George I of Georgia
Encyclopedia
Giorgi I (998 or 1002 – August 16, 1027), of the House of Bagrationi, was the king of Georgia
from 1014 until his death in 1027. He spent most of his seven-year-long reign waging a bloody and fruitless territorial war with the Byzantine Empire
.
. Upon his father’s death on May 7, 1014, he inherited the kingdoms of Abkhazia
, Kartli
and Kakheti
united into a single state of Georgia. As his predecessor, Giorgi continued to be titled as King of the Abkhazians (Ap'xaz) and Georgians (K'art'velians). Contemporary sources, however, frequently omitted one of the two components of this title when abbreviating it.
The new sovereign’s young age was immediately exploited by the great nobles, who had been suppressed under the heavy hand of Bagrat. Around the same year, the easternmost provinces of Kakheti
and Hereti
, not easily acquired by Bagrat, staged a revolt and reinstated their own government under Kvirike III
(1010/1014–1029), who also incorporated a portion of the neighbouring Arran
(Ran), allowing him to claim the title of King of the Kakhetians and Ranians. Giorgi was unable to prevent the move and sought an alliance with this kingdom, rather than attempting to reincorporate it into the Georgian state, thus leaving a long-standing claim to Kakheti and Hereti to his successors.
, had its roots back to the 990s, when the Georgian
prince David III Kuropalates, following his abortive rebellion against Emperor Basil II
, had to agree to cede his extensive possessions in Tao
and the neighbouring lands to the emperor on his death. All the efforts by David’s stepson and Giorgi’s father, Bagrat III, to prevent these territories from being annexed to the empire went in vain. Young and ambitious, Giorgi launched a campaign to restore the Kuropalates’ succession to Georgia and occupied Tao in 1015–1016. He also entered in an alliance with the Fatimid
Caliph
of Egypt
, Al-Hakim
(996–1021), that put Basil in a difficult situation, forcing him to refrain from an acute response to Giorgi’s offensive.
Beyond that, the Byzantines were at that time involved in a relentless war with the Bulgars
, limiting their actions to the west. But as soon as Bulgaria was conquered, and Al-Hakim was no more alive, Basil led his army against Georgia (1021). An exhausting war
lasted for two years, and ended in a decisive Byzantine victory, forcing Giorgi to agree to a peace treaty, in which he had not only to abandon his claims to Tao, but to surrender several of his southwestern possessions to Basil, and to give his three-year-old son, Bagrat, as hostage. Following the peace treaty, Constantinople was visited by Catholicos-Patriarch
Melkisedek I of Georgia, who gained Byzantine financial aid for the construction of "Svetitskhoveli" (literally, the Living Pillar), a major Orthodox cathedral in the eastern Georgian town of Mtskheta
.
Afterwards, Basil kept the peace with Georgia, permitting prince Bagrat to return home two years later (1025): but the new emperor, Constantine VIII
, who succeeded upon the death of Basil, decided to bring Bagrat back to Constantinople
. However, the imperial courier could not overtake the prince – he was already in the Georgian possessions. The Byzantine-Georgian relations subsequently deteriorated, particularly after a conspiracy, organized by Nikiphoros Comnenus, the archon
of Vaspurakan
, and allegedly involving Giorgi I, was brought to light.
Giorgi was evidently preparing to take revenge for his defeat, but he died suddenly in Trialeti
on August 16, 1027. He was buried in the Bagrati Cathedral
in his capital Kutaisi
. A recently discovered grave, presumably robbed in the 19th century, is proposed to have belonged to Giorgi I.
n princess Mariam of Vaspurakan
with whom he had a son called Bagrat
and daughters: Guarandukht, Marta, and Kata; and second to Alde of Alania
, who gave birth to a son, Demetre.
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
from 1014 until his death in 1027. He spent most of his seven-year-long reign waging a bloody and fruitless territorial war with the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
.
Early reign
Giorgi was born in 998 or, according to a later version of the Georgian chronicles, in 1002, to King Bagrat IIIBagrat III of Georgia
Bagrat III , of the Georgian Bagrationi dynasty, was King of the Abkhazians from 978 on and King of Georgia from 1008 on. He united these two titles by dynastic inheritance and, through conquest and diplomacy, added some more lands to his realm, effectively becoming the first king of what is...
. Upon his father’s death on May 7, 1014, he inherited the kingdoms of Abkhazia
Abkhazian Kingdom
The Kingdom of Abkhazia, also known as the Kingdom of the Abkhazes refers to an early medieval feudal state in the Caucasus which lasted from the 780s until being united, through dynastic succession, with the Kingdom of the Georgians in 1008.- Historiographical conundrum :Writing the kingdom’s...
, Kartli
Kartli
Kartli is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari , on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial role in ethnic and political consolidation of the Georgians in the Middle Ages...
and Kakheti
Kakheti
Kakheti is a historical province in Eastern Georgia inhabited by Kakhetians who speak a local dialect of Georgian. It is bordered by the small mountainous province of Tusheti and the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north, Russian Federation to the Northeast, Azerbaijan to the Southeast, and...
united into a single state of Georgia. As his predecessor, Giorgi continued to be titled as King of the Abkhazians (Ap'xaz) and Georgians (K'art'velians). Contemporary sources, however, frequently omitted one of the two components of this title when abbreviating it.
The new sovereign’s young age was immediately exploited by the great nobles, who had been suppressed under the heavy hand of Bagrat. Around the same year, the easternmost provinces of Kakheti
Kakheti
Kakheti is a historical province in Eastern Georgia inhabited by Kakhetians who speak a local dialect of Georgian. It is bordered by the small mountainous province of Tusheti and the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north, Russian Federation to the Northeast, Azerbaijan to the Southeast, and...
and Hereti
Hereti
Hereti was a historic province in the medieval Caucasus on the Georgian-Albanian frontier. It roughly corresponds to the southeastern corner of Georgia's Kakheti region and a portion of Azerbaijan's northwestern districts.-History:...
, not easily acquired by Bagrat, staged a revolt and reinstated their own government under Kvirike III
Kvirike III of Kakheti
Kvirike III the Great was a ruler of Kakheti in eastern Georgia from 1010 to 1029.He succeeded upon the death of his father David as a prince and chorepiscopus of Kakheti, but King Bagrat III of Georgia captured him and conquered Kakheti...
(1010/1014–1029), who also incorporated a portion of the neighbouring Arran
Arran (Azerbaijan)
Arran , also known as Aran, Ardhan , Al-Ran , Aghvank and Alvank , or Caucasian Albania , was a geographical name used in ancient and medieval times to signify the territory which lies within the triangle of land, lowland in the east and mountainous in the west, formed by the junction of Kura and...
(Ran), allowing him to claim the title of King of the Kakhetians and Ranians. Giorgi was unable to prevent the move and sought an alliance with this kingdom, rather than attempting to reincorporate it into the Georgian state, thus leaving a long-standing claim to Kakheti and Hereti to his successors.
War and peace with Byzantium
The major political and military event during Giorgi’s reign, a war against the Byzantine EmpireByzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
, had its roots back to the 990s, when the Georgian
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
prince David III Kuropalates, following his abortive rebellion against Emperor Basil II
Basil II
Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...
, had to agree to cede his extensive possessions in Tao
Tao-Klarjeti
Tao-Klarjeti is the term conventionally used in modern history writing to describe the historic south-western Georgian principalities, now forming part of north-eastern Turkey and divided among the provinces of Erzurum, Artvin, Ardahan and Kars...
and the neighbouring lands to the emperor on his death. All the efforts by David’s stepson and Giorgi’s father, Bagrat III, to prevent these territories from being annexed to the empire went in vain. Young and ambitious, Giorgi launched a campaign to restore the Kuropalates’ succession to Georgia and occupied Tao in 1015–1016. He also entered in an alliance with the Fatimid
Fatimid
The Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Al-Hakim
Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah
Abu ‘Ali Mansur Tāriqu l-Ḥākim, called Al-Hakim bi Amr al-Lāh , was the sixth Fatimid caliph and 16th Ismaili imam .- History :...
(996–1021), that put Basil in a difficult situation, forcing him to refrain from an acute response to Giorgi’s offensive.
Beyond that, the Byzantines were at that time involved in a relentless war with the Bulgars
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, limiting their actions to the west. But as soon as Bulgaria was conquered, and Al-Hakim was no more alive, Basil led his army against Georgia (1021). An exhausting war
Byzantine-Georgian wars
The Byzantine–Georgian wars were a series conflicts fought during the 11th century and were mainly focused on several strategic districts in the Byzantine-Georgian-Armenian marchlands. Most of these lands were granted by Emperor Basil II to the Georgian courapalates David III of Tao in reward for...
lasted for two years, and ended in a decisive Byzantine victory, forcing Giorgi to agree to a peace treaty, in which he had not only to abandon his claims to Tao, but to surrender several of his southwestern possessions to Basil, and to give his three-year-old son, Bagrat, as hostage. Following the peace treaty, Constantinople was visited by Catholicos-Patriarch
Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia
Catholicos–Patriarch has been the title of the heads of the Georgian Orthodox Church since 1010. The first Catholicos–Patriarch of All Georgia was Melkisedek I...
Melkisedek I of Georgia, who gained Byzantine financial aid for the construction of "Svetitskhoveli" (literally, the Living Pillar), a major Orthodox cathedral in the eastern Georgian town of Mtskheta
Mtskheta
Mtskheta , one of the oldest cities of the country of Georgia , is located approximately 20 kilometers north of Tbilisi at the confluence of the Aragvi and Kura rivers. The city is now the administrative centre of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region...
.
Afterwards, Basil kept the peace with Georgia, permitting prince Bagrat to return home two years later (1025): but the new emperor, Constantine VIII
Constantine VIII
Constantine VIII was reigning Byzantine emperor from December 15, 1025 until his death. He was the son of the Emperor Romanos II and Theophano, and the younger brother of the eminent Basil II, who died childless and thus left the rule of the Byzantine Empire in his hands.-Family:As...
, who succeeded upon the death of Basil, decided to bring Bagrat back to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. However, the imperial courier could not overtake the prince – he was already in the Georgian possessions. The Byzantine-Georgian relations subsequently deteriorated, particularly after a conspiracy, organized by Nikiphoros Comnenus, the archon
Archon
Archon is a Greek word that means "ruler" or "lord", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem ἀρχ-, meaning "to rule", derived from the same root as monarch, hierarchy, and anarchy.- Ancient Greece :In ancient Greece the...
of Vaspurakan
Vaspurakan
Vaspurakan was the first and biggest province of Greater Armenia, which later became an independent kingdom during the Middle Ages, centered around Lake Van...
, and allegedly involving Giorgi I, was brought to light.
Giorgi was evidently preparing to take revenge for his defeat, but he died suddenly in Trialeti
Trialeti
Trialeti is a mountainous area in central Georgia. In Georgian its name means "a place of wandering". The Trialeti Range is a part of the greater Trialeti Region....
on August 16, 1027. He was buried in the Bagrati Cathedral
Bagrati Cathedral
The Cathedral of the Dormition, or the Kutaisi Cathedral, more commonly known as Bagrati Cathedral , is the 11th-century cathedral church in the city of Kutaisi, the region of Imereti, Georgia...
in his capital Kutaisi
Kutaisi
Kutaisi is Georgia's second largest city and the capital of the western region of Imereti. It is 221 km to the west of Tbilisi.-Geography:...
. A recently discovered grave, presumably robbed in the 19th century, is proposed to have belonged to Giorgi I.
His family
Giorgi I was married twice – first to the ArmeniaArmenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n princess Mariam of Vaspurakan
Mariam of Vaspurakan
Mariam was the daughter of John-Senekerim II Artsruni, an Armenian king of Vaspurakan, and the first consort of the king George I of Georgia. As a Dowager Queen of Georgia, she was a regent for her underage son, Bagrat IV, from 1027 to 1037, and was involved in diplomacy with the Byzantine...
with whom he had a son called Bagrat
Bagrat IV of Georgia
Bagrat IV , of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the King of Georgia from 1027 to 1072. During his long and eventful reign, Bagrat sought to repress the great nobility and to secure Georgia's sovereignty from the Byzantine and Seljuqid empires...
and daughters: Guarandukht, Marta, and Kata; and second to Alde of Alania
Alania
Alania may refer to:*Alania, the medieval state of the Alans or Alani people in the North Caucasus*The short name of the modern North Ossetia-Alania, one of the Caucasian republics in the Russian Federation...
, who gave birth to a son, Demetre.