Battle of Ertsukhi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle of Ertsukhi
Part of the Georgian–Seljuk wars
Date 1104 Location Near Ertsukhi, Kingdom of Georgia Result Georgian victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Georgia	Seljuk Empire
Commanders and leaders
David IV	Atabeg of Ganja

The Battle of Ertsukhi was a big fight in 1104. It happened between the armies of the Kingdom of Georgia and the Seljuk Empire. This important battle took place in the southeastern part of Georgia, near a place called Ertsukhi. Georgia won this battle, which was a key moment in its history.

Why the Battle Happened

Georgia's Challenges Before David IV

Before King David IV became ruler, the Kingdom of Georgia faced many dangers. The country was invaded by the Seljuks. These were the same people who had taken over Anatolia. They even defeated the Byzantine Empire and captured their emperor in 1071.

Medieval Georgian stories call this time the didi turkoba, or "Great Turkish Invasion." Many parts of Georgia became empty. King George II had to make peace. He became a "tributary" of the Seljuk sultan in 1083. This meant he had to pay the sultan every year.

Also, Georgia's powerful noble families wanted more control for themselves. Tbilisi, an old capital city, was held by a local ruler. The eastern region of Kakheti also had its own kingdom. It was called the Kingdom of Kakheti-Hereti. This kingdom was also under Seljuk control.

King David IV's Goal

King David IV wanted to bring all parts of Georgia back together. He especially wanted to reunite western Georgia with the rest of the country. The Kingdom of Kakheti-Hereti had become independent many years before. This meant Georgia had lost a big part of its land.

David knew he might need to fight to achieve this. In 1101 or 1103, he launched a quick attack. He fought against King Kvirike IV of Kakheti. David managed to capture the Zedazeni fortress. This was an important step.

The Fall of Aghsartan II

King Kvirike IV died a year later. His nephew, Aghsartan II, became the new king. People said Aghsartan II was very different from his uncle. He changed his religion to Islam. He then declared himself a helper of the Seljuk Empire. He hoped this would stop new attacks from Georgia.

But Aghsartan II did not expect his own nobles to be unhappy. They did not like his change of religion. In 1104, some nobles planned against him. These nobles were from Hereti. They included Arishiani, Baram, and their uncle Kavtar Baramisdze. They removed Aghsartan II from power. Then, they handed him over to King David IV.

David IV then brought the Kingdom of Kakheti-Hereti back into his own kingdom. Aghsartan II was put in prison in Kutaisi.

The Battle of Ertsukhi

Seljuk Response

The Seljuk Empire still thought Kingdom of Kakheti-Hereti was their land. They did not want to lose it to the Georgians. The Seljuks had faced other problems too. Their Sultan, Malik-Shah I, had died in 1092. Also, the Pope had called for the Crusades against the Turks in 1095. These events had made the Seljuks weaker.

Because of this, King David IV had already stopped paying his yearly tribute to the Seljuks. He had stopped paying since 1080.

The Fight

The Seljuk Sultan Berkyaruq sent a large army to Georgia. He wanted to take back Kakheti-Hereti. The army was led by the Atabeg of Ganja. They fought a very important battle in southeastern Georgia, near Ertsukhi.

The Georgian army completely defeated the Seljuk army. King David IV himself led the Georgian troops. Old Georgian stories, called the Georgian Chronicles, tell about his amazing bravery. The writer of these stories compared David IV's courage to the biblical David. They wrote about how fiercely he fought.

The stories say that three of David's horses died during the battle. But the king kept fighting on his fourth horse. He made his sword flow with "a mass of thickened and frozen blood." This shows how many enemies he defeated.

A Story from the Battle

According to a legendary story in the The Georgian Chronicles, something amazing happened after the battle. When King David took off his armor, blood splashed out from behind it. People watching thought their king was hurt. But actually, the blood belonged to all the enemies that the king had killed during the fight!