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{{short description|1386–1403 Turco-Mongol invasions}} {{short description|Turco-Mongol invasions of Georgia 1386–1403}}{{Infobox military conflict
{{Infobox military conflict
| image = Timur's army attacks Nerges, Georgia.jpg | image = Timur's army attacks Nerges, Georgia.jpg
| caption = A miniature depicting ]'s army attacking the survivors of a town in Georgia, in the spring of 1396, by the artist ]. | caption = A miniature depicting ]'s army attacking the survivors of a town in Georgia, in the spring of 1396, by the Persian artist ].
|image_size = 300px | image_size = 300px
| conflict = Timurid invasions of Georgia | conflict = Timurid invasions of Georgia
| partof = the ], ] | partof = the ], ]
Line 9: Line 8:
| place = ], eastern ], western ] | place = ], eastern ], western ]
| territory = | territory =
| result = Timurid victory | result = Timurid victory
⚫ | combatant1 = {{flag|Timurid Empire}}
*Kingdom of Georgia becomes ] of ] but only formally and remains mostly independent, and Christian.<ref> Georgian military encyclopedic dictionary, Tbilisi, 2017, p. 173–174 {{ISBN|978-9941-0-9879-6}}
</ref> <ref>Mariam Lortkipanidze, Roin Metreveli, Kings of Georgia, Tbilisi, 2007, p. 166 {{ISBN|99928-58-36-2}}</ref>
⚫ | combatant1 = {{flagicon image|Timurid.svg}} ]
| combatant2 = {{flagicon|Kingdom of Georgia}} ] | combatant2 = {{flagicon|Kingdom of Georgia}} ]
| commander1 = ]<br>] | commander1 = {{flagicon|Timurid Empire}} ]<br>{{flagicon|Timurid Empire}} ]
| commander2 = ]<br>] | commander2 = {{flagicon|Kingdom of Georgia}} ]<br>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Georgia}} ]<br>] ] (until 1400)
| casualties1 = unknown | casualties1 = Unknown
| casualties2 = Large part of Georgia destroyed<br> Tens of thousands civilians massacred<br> At least 60,000 enslaved<ref name="EncIslam"/> | casualties2 = Most of Georgia destroyed and civilians massacred<br> At least 60,000 enslaved<ref name="EncIslam"/>
| strength1 = 200,000
| strength2 = 50,000
}} }}
{{Timur's conquests}} {{Timur's conquests}}
{{History of Georgia (country)}} {{History of Georgia (country)}}
The '''Timurid invasions of Georgia''' ({{lang-ka|თემურლენგის ლაშქრობები საქართველოში|tr}}) refers to eight disastrous invasions, between 1386 and 1403, by the armies of ] conqueror ], into the ], a ] ] in the ]. Timur's ] stretched, at its greatest extent, from ] into ] and these conflicts were intimately linked with ] between Timur (Tamerlane) and ], the last ] of the ] and Timur's major rival for control over the Islamic world. Although he was able to invade parts of Georgia, he was never able to make the country Muslim and even recognized Georgia as a Christian state. The '''Timurid invasions of Georgia''' ({{lang-ka|თემურლენგის ლაშქრობები საქართველოში|tr}}) were eight invasions between 1386 and 1403 of the ] in the ] by the ]. Led by ], the Timurids ultimately conquered the ] ] and made it a ] that kept its independence and religion.


⚫ ==History==
⚫ In the first of eight invasions, Timur sacked Georgia's capital, ], and captured the king ] in 1386. Georgian resistance prompted a renewed attack by the Turco-Mongol armies. Bagrat's son and successor, ], put up a stiff resistance and had to spend much of his reign (1395–1405) fighting the Timurid invasions. Timur personally led most of these raids to subdue the recalcitrant Georgian monarch. He was not able to establish a firm control over Georgia. By the time George VII was forced to accept Timur's terms of ] and agree to pay tribute, he was a master of little more than "gutted towns, ravaged countryside and a shattered monarchy."<ref name="Suny">] (1994), ''The Making of the Georgian Nation'', p. 45. ], {{ISBN|0-253-20915-3}}</ref>
Timur's ] stretched, at its greatest extent, from ] into ] and these conflicts were intimately linked with ] between Timur (Tamerlane) and ], the last ] of the ] and Timur's major rival for control over the Islamic world. Although he invaded parts of Georgia, he could not make the country Muslim and recognized it as a Christian state.


⚫ In the first of eight invasions, Timur sacked Georgia's capital, ], and captured the king ] in 1386. Georgian resistance prompted a renewed attack by the Turco-Mongol armies. Bagrat's son and successor, ], put up a stiff resistance and had to spend much of his reign (1395–1405) fighting the Timurid invasions. Timur personally led most of these raids to subdue the recalcitrant Georgian monarch. He did not establish firm control over Georgia. By the time George VII was forced to accept Timur's ] and agree to pay tribute, he was a master of little more than "gutted towns, ravaged countryside and a shattered monarchy".<ref name="Suny">] (1994), ''The Making of the Georgian Nation'', p. 45. ], {{ISBN|0-253-20915-3}}</ref>
⚫ == History ==


===First invasion===
Timur's first appearance in the ] was a response to Khan ]'s marauding inroad into ] through the Caucasian lands in 1385. This marked an outbreak of outright hostility between the two Islamic monarchs. Timur responded by launching a full-scale invasion of the small frontier countries, which lay between the western border of his emerging empire and Tokhtamysh's khanate. After having overrun ] and ], Timur marched into Georgia. The official history of his reign, ''Zafarnama'', represents this campaign in Georgia as a ]. Timur set out from Kars and assailed ], the southernmost principality within the ] later in 1386. From there, he ] which the Georgian king ] had fortified. The city fell on November 21, 1386, and King Bagrat V was captured and converted to ] at sword point. The '']'' and ] mention the ] of the king but represent it as a clever ruse which enabled him to earn a degree of Timur's trust. Bagrat was given some 12,000 troops to reestablish himself in Georgia, whose government was run by Bagrat's son and co-ruler ] during his father's absence at Timur's court. The old king, however, entered into secret negotiations with George, who ambushed Bagrat's Islamic escort, and freed his father.<ref name="EncIslam">], "Tiflis", in: M. Th. Houtsma, E. van Donzel (1993), ''E. J. Brill's First ], 1913–1936'', p. 757. Brill, {{ISBN|90-04-08265-4}}.</ref> Timur's first appearance in the ] was a response to Khan ]'s marauding inroad into ] through the Caucasian lands in 1385. This marked an outbreak of outright hostility between the two Islamic monarchs. Timur responded by launching a full-scale invasion of the small frontier countries, which lay between the western border of his emerging empire and Tokhtamysh's khanate. After having overrun ] and ], Timur marched into Georgia. The official history of his reign, ''Zafarnama'', represents this campaign in Georgia as a ]. Timur set out from Kars and assailed ], the southernmost principality within the ] later in 1386. ] ] on 22 November 1386, its inhabitants were massacred and Bagrat fell into captivity. ] army spent the winter in ].<ref name="EncIslam">], "Tiflis", in: M. Th. Houtsma, E. van Donzel (1993), ''E. J. Brill's First ], 1913–1936'', p. 757. Brill, {{ISBN|90-04-08265-4}}.</ref>


===Liberation of Bagrat===
In the spring of 1387, Timur returned to Georgia to take revenge for the ambush and escape. Bagrat and George managed to evacuate the civilian population of the frontier regions to the mountains and forests, and began organising their defences. Khan Tokhtamysh's reappearance in Iran forced Timur to temporarily withdraw. However once the ] was defeated, Timur returned to attack Georgia again. In 1394, he dispatched four generals to the province of Samtskhe. Timur in person punished the mountainous Georgian communities in the ] Valley whom the ''Zafarnama'' calls ''Kara-Kalkanlik'' ("with black bucklers”, i.e., the eastern Georgian mountaineers, the ] and ]), and returned via Tbilisi to ] upon hearing of yet another offensive by Tokhtamysh.<ref name="EncIslam"/>
To regain his freedom, Bagrat pretended to convert to ] and ] sent him back under surveillance of a 12,000-strong army which was to enforce ]'s conversion to Islam. Bagrat secretly informed his son George, who raised an army and destroyed the Timurid troops, freeing Bagrat.{{Sfn| Baumer|2023|p=75}}<ref name="EncIslam"/>


===Second invasion===
In 1395 the desperate Georgians allied themselves with Sidi Ali of Shekki and inflicted a crushing defeat on the invading armies of ], a son of Timur, who was besieging Alindjak (near ]), and captured the ] prince Tahir, who was shut up in it. This event prompted ] to return, later in 1399, to inflict massive revenge on the general population of the region. He took Shekki and devastated the neighboring region of ].<ref name="EncIslam"/>
The death of thousands of soldiers in battle with Georgian troops led to the start of ] new invasion of ] in the spring of 1387. The enemy's numbers significantly outnumbered the Georgian forces hastily assembled by the prince. Timur personally led the participants in the invasion. A huge number of the country's inhabitants fled to the mountains, thanks to which large casualties were avoided.{{Sfn|Rakhmanalieva|1992}}
] is shaded.]]
]
In the spring of 1400, Timur moved back to destroy the Georgian state once and for all. He demanded that George VII should hand over the Jalayirid Tahir. George VII refused and met Timur at the Sagim River in ], but suffered a defeat and retreated deeper into the country, relentlessly chased by Timur. Timur destroyed the Georgian capital Tbilisi, left a garrison there, and laid siege to ], where George was entrenched. The king made a bold sortie westward, but having failed to thwart the enemy's advance at the fortresses of Dzami and Savaneti, fled to the inaccessible forests of western Georgia, where the armies of the Islamic ruler could not penetrate. Timur turned back in fury and thoroughly pillaged the rest of Georgia. This bloody campaign lasted for several months, with Timur's armies systematically moving from province to province. Virtually all major cities and towns were destroyed and their populations decimated; the countryside (with its villages and food sources) was burnt; monasteries and churches were systematically razed to the ground. Of those who survived the fighting and reprisals, many thousands died of hunger and disease, and 60,000 survivors were enslaved and carried away by Timur's troops.<ref name="EncIslam"/>


===Third invasion===
In late 1401, Timur invaded the Caucasus once again. George VII had to sue for peace, and sent his brother with tribute. Timur was preparing for a major confrontation with the ] and apparently wished to freeze the currently prevailing situation in Georgia, until he could return to deal with it more decisively and thoroughly at his leisure. Thus, he made ] with George on condition that the king of Georgia supplied him with troops and granted Muslims special privileges.<ref>Sicker, Martin (2000), ''The Islamic World in Ascendancy: From the Arab Conquests to the Siege of Vienna'', p. 155. Praeger, {{ISBN|0-275-96892-8}}.</ref> Timur nonetheless undertook some preventive measures and attacked the Georgian garrison of ]i, demolishing the citadel and looting the surrounding area.<ref name="EncIslam"/>
In 1392-1393 ] raided and sacked the cities of ], then ], ], etc. In the spring of 1394, he came to southern Georgia and sent four commanders with an army of 40,000 to raid ]. Timur invaded and ravaged ], Kors, Kola, and ]. The population of the Georgian territories he occupied showed fierce resistance to the invaders, which is why the latter had to leave the region after the capture.{{Sfn|Rakhmanalieva|1992}}


===Fourth invasion===
⚫ Once the Ottomans were ], Timur, back in ] in 1402, decided to punish the king of Georgia for not having come to present his congratulations on his victory. George VII's brother, ], who was then on bad terms with his brother, arrived with gifts, as did the king's defiant vassal Iwane Jaqeli, prince of Samtskhe. Sheikh ] went to estimate the revenues and expenses of Georgia. George sent new presents but Timur refused them and summoned George to appear in person. In the meantime, he himself laid siege to the previously impregnable fortress of ], stubbornly defended by a tiny Georgian garrison. Having captured the fortress in August 1403, Timur sent his army to plunder and clear the frontier regions of Georgia and set out in pursuit of the retreating king George VII as far as ]. Timur's historian reports that 700 towns were destroyed and their inhabitants massacred.<ref name="EncIslam"/><ref>Grousset, René (1970), The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia, pp. 433–4. Rutgers University Press, {{ISBN|0-8135-1304-9}}.</ref>
On September 13, 1394, ] invaded with a large army from the Koli valley to the ] via ] and ]. On the way, he destroyed everything, robbed and killed the inhabitants. Big battles took place in Aragvi valley. Timur's goal seems to have been to capture the ] in order to ultimately prevent the withdrawal of ] allied ] raiders and a possible ] invasion. Every time Timur appeared in Georgia, Tokhtamysh tried to invade Eastern ]. It happened this time as well. Timur was unable to capture Darial due to the great resistance of the mountaineers. He was forced to come down from the mountain and go to ] through ]. At that time, Timur learned that Tokhtamysh would invade ] through ] and ravage the place. Timur quickly moved in this direction, but avoided the battle and turned back again. His army encamped on the banks of the ], near Mahmud Abad, and began preparations for a great campaign against Tokhtamish. It became clear to Timur that he could not subdue Caucasus, including Georgia, if he did not defeat Tokhtamysh.<ref name="EncIslam" />


===Fifth invasion===
⚫ Timur only stopped his army when the ] and the ] decided it was possible to grant the king of Georgia clemency (''aman''). George VII had to pay a huge tribute, including 1,000 ] of gold struck in the name of Timur, 1,000 horses, a ruby weighing 18 ]s, etc, in exchange Timur would recognize Georgia as a Christian kingdom and the kingdom could retain its independence. Timur then passed through Tbilisi, destroying all monasteries and churches on his way, and went to ] early in 1404. All the territories from Beylagan to ] were officially given by Timur as an appanage to his grandson ].<ref name="EncIslam"/> Timur then finally left the Caucasus and headed for ], where he died on February 19, 1405, while preparing for a massive invasion of China.{{cn|date=November 2018}}
In the winter of 1399,<ref name=":02">Alexander Mikaberidze Historical dictionary of Georgia p.21 second edition</ref> ] breached the borders of ] with 100,000 specially chosen soldiers, under Timur, and ]. They then crossed ] on a patoon bridge, and hacked the path with machetes to avoid Georgian sentries. They caught ], and ] by surprise before they could flee, and hide their property. A Georgian general Khimisha delayed the ] by tactical evasion, and those who were forewarned escaped to the caves and forests. Timur's forces looted and burned ] and ]. They slaughtered civilians in their hiding places.{{Sfn|Rayfield|2012|p=148}} Tens of thousands were pressed into slavery or were massacred.<ref name=":02" />

===Sixth invasions===
In the spring of 1400, ] moved back to destroy the ] once and for all. He demanded that ] should hand over the ] Tahir but George VII refused and met Timur at the Sagim River in ], but suffered a defeat.<ref>Mirza Muhammad Haidar. ''The Tarikh-i-Rashidi (A History of the Moghuls of Central Asia)''. Traduit per Edward Denison Ross, editat per N. Elias. Londres, 1895.</ref> After the war, of those who survived the fighting and reprisals, many thousands died of hunger and disease, and 60,000 survivors were enslaved and carried away by Timur's troops.<ref name="Islam Conquests">], "Tiflis", in: M. Th. Houtsma, E. van Donzel (1993), ''E. J. Brill's First ], 1913–1936'', p. 757. Brill, {{ISBN|90-04-08265-4}}.</ref>

===Seventh invasion===
After the departure of ] from ], King ] moved to ] and began to organize domestic affairs. King George and Virshel, ] of ] raided and punished the ], who took advantage of Timur's invasion and raided and looted the ].

In 1401, Timur came to the borders of Georgia from the east and camped in ].

In late 1401, Timur invaded the Georgia once again.<ref name=":4">Beatrice Forbes Manz, ''The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane.'' Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1989. {{ISBN|0-521-63384-2}}</ref> George VII had to sue for peace, and sent his brother with the contributions. Timur ] on condition that the King of Georgia supplied him troops during ] and granted the ] special privileges.<ref>Sicker, Martin (2000), ''The Islamic World in Ascendancy: From the Arab Conquests to Siege of Vienna'', p. 155. Praeger, {{ISBN|0-275-96892-8}}.</ref> In the spring, Timur's army left for the Ottomans. On the way, he came to the ] fortress, in which about 200 ] soldiers were fortified, capture it and destroyed it after a five-day battle, and cut off the soldiers.<ref name="EncIslam"/>

===Eighth invasion===
⚫ Once the Ottomans were ], Timur, back in ] in 1402, decided to punish the king of Georgia for not having come to present his congratulations on his victory. George VII's brother, ], who was then on bad terms with his brother, arrived with gifts, as did the king's defiant vassal Iwane Jaqeli, prince of Samtskhe. Sheikh ] went to estimate the revenues and expenses of Georgia. George sent new presents but Timur refused them and summoned George to appear in person. In the meantime, he himself laid siege to the previously impregnable fortress of ], defended by a tiny Georgian garrison. Having captured the fortress in August 1403, Timur sent his army to plunder and clear the frontier regions of Georgia and set out in pursuit of the retreating king George VII as far as ]. Timur's historian reports that 700 towns were destroyed and their inhabitants massacred.<ref name="EncIslam"/><ref>Grousset, René (1970), The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia, pp. 433–4. Rutgers University Press, {{ISBN|0-8135-1304-9}}.</ref>

⚫ Timur only stopped his army when the ] and the ] decided it was possible to grant the king of Georgia clemency (''aman''). George VII had to pay a huge tribute, including 1,000 ] of gold struck in the name of Timur, 1,000 horses, and a ruby weighing 18 ]s, and in exchange Timur would recognize Georgia as a Christian kingdom and the kingdom could retain its independence. Timur then passed through Tbilisi, destroying all monasteries and churches on his way, and went to ] early in 1404. All the territories from Beylagan to ] were officially given by Timur as an appanage to his grandson ].<ref name="EncIslam" /> Timur then finally left the Caucasus and headed for ], where he died on February 19, 1405, while preparing for a massive invasion of China.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Tsai |first=Shih-Shan Henry |title=Perpetual Happiness: the Ming Emperor Yongle |publisher=University of Washington Press |location=Seattle|year=2002|isbn=978-0295981246 |oclc=870409962|page=161}}</ref>

== Aftermath ==
Georgia became ] to the Timurids, Georgia was allowed to retain its independence and remain as a Christian kingdom.<ref name="Suny"/><ref name="EncIslam"/>

Allegedly, Timur's forces devastated the country to the point where new words, like abandoned city (ნაქალაქარი) abandoned village (ნასოფლარი) abandoned ] (ნავენახარი) and other similar phrases were introduced to the ].

===George's campaign against the Timurids===
Timur then finally left the Caucasus and headed for ], where he died on February 19, 1405, while preparing for a massive invasion of China.<ref name=":0" /> And the subsequent power struggles among his heirs, Timur's empire became fragmented as ] and his sons struggled over control of ]. In the midst of this chaos, George VII, who had returned from ], engaged in battles to regain lost territories. He conquered ] and ] while also causing destruction in places like ], ], and ]. Despite commanding an army of merely 5,000 men, George succeeded in expanding Georgia's borders temporarily to their former extent.{{Sfn|Rayfield|2012|p=152}}

== See also ==
*]
*]


== References == == References ==
{{Reflist}} {{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{Cite book |last=Baumer |first=Christoph |title=History of the Caucasus |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2023 |isbn=9780755636303 |language=English}}
*{{cite book |last=Bedrosian |first=Robert |year=1997 |chapter=Armenian during the Seljuk and Mongol Periods |title=The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times |volume=I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century |editor-first=Richard G. |editor-last=Hovannisian |publisher=St. Martin's Press }}
* {{Cite book |title=Edge of Empires, a History of Georgia |last=Rayfield |first=Donald |publisher=Reaktion Books |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-78023-070-2 |location=London}}
* {{cite book |author=Rakhmanalieva |chapter= |chapter-url= |format= |url= |title=Тамерлан. Эпоха. Личность. Деяния |orig-year= |agency= |edition= |location=Москва |date=1992 |publisher=Гураш |at= |volume= |pages= |page= |series= |isbn=}}


{{Invasions of Georgia (country)}} {{Invasions of Georgia (country)}}
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Latest revision as of 14:55, 4 January 2025

Turco-Mongol invasions of Georgia 1386–1403
Timurid invasions of Georgia
Part of the Timurid Wars, Tokhtamysh-Timur war

A miniature depicting Timur's army attacking the survivors of a town in Georgia, in the spring of 1396, by the Persian artist Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād.
Date1386–1403
LocationCaucasus, eastern Anatolia, western Iran
Result Timurid victory
Belligerents
 Timurid Empire Kingdom of Georgia Kingdom of Georgia
Commanders and leaders
Timurid Empire Timur
Timurid Empire Miran Shah		 Kingdom of Georgia Bagrat V
Kingdom of Georgia George VII
Ivane II Jaqeli (until 1400)
Strength
200,000 50,000
Casualties and losses
Unknown Most of Georgia destroyed and civilians massacred
At least 60,000 enslaved
Timurid conquests and invasions
Central Asia

Persia

Tokhtamysh–Timur war

Georgia

North Caucasia

India

Levant

Anatolia

Part of a series on the
History of Georgia
Prehistoric Georgia
Ancient history
Middle Ages
Early modern history
Modern history
History by topic

The Timurid invasions of Georgia (Georgian: თემურლენგის ლაშქრობები საქართველოში, romanized: temurlengis lashkrobebi sakartveloshi) were eight invasions between 1386 and 1403 of the Kingdom of Georgia in the Caucasus by the Timurid Empire. Led by Timur, the Timurids ultimately conquered the Christian monarchy and made it a tributary state that kept its independence and religion.

History

Timur's vast empire stretched, at its greatest extent, from Central Asia into Anatolia and these conflicts were intimately linked with the wars between Timur (Tamerlane) and Tokhtamysh, the last khan of the Golden Horde and Timur's major rival for control over the Islamic world. Although he invaded parts of Georgia, he could not make the country Muslim and recognized it as a Christian state.

In the first of eight invasions, Timur sacked Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, and captured the king Bagrat V in 1386. Georgian resistance prompted a renewed attack by the Turco-Mongol armies. Bagrat's son and successor, George VII, put up a stiff resistance and had to spend much of his reign (1395–1405) fighting the Timurid invasions. Timur personally led most of these raids to subdue the recalcitrant Georgian monarch. He did not establish firm control over Georgia. By the time George VII was forced to accept Timur's terms of peace and agree to pay tribute, he was a master of little more than "gutted towns, ravaged countryside and a shattered monarchy".

First invasion

Timur's first appearance in the Caucasus was a response to Khan Tokhtamysh's marauding inroad into Northern Iran through the Caucasian lands in 1385. This marked an outbreak of outright hostility between the two Islamic monarchs. Timur responded by launching a full-scale invasion of the small frontier countries, which lay between the western border of his emerging empire and Tokhtamysh's khanate. After having overrun Azerbaijan and Kars, Timur marched into Georgia. The official history of his reign, Zafarnama, represents this campaign in Georgia as a jihad. Timur set out from Kars and assailed Samtskhe, the southernmost principality within the Kingdom of Georgia later in 1386. Tbilis fell on 22 November 1386, its inhabitants were massacred and Bagrat fell into captivity. Timur's army spent the winter in Karabakh.

Liberation of Bagrat

To regain his freedom, Bagrat pretended to convert to Islam and Timur sent him back under surveillance of a 12,000-strong army which was to enforce Georgian Kingdom's conversion to Islam. Bagrat secretly informed his son George, who raised an army and destroyed the Timurid troops, freeing Bagrat.

Second invasion

The death of thousands of soldiers in battle with Georgian troops led to the start of Timur’s new invasion of Georgia in the spring of 1387. The enemy's numbers significantly outnumbered the Georgian forces hastily assembled by the prince. Timur personally led the participants in the invasion. A huge number of the country's inhabitants fled to the mountains, thanks to which large casualties were avoided.

Third invasion

In 1392-1393 Timur raided and sacked the cities of Central Iran, then Baghdad, Syria, etc. In the spring of 1394, he came to southern Georgia and sent four commanders with an army of 40,000 to raid Samtskhe-Saatabago. Timur invaded and ravaged Samtskhe, Kors, Kola, and Akhaltsikhe. The population of the Georgian territories he occupied showed fierce resistance to the invaders, which is why the latter had to leave the region after the capture.

Fourth invasion

On September 13, 1394, Timur invaded with a large army from the Koli valley to the Aragvi valley via Trialeti and Kvemo Kartli. On the way, he destroyed everything, robbed and killed the inhabitants. Big battles took place in Aragvi valley. Timur's goal seems to have been to capture the Darial Pass in order to ultimately prevent the withdrawal of Georgian allied North Caucasian raiders and a possible Tokhtamysh invasion. Every time Timur appeared in Georgia, Tokhtamysh tried to invade Eastern Caucasus. It happened this time as well. Timur was unable to capture Darial due to the great resistance of the mountaineers. He was forced to come down from the mountain and go to Shaki through Tbilisi. At that time, Timur learned that Tokhtamysh would invade Shirvan through Derbent and ravage the place. Timur quickly moved in this direction, but avoided the battle and turned back again. His army encamped on the banks of the Mtkvari, near Mahmud Abad, and began preparations for a great campaign against Tokhtamish. It became clear to Timur that he could not subdue Caucasus, including Georgia, if he did not defeat Tokhtamysh.

Fifth invasion

In the winter of 1399, Timur breached the borders of Kingdom of Georgia with 100,000 specially chosen soldiers, under Timur, and Ibrahim I of Shirvan. They then crossed Kura river on a patoon bridge, and hacked the path with machetes to avoid Georgian sentries. They caught Kakheti, and Hereti by surprise before they could flee, and hide their property. A Georgian general Khimisha delayed the Timurids by tactical evasion, and those who were forewarned escaped to the caves and forests. Timur's forces looted and burned churches and monasteries. They slaughtered civilians in their hiding places. Tens of thousands were pressed into slavery or were massacred.

Sixth invasions

In the spring of 1400, Timur moved back to destroy the Kingdom of Georgia once and for all. He demanded that George VII should hand over the Jalayirid Tahir but George VII refused and met Timur at the Sagim River in Kvemo Kartli, but suffered a defeat. After the war, of those who survived the fighting and reprisals, many thousands died of hunger and disease, and 60,000 survivors were enslaved and carried away by Timur's troops.

Seventh invasion

After the departure of Timur from Georgia, King George moved to Eastern Georgia and began to organize domestic affairs. King George and Virshel, Duke of Ksani raided and punished the Dvals, who took advantage of Timur's invasion and raided and looted the Ksani valley.

In 1401, Timur came to the borders of Georgia from the east and camped in Shamkor.

In late 1401, Timur invaded the Georgia once again. George VII had to sue for peace, and sent his brother with the contributions. Timur made peace with George VII on condition that the King of Georgia supplied him troops during his campaign against Ottoman Empire and granted the Muslims special privileges. In the spring, Timur's army left for the Ottomans. On the way, he came to the Tortumi fortress, in which about 200 Georgian soldiers were fortified, capture it and destroyed it after a five-day battle, and cut off the soldiers.

Eighth invasion

Once the Ottomans were defeated, Timur, back in Erzurum in 1402, decided to punish the king of Georgia for not having come to present his congratulations on his victory. George VII's brother, Constantine, who was then on bad terms with his brother, arrived with gifts, as did the king's defiant vassal Iwane Jaqeli, prince of Samtskhe. Sheikh Ibrahim I of Shirvan went to estimate the revenues and expenses of Georgia. George sent new presents but Timur refused them and summoned George to appear in person. In the meantime, he himself laid siege to the previously impregnable fortress of Birtvisi, defended by a tiny Georgian garrison. Having captured the fortress in August 1403, Timur sent his army to plunder and clear the frontier regions of Georgia and set out in pursuit of the retreating king George VII as far as Abkhazia. Timur's historian reports that 700 towns were destroyed and their inhabitants massacred.

Timur only stopped his army when the ulema and the mufti decided it was possible to grant the king of Georgia clemency (aman). George VII had to pay a huge tribute, including 1,000 tankas of gold struck in the name of Timur, 1,000 horses, and a ruby weighing 18 mithkals, and in exchange Timur would recognize Georgia as a Christian kingdom and the kingdom could retain its independence. Timur then passed through Tbilisi, destroying all monasteries and churches on his way, and went to Beylagan early in 1404. All the territories from Beylagan to Trebizond were officially given by Timur as an appanage to his grandson Khalil Mirza. Timur then finally left the Caucasus and headed for Central Asia, where he died on February 19, 1405, while preparing for a massive invasion of China.

Aftermath

Georgia became tributary to the Timurids, Georgia was allowed to retain its independence and remain as a Christian kingdom.

Allegedly, Timur's forces devastated the country to the point where new words, like abandoned city (ნაქალაქარი) abandoned village (ნასოფლარი) abandoned vineyard (ნავენახარი) and other similar phrases were introduced to the Georgian language.

George's campaign against the Timurids

Timur then finally left the Caucasus and headed for Central Asia, where he died on February 19, 1405, while preparing for a massive invasion of China. And the subsequent power struggles among his heirs, Timur's empire became fragmented as Miran Shah and his sons struggled over control of Persia. In the midst of this chaos, George VII, who had returned from Imereti, engaged in battles to regain lost territories. He conquered Nakhchivan and Ganja while also causing destruction in places like Ani, Erzurum, and Tabriz. Despite commanding an army of merely 5,000 men, George succeeded in expanding Georgia's borders temporarily to their former extent.

See also

References

  1. ^ Minorsky, Vladimir, "Tiflis", in: M. Th. Houtsma, E. van Donzel (1993), E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936, p. 757. Brill, ISBN 90-04-08265-4.
  2. ^ Suny, Ronald Grigor (1994), The Making of the Georgian Nation, p. 45. Indiana University Press, ISBN 0-253-20915-3
  3. Baumer 2023, p. 75.
  4. ^ Rakhmanalieva 1992.
  5. ^ Alexander Mikaberidze Historical dictionary of Georgia p.21 second edition
  6. Rayfield 2012, p. 148.
  7. Mirza Muhammad Haidar. The Tarikh-i-Rashidi (A History of the Moghuls of Central Asia). Traduit per Edward Denison Ross, editat per N. Elias. Londres, 1895.
  8. Minorsky, Vladimir, "Tiflis", in: M. Th. Houtsma, E. van Donzel (1993), E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936, p. 757. Brill, ISBN 90-04-08265-4.
  9. Beatrice Forbes Manz, The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1989. ISBN 0-521-63384-2
  10. Sicker, Martin (2000), The Islamic World in Ascendancy: From the Arab Conquests to Siege of Vienna, p. 155. Praeger, ISBN 0-275-96892-8.
  11. Grousset, René (1970), The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia, pp. 433–4. Rutgers University Press, ISBN 0-8135-1304-9.
  12. ^ Tsai, Shih-Shan Henry (2002). Perpetual Happiness: the Ming Emperor Yongle. Seattle: University of Washington Press. p. 161. ISBN 978-0295981246. OCLC 870409962.
  13. Rayfield 2012, p. 152.

Bibliography

  • Baumer, Christoph (2023). History of the Caucasus. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9780755636303.
  • Bedrosian, Robert (1997). "Armenian during the Seljuk and Mongol Periods". In Hovannisian, Richard G. (ed.). The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times. Vol. I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century. St. Martin's Press.
  • Rayfield, Donald (2012). Edge of Empires, a History of Georgia. London: Reaktion Books. ISBN 978-1-78023-070-2.
  • Rakhmanalieva (1992). Тамерлан. Эпоха. Личность. Деяния. Москва: Гураш.
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