Kartlis Tskhovreba - History of Georgia

Kartlis Tskhovreba - Chapter I (1066-1070)

Bagrat IV was by all accounts a strong king. A just, energetic, and valorous ruler, he was anything a kingdom could ask for. Himself descended from the legendary Ashot Bagratuni, Bagrat had prestigious pedigree in most of his family. His mother was Mariam Arcruni, a woman of that fine family and a distant relative to Roupen, the prince of Armenia Minor. His first wife was Helene Argyrosa, niece of Emperor Romanos III and aunt of Nikephoros, the then-prince of Hellas. Helene gave him a daughter, Mariam, who was soon wed to Smbat, a distant relative and father of the count of Siunik. Bagrat's second wife, Borena of Ossetia, had less noble pedigree, but not only was she instrumental in bringing about an alliance with the recently converted chiefs of Alania, but she also gave Bagrat his only son and heir Giorgi. Giorgi had married Helena, a daughter of the deposed Armenian King Gagik II. Bagrat's sister Goranduxt was mother to Agsartan, the count of Kakheti; and her daughter Terken Khatun was the newest wife of the Seljuk Sultan Alp Arslan.

Bagrat looked with consternation as the Seljuks advanced into Armenia, and was certain that his family ties with the Sultan would likely prove no salvation should the Turks turn their sights to Georgia again. The king had to strengthen his realm and acquire more lands to support his army. His first target became the ancient Georgian city of Tbilisi, or Tiflis as it was called by the Arabs who ruled it.

In December 1066, Bagrat received envoys from Roupen of Cilicia, accepting their offer of alliance. A month later, envoys from Constantinople offered an alliance on behalf of Emperor Konstantinos Dukas, and Bagrat accepted as well. However, Konstantinos died only five months later, and his successor Alexios Komnenos did not want to renew the alliance. And so Bagrat formed an alliance with Vsevolod, the Rus prince of Pereyaslavl.

In summer of 1067 the Emperor Alexios advanced into the steppes, fighting the Cumans, and Bagrat felt that his northern border was now secure enough to entertain thoughts of conquest of Tbilisi. Emboldened by the birth of his first grandson Teimuraz to Giorgi and Helena, Bagrat mustered his armies and marched to Guria. From there he advanced east to Tbilisi, when word came that the Emir of Azerbaijan was sending an army in support of P'atlun of Tiflis. Undaunted, Bagrat pressed on.

The war soon became even wider as Mamlan of Azerbaijan dragged the faraway Qarakhans into it. The Qarakhanate did not directly declare war on Georgia, but instead sent an army to besiege Kakheti, where Bagrat's brother-in-law Agsartan had recently died and his infant son Kvirike was the nominal ruler. In November, Bagrat arrived at the walls of Tbilisi, engaging the emir's vanguard. By December, P'atlun had retreated and Bagrat laid siege to Tbilisi.


Battle of Tbilisi

Tbilisi surrendered in March 1068, and soon a message came that the Qarakhan was besieging Kakheti. Bagrat, however, sent envoys to the Qarakhan, persuading him to withdraw. Deciding that little Kvirike was too young to rule, Bagrat recalled him to the royal court and took possession of Kakheti personally.

In May, the old Catholicos died. To fit with the militant situation at hand, Bagrat appointed as his successor Mikael of Abkhazia, a militant though not particularly reverent monk.



Again, word came that Mamlan of Azerbaijan had finally arrived with his army and was besieging Tao. Bagrat hastened there with his army, arriving in June. Though he had some numerical advantage, Bagrat's force consisted in a large part of new recruits who had seen few battles so far. Though they fought valiantly, they broke against the experienced and well-equipped Azeri cavalry, and were routed and destroyed to the last man. Bagrat himself barely escaped north to Guria.


Battle of Tao

However, Azerbaijan sustained some losses as well, and its soldiers were continuously deserting in the Caucasus mountains. Bagrat sent envoys to Mamlan, offering his entire treasury (numbering at 33 thousand Roman nomismata), and the Emir accepted, taking the tribute and withdrawing his army from Georgia. Though its army was lost, Georgia was saved for the moment.

It was time to rest and rebuild. The royal family seemed to enjoy good fortunes, as Giorgi and Helena had a daughter Sinduhtar, and Bagrat's daughter Mariam gave several children to her husband as well. In early 1069, Bagrat's nephew Davit, son of the anti-king Demetre, returned from Constantinople with his family, and was warmly received by the king, who forgave his father's rebellion and even found a wife for Davit among the Georgian nobility. Davit's sister Eirena was also married to Andronik, a Georgian nobleman, and made the kingdom's spymaster. Some time later, Anoush Arcruni, widow of the Armenian King Gagik II (who had died the previous year) and mother-in-law of prince Giorgi, also came to Georgia to live out her old age.

With the new arrivals, Roman art and learning began spreading to Georgia. In Guria especially, local artisans began imitating the Roman art of sculpture. In Abkhazia, scholars formalized the principles of the Seven Liberal Arts, and king Bagrat soon sponsored the construction of a library to hold the new learning.

In July 1070, Giorgi and Helena had their second son, Gubaz. The royal succession looked secure, and none too soon, for Bagrat was already feeling effects of his advanced age. After a short illness, he died on September 11th, and was buried in the new royal tomb at Tbilisi, which he had conquered. His son was crowned as king Giorgi II.



Giorgi II and the kingdom at his ascension

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Bagratuni genealogy updated to September 1070.

tombom: Yes, I write the genealogies by hand. It's fun later in the game, seeing what all my relatives have been doing.

DoS: Yeah, having the Seljuks for a neighbor is exciting when you are not playing Byzantium.

My most immediate plan is to survive and become strong enough that I don't have to worry about greedy neighbors invading my lands. After that, we'll see. Possibly take some nearby Muslim territories from the Seljuks, maybe expand on the steppes somewhat (if Byz doesn't destroy the Cumans before then!). Get Alania under my thumb.

Nikolai: Giorgi is a starting character, so his stats are preset. His sons have been born during the game though. Their stats aren't too bad either, you may see them in time.

TheBee: Alania aka Ossetia was settled by Alans who were an Indo-Iranian people descended from the Sarmatians and related to Scythians. They settled in the Caucasus north-northeast of Georgia, and were eventually destroyed by the Mongols.

Morpheus506 said:

You ought to try vassalizing the Alans, or maybe finessing their kids into marriage so you inherit Alania later on.

Click to expand...

Well, the Prince of Alania has only a daughter so far.