The
Kingdom of Georgia was a medieval monarchy which emerged c. 1008 AD.
Georgia became one of the pre-eminent nations of the
Christian East, her pan-
Caucasian empire stretching, at its largest extent, from the
North Caucasus to
Northern Iran, and eastwards into
Asia Minor, while also maintaining religious possessions abroad, such as the
Monastery of the Cross and
Iviron.
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| Monastery Of The Cross |
Bagrat III (c. 960 – 7 May 1014), of the
Georgian Bagrationi dynasty, was
King of Abkhazia from 978 on (as
Bagrat II) and became the
King of Georgia from 1008 on. He united these two titles by dynastic inheritance and, through conquest and diplomacy, added more lands to his realm, effectively becoming the first king of the
Kingdom of Georgia.
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| Bagrat III |
In 1008,
Gurgen, father of
Bagrat died, and he succeeded him as
King of Kings of the
Georgians. After he had secured his patrimony,
Bagrat proceeded to press a claim to the easternmost
Georgian principality of
Kakheti and annexed it in or around 1010, after two years of fighting and aggressive diplomacy. This formidable acquisition brought
Bagrat’s realm to the neighbourhood of the
Shaddadid emirate of Arran in what is now
Azerbaijan.
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| A town in Georgia. |
Bagrat was also known as a great promoter of
Georgian Orthodox culture. Not only did he encourage learning and patronize the fine arts, but he built several churches and monasteries throughout his kingdom with the
"Bagrati Cathedral" at
Kutaisi, Bedia Cathedral in
Abkhazia, and
Nikortsminda Cathedral in
Racha being the most important.
Bagrat III died in 1014 in the
Panaskerti Castle in Tao and was entombed in
Bedia Cathedral.
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| Bagrati Cathedral at Kutaisi, a World Heritage Site |
Bagrat was succeeded by
Giorgi I (1002 – 16 August 1027), of the
House of Bagrationi, who ruled from 1014 until his death in 1027. He spent most of his thirteen-year-long reign waging a bloody and fruitless territorial war with the
Byzantine Empire. Following the peace treaty in 1023,
Constantinople was visited by
Catholicos-Patriarch Melkisedek I of
Georgia, who gained
Byzantine financial aid for the construction of "
Svetitskhoveli", a major
Orthodox cathedral in the eastern
Georgian town of
Mtskheta.
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| Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site |
After
George I's death in 1027,
Bagrat, aged eight, succeeded to the throne and ruled from 1027 to 1072 CE. During his long and eventful reign,
Bagrat sought to repress the great nobility and to secure
Georgia's sovereignty from the
Byzantine and
Seljuqid empires. The second half of the 11th century was marked by the strategically significant invasion of the
Seljuq Turks, who by the end of the 1040s had succeeded in building a vast empire including most of
Central Asia and
Persia.
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| Bagrat IV |
The
Seljuk threat prompted the
Georgian and
Byzantine governments to seek a closer cooperation. To secure the alliance,
Bagrat’s daughter
Maria married, at some point between 1066 and 1071, the
Byzantine co-emperor
Michael VII Ducas. The
Seljuks made their first appearances in
Georgia in the 1060s, when the sultan
Alp Arslan laid waste to the south-western provinces of the
Georgian kingdom and reduced
Kakheti.
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| Seljuk Sultan Alp Arslan |
Bagrat IV was succeeded by
George II as the king of the
Georgians and he reigned from 1072 - 1089 CE. In 1076, the
Seljuk sultan
Malik Shah I surged into
Georgia and reduced many settlements to ruins. He was pressured into submitting to
Malik-Shah to ensure a precious degree of peace at the price of an annual tribute. Although,
George's acceptance of the
Seljuq suzerainty did not bring a real peace for
Georgia, Seljuk garrisons occupied the key fortresses in
Georgia's south.
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| Seljuk Sultan Malik Shah I |
Unable to deal effectively with the constant
Seljuk Turkish attacks and overwhelmed by internal problems in his kingdom,
George II was forced to abdicate in favor of his energetic son 16 year old son
David IV, to whom he remained a nominal co-ruler until his death in 1112.
David ruled from 1089 until 1125 CE. Popularly considered to be the greatest and most successful
Georgian ruler in history and an original architect of the
Georgian Golden Age.
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| David IV |
King David IV suppressed dissent of feudal lords and centralized the power in his hands to effectively deal with foreign threats. He proved to be a capable statesman and military commander. In 1089–1100, he organized small detachments to harass and destroy isolated
Seljuk troops and began the resettlement of desolate regions. By 1099
David IV's power was considerable enough that he was able to refuse paying tribute to
Seljuqs. David IV founded the
Gelati Academy, which became an important center of scholarship in the
Eastern Orthodox Christian world of that time.
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| Gelati Academy, Georgia |
In 1123,
David’s army liberated
Dmanisi, the last
Seljuk stronghold in southern
Georgia. In 1124,
David finally conquered
Shirvan and took the
Armenian city of
Ani from the
Muslim emirs, thus expanding the borders of his kingdom to the
Araxes basin.
Armenians met him as a liberator providing some auxiliary force for his army.
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| Cathedral of Ani |
David the Builder died on 24 January 1125, and upon his death,
King David was, as he had ordered, buried under the stone inside the main gatehouse of the
Gelati Monastery so that anyone coming to his beloved
Gelati Academy stepped on his tomb first, a humble gesture for a great man. He had three children,son
Demetrius, succeeded him and continued his father's victorious reign.
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| David the Builder |
