Battle of Trialeti

In 1089, David IV became king of Georgia. His predecessor, George II had been plagued by Seljuk raids, destroying crops and forcing captured citizens into slavery and had attempted to garner peace with the offer of heavy annual tribute and military service. Despite agreement from the Seljuk empire, the raids continued. George II's hesitant character and incompetent political decisions coupled with the Seljuk situation brought the Kingdom of Georgia into a profound famine and crisis which climaxed in the aftermath of a disastrous earthquake that struck Georgia in 1088.[1][2]

Watching his kingdom slip into chaos, George II ceded the crown to his 16-year-old son David IV in 1089. King David IV proved to be a capable statesman and military commander. As he came of age under the guidance of his court minister, George of Chqondidi, David IV suppressed dissent of feudal lords and centralized the power in his hands to effectively deal with the Seljuk Empire. 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. In 1104 David's supporters in the eastern Georgian province of Kakheti, nobles: Baramisdze and Arishiani captured the local king Aghsartan II (1102–1104), a loyal tributary of the Seljuk Sultan Berkyaruq (c.1092-1105), and reunited the area with the rest of Georgia. Following the annexation of Kakheti, in 1105, David routed a Seljuk punitive force at the Battle of Ertsukhi, leading to momentum that helped him to secure the key fortresses of Samshvilde, Rustavi, Gishi, and Lori between 1110 and 1118.[3][4]

In 1110, the Seljuk army invaded Georgia with an army of 100,000 soldiers.[5] David IV organized a small army of 1500 warriors and marched to a narrow pass in the Trialeti mountains, where the Seljuks could not use their numerical superiority.[6] A mobile society, the bulk of Seljuk forces consisted of mounted archers, with lighter armament and agile horses, they were more quicker and more flexible than their opponents. Great mobility and archery enabled them to fight at distance, use difference ways of feigned retreat, attack an enemy on the flanks and rear or on the march, the narrow pass removed their tactical advantage.[7] The Georgian army attacked the Seljuk army at night, driving off the Seljuks and destroying their camp. The defeat was hard on Seljuk morale.[8][6]

• Eastmond, Antony (1998). Royal Imagery in Medieval Georgia. Penn State Press.
• Javakhishvili, Ivane (1982). k'art'veli eris istoria [he History of the Georgian Nation] (in Georgian). Vol. 2. Tbilisi State University Press.
• Nike, Thor (2019-03-29), Davit Agmashenebeli with 1500 Georgians against 100,000 Turks
• Rayfield, Donald (2019). Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia. Reaktion Books.
• Smail, R.C. (2008). Crusading Warfare 1097-1193. Cambridge University Press.
• Suny, Ronald G. (1994). The Making of the Georgian Nation (2nd ed.). Indiana University Press. p. 36.
• Tsurtsumia, Mamuka (2020). "De velitatione bellica and the Georgian Art of War During the Reign of David IV". Journal of Medieval Military History. 20.