Georgian conquest of Shirvan
The Georgian conquest of Shirvan was a military conquest of Shirvan by David IV the Builder during the Georgian–Seljuk wars.
| Georgian conquest of Shirvan | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Georgian–Seljuk wars | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Seljuk Empire Shirvanshahs | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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David IV Demetrius I Manuchihr III |
Afridun I Mahmud II Aqsunqur Ahmadili | ||||||||
Conquest
[edit]
Around 1112, David IV's daughter Tamar was given in marriage to the future Shirvanshah Manuchihr III. Despite this alliance, Afridun I probably continued to cooperate with Seljuks. In 1117 David sent his son Demetrius on a punitive campaign to Shirvan,[1] and the young commander astonished the people with his deftness in battle. Demetrius seized Kaladzori Castle (later Alberd, now Agdash[2]) and returned home with many captives and much wealth.[3][4]
The recapture of Tbilisi in 1122 by David IV thus established the Kingdom of Georgia as the supreme protector of Christianity in the Caucasus, and the Georgians now attempted to assert their domination by trying to reduce the Muslim presence in the region, which was considered an ally of the Seljuk Empire. This was the case in Shirvan, whose sovereign, who had already been defeated several times by Georgian troops, remained too independent of Georgian power and was forcibly replaced by David IV's sons-in-law, Manuchihr III, in 1120. The Seljuks, alarmed by the situation in Caucasus, decided to respond militarily.
Sultan Mahmud II soon resumed the war against Georgia, despite his defeat at the Battle of Didgori a year earlier. In November 1122, he began his invasion of Shirvan and captured Tabriz, before reaching the local capital, Shamakhi, the following spring.[5] Mahmud then captured the Shirvanshah Manuchihr III and sent a letter to David IV saying: "You are the king of the forests, and you never go down to the plains. Now I have captured the Shirvanshah and I demand Kharaj [tribute] from him. If you wish, send me suitable gifts; if not, come and see me in all haste".[6][7] Following this provocation, David IV called in all his troops and assembled an army of 50,000 men, most of them Kipchaks. The Seljuk sultan locked himself in Shamakhi after learning of the arrival of the Georgian troops, prompting David IV to halt his advance, deeming it disrespectful to pursue a retreating army. Mahmud II then offered David IV the opportunity to regain control of his vassal province if he let him leave in peace, but the Georgian king categorically refused and resumed his march towards the Shirvan capital after defeating an army of 4,000 Turks led by the atabeg of Arran, Aqsunqur Ahmadili, which was on its way to help Mahmud II. Once he had laid siege to Shamakhi, the Seljuk left the city in a hurry via the commune's excrement drainage system.[8][9]
In June 1123, a month after the Seljuk defeat, David IV invaded Shirvan, starting by capturing the town of Gulistan.[8]
Another military campaign was organized in September 1124 in Shirvan, under obscure circumstances. David IV managed to recover Shamakhi and took the citadel of Bigrit, before strengthening his power in Hereti and Kakheti by leaving strong garrisons of soldiers there.[10] David IV completely freed Shirvan from the Seljuks and annexed the western Shirvan, handing its government over to Mtsignobartukhutsesi Simon. David IV left the eastern Shirvan to his son-in-law, Manuchihr III as a Georgian protectorate.[11]
David IV's battles were of great importance both for Georgia and, especially, for Shirvan. The joint struggle of the Georgians and the people of Shirvan ensured the independence of Shirvan from the Seljuk conquerors. From now on, Georgia and Shirvan became closer to each other.[12]
Aftermath
[edit]In 1125 Manuchihr III, who was Demetrius I's brother-in-law, regained control of western Shirvan. And in 1126, the Muslim population of Shirvan rebelled with the support of the Seljuks. In 1129-30, Demetrius reached a compromise with the support of his sister, Shirvan was again divided into two parts, the Christian part was incorporated into Georgia and the border being the Tetritsqali, while Manuchihr was appointed as the emir of eastern Shirvan and recognized Georgia's vassalage.[13]
The modern historian O. Vil'chevsky has posited that Tamar's return to Georgia was precipitated by a political turmoil in Shirvan that followed Manuchihr's death. Tamar found herself involved in a power struggle among her sons, favoring the younger, who joined her in an attempt to unite Shirvan with Georgia with the help of Kipchak mercenaries. Manuchehr's older son Akhsitan I was able to secure support from the Eldiguzids of Azerbaijan, winning the contest for the throne and forcing Tamar and his younger brother into flight to Georgia.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ Baumer 2023, p. 15.
- ^ Hewsen, Robert H. (1992). The Geography of Ananias of Širak: Ašxarhac'oyc', the Long and the Short Recensions. Wiesbaden: Reichert. p. 249. ISBN 3-88226-485-3.
- ^ History of Georgia 2012, p. 386.
- ^ Hewsen, Robert H. (1992). The Geography of Ananias of Širak: Ašxarhac'oyc', the Long and the Short Recensions. Wiesbaden: Reichert. p. 249. ISBN 3-88226-485-3.
- ^ Salia 1980, p. 181.
- ^ Metreveli 2011, pp. 110–111.
- ^ Brosset 1849, pp. 367–368.
- ^ a b Metreveli 2011, p. 111.
- ^ Asatiani & Bendianashvili 1997, p. 125.
- ^ Brosset 1849, p. 370.
- ^ Baumer 2023, p. 17.
- ^ Metreveli 2011, p. 112.
- ^ Rayfield 2012, p. 98.
- ^ Ashurbeyli 1983, p. 134.
Bibliography
[edit]- Lortkipanidze, Mariam; Japaridze, Otar; Muskhelishvili, David; Metreveli, Roin (2012). History of Georgia in four volumes, vol. II - History of Georgia from the 4th century to the 13th century. Tbilisi: National Academy of Sciences of Georgia. ISBN 978-9941-19-585-3.
- Baumer, Christoph (5 October 2023). History of the Caucasus: Volume 2: In the Shadow of Great Powers. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7556-3630-3.
- Rayfield, Donald (2012). Edge of Empires, a History of Georgia. London: Reaktion Books. ISBN 978-1-78023-070-2.
- Ashurbeyli, Sara (1983). Государство Ширваншахов (VI-XVI вв.) [The State of the Shirvanshahs (6th–16th centuries)] (in Russian). Baku: Elm.
- Metreveli, Roin (2011). Saint David the Builder. Tbilisi. ISBN 9789941425509.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Brosset, Marie-Félicité (1849). Histoire de la Géorgie depuis l'Antiquité jusqu'au XIXe siècle. Volume I [History of Georgia from Ancient Times to the 19th Century, Volume 1] (in French). Saint-Petersburg: Imperial Academy of Sciences.
- Salia, Kalistrat (1980). Histoire de la nation géorgienne [History of the Georgian nation] (in French). Paris: Nino Salia.
- Asatiani, Nodar; Bendianashvili, Alexandre (1997). Histoire de la Géorgie. Paris: L'Harmattan. ISBN 2-7384-6186-7.