take part in
6528-429: The internal affairs of the Church, adopted resolutions reflecting the will of the pious party. Not only did the Council deprive the nobility fighting against central power of an influential ally, the Church, but it also spiritually purified the kingdom and greatly contributed to the national consolidation of a country whose national identity was mainly based on Christianity . Another consequence of ecclesiastical reform
6624-403: The king deprived Bagrat of his duchy. In 1463, Bagrat led a coalition of western Georgian nobles who met and defeated George VIII at the Battle of Chikhori . Subsequently, Bagrat captured Kutaisi and was crowned king of Imereti . But in return for their aid, the new monarch was obliged to create a principality ( samtavro ) for each of his four allies. Henceforth the Gelovani clan in Svaneti ,
6720-443: The king launched a short attack against King Kvirike IV and succeeded in capturing the fortress of Zedazeni, north of Mtskheta , in 1103. Kvirike IV died a year later and was succeeded on the throne by his nephew Aghsartan II , who is said to have been ‘the complete opposite of his paternal uncle’. A convert to Islam , he declared himself a vassal of the Seljuks to avoid another Georgian attack. However, he could not foresee
6816-516: The king of Georgia the opportunity to place his own son-in-law and vassal, Manuchihr III , in Shirvan. At the same time, David the Builder led short but effective campaigns in the southeast and notably took the Turkish bastions of Arsharunik and Sevgelamej. Taking advantage of the climatic conditions which had until then worked against them, the Turks in turn organized a large-scale offensive against Georgia in winter 1120–21. Indeed, at that time, David IV resided in Abkhazia in his winter home and
6912-581: The king personally took charge of detachments organising seasonal expeditions against the Muslim occupiers. In February 1116, David IV managed to trap the Seljuks, inflicting considerable losses on them on the Chorokhi and capturing Tao-Klarjeti and the many riches left there by the Turks. The conflict soon took on a regional dimension with the opening of a new front in Eastern South Caucasus . In 1117,
7008-442: The king. This act represented a remarkable change compared to the reactions of noble society to previous kings, but was short-lived. In 1093, Liparit V organised a plot against David. David was informed of this and reacted by imprisoning Liparit to make him a ‘wise man’, according to the Georgian Chronicles . Two years later, he was released on a pledge of loyalty and reinstated in his domains of Trialeti and Kldekari . However,
7104-456: The lower nobility and peasants from the royal estates. Dozens of such detachments were soon created and a new strategy, consisting of surprise attacks on Muslim settlements, was devised. Within a short space of time, the monarch not only succeeded in stopping the Seljuk invasions, but also attacked the Turkoman nomads at the same time. An armistice was soon established between the Georgians and
7200-436: The lower nobility. Having reduced the power of the great rulers of the kingdom, King David IV decided to complete national unity. To achieve this, he had to reunite western Georgia with the rest of the country. The Kingdom of Kakheti-Hereti had declared its independence during the reign of George I (r. 1014-1027), thus depriving Georgia of a large part of its territories. Realising that only war could help him in his plans,
7296-467: The monarch to expand his domains. Liparit was not the only nobleman to suffer the consequences of the king's plans. Several others, including Dzagan Abuletisdze , were severely punished in the same way after rebellions, and their estates added to the royal states. David took major initiatives to strengthen his power. He also dismissed the dignitaries chosen by his predecessors on the basis of their titles and replaced them with loyal advisors, generally from
7392-417: The monarch's political adviser, was thus confirmed in his position and his successors to the episcopal see were also appointed viziers at the royal court. Other officials reporting to the king were also appointed to head each branch of the administration. Thus, from the reign of David IV, there was a Mandaturtukhutsesi , or minister of the interior, an Amirspasalar , the head of the military administration, and
7488-524: The new king. Demetrius, once restored to the throne shortly thereafter, again gave the post to the Orbeli. Yet, the members of this family remained among the high nobility of Georgia, and were titled as eristavt-eristavs . One of them, Dzagan featured prominently in the Mongol capture of Baghdad in 1258, and returned with a substantial wealth of booty through which he acquired the village of Angroini and donated it to
7584-460: The nobleman did not give up his plans against his suzerain and resumed plotting against David. Having once again learned of such an event, David IV decided to act more usefully and imprisoned him again until 1097, before exiling him to Constantinople , where he died. Liparit's son, Rati IV, a disloyal man, died in 1103, thus putting an end to a rebellious branch of the House of Liparitids and allowing
7680-458: The prince's estates. Accompanied by his loyal adviser George of Chqondidi and his personal guard, David IV crossed the Great Caucasus via the Darial pass in 1118. After extensive negotiations, the Georgians managed to convince Otrok to give them several thousand Kipchak troops to fight against the Seljuks. But despite this agreement, the Kipchaks were unable to get to Georgia because of the war with
7776-488: The reign of David the Builder, Byzantium and Georgia clashed spiritually, with King David assuming the title of ‘ruler of East and West’, thus claiming to have a greater influence than Byzantium in Orthodoxy . Despite these signs, relations between Byzantium and Georgia also reached good levels. The marriage of David IV's daughter, Kata , to an imperial prince in 1116 is particularly notable. Some Georgian historians also note
7872-417: The situation of the new arrivals and, thanks to these negotiations, the reform of the army was completed and Georgian troops now number almost 60,000. In addition to this alliance between the Kipchaks and Georgia, David IV the Builder established deeper relations with the other peoples of the North Caucasus. He created a sphere of cultural influence in North Caucasus, established Orthodoxy there by sponsoring
7968-476: The social conditions of the local population improved, reviving the national economy and increasing the population. The death of Malik-Shah I and the First Crusade , which forced the Seljuks to concentrate on saving Syria and Palestine and leaving the Caucasus alone, led David IV to stop paying tribute to the Seljuks in 1099 and to start repopulating the depopulated and devastated regions and rebuilding
8064-558: The spring, and all the Turkish forces were expelled or massacred in March 1121. But the Seljuks did not stop there. Knowing that the flooding of the Mtkvari made crossing the river almost impossible at this time of year, the Seljuks soon returned to their positions south of the river and occupied Barda . But once again, David IV, accompanied by a personal guard of Kipchaks , crossed the river towards Khunan and organized military incursions against
8160-501: The time, the Kipchaks were renowned in the region for their bravery, agility and ferocity in battle, but they were also caught up in a conflict on two fronts, one against the Kievan Rus' to the north and the other against the Alanians to the south. David therefore offered Prince Otrok assistance against these two enemies in exchange for Kipchak support against the Turks, and decided to visit
8256-520: The town of Manglisi , at the foot of Mount Didgori , on August 12, 1121. According to the French knight and historian Walter the Chancellor , before heading off to battle, King David inspired his army with these words: Soldiers of Christ! If we fight bravely for our Faith, we will defeat not only the devil’s servants, but the devil himself. We will gain the greatest weapon of spiritual warfare when we make
8352-407: The two new provinces had been integrated into the kingdom, the king appointed Arishiani governor of the region. The Seljuks, who still considered the Kingdom of Kakheti-Hereti to be their vassal, were not resigned to another defeat by the Georgians . The Atabeg of Ganja declared war on Georgia and fought a decisive battle at the Battle of Ertsukhi . The Turko-Kakhetian army was annihilated by
8448-583: The unity of the Kingdom of Georgia , David IV began again to reform the internal kingdom. To this end, in 1103 (or in 1104 or 1105 ) he convened a council of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia in the cathedrals of Ruisi and Urbnisi . After decades of devastation and war, the Orthodox Church had lost its traditional values and was suffering from many ills, such as corruption and the hereditary transmission of high religious offices. Inspired by
8544-451: The upcoming war against the Turkish invaders. Once the Seljuks were defeated, the sovereign focused on the capture of Tbilisi from the beginning of 1122. After a short siege, the king, probably accompanied by general Ivane Orbeli , managed to take the city in February and enters it to rid it of the Muslim elite. According to Arab historiography, David IV carried out a pillage on the first day of
8640-501: The vigor of the enemy army collapsed in the middle of the fight. The genius of Georgian strategy then defeated the power of numbers, bringing a decisive defeat to the Seljuk Empire and its influence in the Caucasus . Testimonies report in various chronicles, both Christian and Muslim, that Saint George personally led the Georgian forces against the invader. Among the many commanders of the invading troops, only General Ilghazi and his son-in-law Dubays managed to escape. This victory at
8736-510: Was also ensured through humiliation for cowardice and rewards for heroism. Moreover, as the economy recovered, the Georgian population grew and a larger-scale mobilisation by the royal authorities was now possible. The foreign relations conducted by King David IV the Builder were exclusively devoted to the liberation of the Kingdom of Georgia and, in this way, remained focused on the Georgian–Seljuk wars . However, David IV soon realised that
8832-448: Was forced. The historical tradition founded by Prince Vakhushti in the 18th century and followed by Marie-Félicité Brosset in the 19th century states that David succeeded George upon his death, a number of surviving documents suggest that George died around 1112, and that although he retained the royal title until his death, he played no significant political role, real power having passed on to David. Moreover, David himself had been
8928-533: Was killed by the Turks in Javakheti . Despite this loss, however, David IV refused to listen to his nobles' advice to retreat and managed to avenge Beshken's death by defeating the Seljuks at the Battle of Rakhsi and massacred the Seljuk garrisons on Araxes in April 1118. The reforming sovereign's successes did not stop there. Still in 1118, the Armenian towns of Lori and Agarak were captured by David IV, marking
9024-608: Was only able to establish himself in Kakheti , leaving the field in Kartli to his nephew, Constantine who seems to have consolidated his rule in the Lower Kartli in 1469. During this time of triarchy, Georgia was at least twice attacked by Uzun Hasan , the prince of the Ak Koyunlu clan ( Münejjim Bashi speaks of three invasions, in 1466, in summer of 1472, and after Uzun Hassan's defeat by
9120-448: Was removed from this position by the same king. We next hear of Abulet's son Ivane and grandson Kirkish (Tirkash) who served as the commanders of Georgian troops in Armenia , but subsequently plotted the murder of King Demetrius I , probably to place the king's half-brother Vakhtang on the throne. The king was timely warned and survived. He had Ivane murdered in 1132, while Kirkash fled to
9216-515: Was the de facto subordination of the Church to the State. However, the king had to ensure this by taking other reforming steps. Thus, David IV decided to centre this plan around the function of a single man: the Mtsignobartukhutsesi . This latter position, equivalent to the dignity of chancellor , had existed for a long time in the Georgian royal court and had always been held by monks, to avoid
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