Georgian campaign against the Eldiguzids
Part of Georgian–Eldiguzid wars

Map of invasion
Date1210-1211
Location
Northern Iran
Result Georgian victory
Belligerents
 Kingdom of Georgia Eldiguzids
Commanders and leaders
Zakaria II Mkhargrdzeli
Ivane I Mkhargrdzeli
Taki ad-Din Tmogveli		 Nusrat al-Din Abu Bakr
12,000 Armenians killed in Ani. in response Zakaria killed 12,000 Muslims.

The Georgian campaign against the Eldiguzids (Georgian: ქართველთა ლაშქრობა ელდეღიზიდების წინააღმდეგ, romanized: kartvelta lashkroba eldeghizidebis ts'inaaghmdeg) also Georgian–Eldiguzid war (1210-1211) (Georgian: ქართულ-ელდიგუზიდური ომი (1210-1211 წწ.), romanized: kartul-eldiguziduri omi (1210-1211 ts'ts'.)), refers to a military campaign of the Kingdom of Georgia against the Eldiguzids as revenge for an Eldiguzid attack on Ani and killing of 1,200 Christians on the day of Holy Saturday, The Georgians invaded on the territory of Northern Iran.[1]

Background

In 1208-1209, the Georgian army marched to Ahlat to help the Armenian rebels against the Ayyubids. On the way, they captured Archesh and then marched to Ahlat. The city was besieged, but Ivane Mkhargrdzeli's horse fell into a ditch while encircling the city. The defenders of Ahlat saw this, rushed out and captured Ivan. When Ivan's brother, Zakare, learned about Ivan's capture, he told the Ayyubids.

...If you dare to take my brother out of the city, or do something to him, I will Conquer the land of your country and give it to Georgian Kingdom and I'm gonna kill all of you...

The Ayyubids demanded a Thirty Years' Truce in exchange for Ivan's release.[2]

Shortly after the truce of Ahlat, during Lent, and the Holy Saturday, when the Mkhargrdzeli's were not in Ani, the Sultan of Ardabil attacked the city and killed 1,200 Christians. The Mkhargrdzeli's learned this news in Geguti. Zakare and Ivane Mkhargrdzeli arrived in Ani and they started preparing for a invasion.[3]

Invasion

At the beginning of September, the gathering of the troops was completed in Tiflis. Tamar carefully checked the horsemanship and armament of the warriors. Then she brought the "Gorgaslian-Davidian" flag, prayed to the Mother of God of Vardzia and handed it over to Amirspasalar Zakaria. The Georgian cavalry set off for Iran along the following route.[4][5]

First, they entered Nakhichevn and exited Jugha and Araxes and entered the narrow gorge of Darduzi. From here they reached Marand, a big city of Adarbadan. The people of Marand were informed about the approach of the Georgians in time and they hid in the nearby mountains. The Georgian commanders also assumed that the Marand army would be ambushed in the mountains. Therefore, they took 500 chosen warriors, all "noble and noble", the commander Taki ad-Din Tmogveli, and sent them to the hill above the city to spy on the enemy. Tmogveli's squad went up to the plateau. Azerbaijanis, seeing how few Georgians were, immediately rushed towards them with all their strength. The unequal fight ended with a complete victory of the Georgians.

After the capture of Marand, the Georgians marched to Tabriz. It was expected that such a large Iranian city would not surrender to the enemy without a fight, but as if they heard the arrival of the Georgian army, all the inhabitants of Tabriz were frightened and gathered together, immediately the governors of the city organized an embassy and surrounded the Georgians. The commanders promised peace to the Tabrizians in exchange for a large tribute, gifts, gold and horses and camels.

Before that, Zaranjan was a "small town", but when its commanders were told about the Georgian invasion of Iran, they fortified the town strongly and as soon as the enemy arrived, a fierce battle began. Zakaria measured the walls of Zaranjan into quarters for the troops and ordered them to attack. The Meskhetian warriors were the first to break into the city, they broke into the house and began to kill all who were warriors, but they did not spare a hand to a woman, a child or a noble. Meanwhile, other parts of Georgians also invaded the city.

Early in the morning, they continued their journey to the southeast. They reached the great Iranian city of Qazvin. Qazminians surrendered. The Georgians took the great booty and took the hostages without fight. Later, further east, near Qazvin and Ahvaz, a battle took place, from which the Georgians again came out victorious.

Aftermath

The royal treasury of Georgia became extremely rich[1] with the booty brought from the campaign and the northern part of Iran became a vassal of Georgia: it assumed the power of annual tribute.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 Tukhashvili, Loward (1994). არკვევები ქართული დიპლომატიის ისტორიიდან: წიგნი 1: ბაგრატ III-დან გიორგი V ბრწყინვალემდე [Essays from the history of Georgian diplomacy: book 1: from Bagrat III to Giorgi V the Magnificent] (in Georgian). Tbilisi: Iberia.
  2. ↑ Rayfield, Donald (2012). Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia. London: Reaktion Books. pp. 114–115. ISBN 1780230303.
  3. ↑ Lordkipanidze & Hewitt 1987, p. 154.
  4. ↑ Sanikidze, Levan (2021). უქარქაშო ხმლები - ნაწილი I [Bladeless Swords - Part I] (in Georgian). Bakmi.
  5. ↑ "What heroism did the Georgian warriors do during the reign of King Tamar?".
  6. ↑ "History of Georgia: from ancient times to our time" (PDF). Tbilisi, 1940, p. 164–165

Sources on internet

Bibliography

  • Levan Sanikidze, Bladeless swords, vol.1, Tbilisi, 1991, p. 583–589
  • Lovard Tukhashvili, History of Georgian Diplomacy, vol.1, Tbilisi, 1994
  • ისტორიანი და აზმანი შარავანდედთანი, წგნ.: ქართლის ცხოვრება, ს. ყაუხჩიშვილის გამოცემა
  • Ivane Javakhishvili, The History of the Georgian Nation, vol. 2, Tbilisi, 1983, p. 336–338
  • Studies in the history of Georgia, Vol. 3, Tbilisi, 1979, p. 336–338
  • Mikaberidze, Alexander (2011). Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Santa Barbara, California, USA: ABC-CLIO. p. 196.ISBN 978-1598843361
  • Lordkipanidze, Mariam Davydovna; Hewitt, George B. (1987). Georgia in the XI–XII Centuries. Tbilisi: Ganatleba Publishers.
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