The unification of the Georgian kingdoms

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Saturday, 30 June 2007

By George Nikoladze

In 1008, the Bagrationi (Georgian Royal House) ruler Bagrat III of
Georgia united the kingdoms of Abkhazia (Apkhazeti) and rest of Georgia
into a single Georgian feudal state. The second half of the 11th
century was marked by the disastrous invasion of the Seljuk Turks who
by the end of 1040s succeeded in building a vast nomadic empire
including most of the Central Asia and Iran.

In 1071 Seljuk army destroyed the united Byzantine-Armenian and
Georgian forces in the battle of Mantsikert, and by 1081, all of
Armenia, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, Syria and most of Georgia were
conquered and devastated by the Seljuks. The Anti-Seljuk struggle in
Georgia was led by the young King David IV who inherited the throne in
1089 in the age of 16 after the death of his father George II
Bagrationi. Soon after coming to power, David re-built regular army and
created peasant militia in order to be able to resist Seljuk
colonization of the country. The First Crusade (1096-1099) and
Crusaders’ offensive against Seljuk Turks in Anatolia and Syria favored
David’s attempts to re-conquer Georgian lands. By the end of 1099 David
stopped paying tribute to the Seljuks and put most of Georgian lands
except Tbilisi and Ereti under his effective control having Abkhazia
and Svanetia as his reliable rear bases. In 1105-1124 Georgian armies
under King David undertake a series of brilliant campaigns against the
Seljuk Turks and liberate not only the rest of Georgia but also
Christian-populated Ghishi- Kabala area in western Shirvan and a big
portion of Armenia. During the same period of time, Georgian
protectorate was established over Alania (1120) and Islamized eastern
Shirvan (1124). Several months later, King David died (01/1125) leaving
Georgia with the status of a strong regional power. In his country,
King David is called Agmashenebeli. That can be translated into English
as `the re-constructor’ or `the restorer’