David IV of Georgia, despite his young…
1104 CE
David IV of Georgia, despite his young age at his accession to the throne, had long been actively involved in Georgia’s political life.
Backed by his tutor and an influential churchman named George of Chqondidi, David IV has pursued a purposeful policy, taking no unconsidered step.
He is determined to bring order to the land, bridle the unsubmissive secular and ecclesiastic feudal lords, centralize the state administration, form a new type of army that will stand up better to the Seljuq Turkish military organization, then go over to a methodical offensive with the aim of expelling the Seljuqs first from Georgia and then from the whole Caucasus.
Between 1089–1100, King David had organized small detachments of his loyal troops to restore order and destroy isolated enemy troops.
He has begun the resettlement of devastated regions and helped to revive major cities.
Encouraged by his success, but more importantly the beginning of the Crusades in Palestine, he had ceased payment of the annual contribution to the Seljuqs and put an end to their seasonal migration to Georgia.
In 1101, King David had captured the fortress of Zedazeni, a strategic point in his struggle for Kakheti and Hereti, and within the past three years has liberated most of eastern Georgia.
In 1093, he had arrested the powerful feudal lord Liparit Baghvashi, a longtime enemy of the Georgian crown, and expelled him from Georgia the following year.
After the death of Liparit’s son Rati, David had abolished their duchy of Kldekari in 1103.
In 1104, David’s supporters in the eastern Georgian province of Kakheti capture the local king Aghsartan II (1102–1104), a loyal tributary of the Seljuq Sultan, and reunite the area with the rest of Georgia.
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The Near and Middle East
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