Bagrat IV of Georgia
Encyclopedia
Bagrat IV (1018 – November 24, 1072), 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. In a series of intermingled conflicts, Bagrat succeeded in defeating his most powerful vassal
s and rivals of the Liparitid family, bringing several feudal enclaves under his control, and reducing the kings of Lorri
and Kakheti
, as well as the emir of Tbilisi
to vassalage. Like many medieval Caucasian
rulers, he bore several Byzantine titles, particularly those of nobelissimos, curopalates
, and sebastos
.
.jpg)
He was the son of the king George I
(r. 1014-1027) by his first wife Mariam of Vaspurakan
. At the age of three, Bagrat was surrendered by his father as a hostage to the Byzantine emperor Basil II
(r. 976-1025) as a price for George’s defeat in the 1022 war with the Byzantines
. The young child Bagrat spent the next three years in the imperial capital of Constantinople
and was released in 1025. He was still in the Byzantine possessions when Basil died and was succeeded by his brother Constantine VIII
(r. 1025-8). Constantine ordered the retrieval of the young prince, but the imperial courier was unable to overtake Bagrat – he was already in the Georgian kingdom.
After George I died in 1027, Bagrat, aged eight, succeeded to the throne. Queen Dowager
Mariam then returned to prominence and became a regent
for his underage son. She shared the regency with the grandees, particularly Liparit IV, Duke of Trialeti, and Ivane, Duke of Kartli
.
By the time when Bagrat became a king, the Bagratids’ drive to complete the unification of all Georgian lands had gained irreversible momentum. The kings of Georgia set at Kutaisi
in western Georgia whence they run all of what had been the Kingdom of Abkhazia and a greater portion of Iberia
/Kartli
; Tao
/Tayk
had been lost to the Byzantines while a Muslim
emir
remained in Tbilisi
and the kings of Kakheti
obstinately defended their autonomy in easternmost Georgia. Furthermore, the loyalty of great nobles to the Georgian crown was far from being stable. During Bagrat’s minority, the regency had advanced the positions of the high nobility whose influence he subsequently tried to limit when he assumed full ruling powers. Simultaneously, the Georgian crown was confronted with two formidable external foes: the Byzantine Empire and the resurgent Seljuq Turks
. Although the Byzantine Empire and Georgia had centuries-long cultural and religious ties, and the Seljuqs posed a substantial threat to the empire itself, Constantinople’s aggressiveness on the Caucasian political scene contributed to an atmosphere of distrust and recrimination, and prevented the two Christian nations from effective cooperation against the common threat. With assertion of the Georgian Bagratid hegemony in the Caucasus being the cornerstone of Bagrat’s reign, his policy can be understood as the attempt to play the Seljuqs and Byzantines off against one another.
, Turkey
) on behalf of the Georgian Bagratid prince Demetre, son of Gurgen of Klarjeti, who had been dispossessed by Bagrat IV's grandfather, Bagrat III
, of his patrimonial fief at Artanuji early in the 1010s. Several Georgians nobles defected to the Byzantines, but Bagrat's loyal subjects put up a stubborn fight.
Constantine's death in 1028 rendered the Byzantine invasion abortive, and, in 1030, the queen Mariam paid a visit to the new emperor Romanos III
(r. 1028-1034). She negotiated a peace treaty, and returned with the high Byzantine title of curopalates
for his son in 1032. Mariam also brought him a Byzantine princess Helena as wife. Helena was a daughter of Basil Argyros
, brother of the emperor Romanos, and the marriage was a diplomatic effort to establish a strategic association. However, Helena's death shortly afterwards at Kutaisi
presented the Georgian court with the opportunity to pursue yet another diplomatic initiative through Bagrat's marriage with Borena
, daughter of the king of Alania
, a Christian country in the North Caucasus
.
In 1033, the royal court faced another dynastic trouble, this time with Bagrat's half-brother Demetre
, a son of George I of his second marriage with Alda of Alania
. Demetre and Alda lived in Anacopia, a fortress in Abkhazia
, which had been bequeathed to them by the late king George I. Although an attempt by some great nobles to exploit Demetre’s possible aspirations to the throne in their opposition to Bagrat’s rule failed, the Georgian court’s efforts to win his loyalty also went in vain. Threatened by Bagrat, the dowager queen Alda defected to the Byzantines and surrendered Anacopia to the emperor Romanos III who honored her son Demetre with the rank of magistros.
In 1039, Demetre returned to Georgia with Byzantine troops. This time, he was supported by Liparit IV
, of the Liparitid clan, the most powerful noble in Georgia.
Liparit, as duke of the district of Trialeti
and later as a commander-in-chief of the royal armies, had appeared as the defender of a boy-king Bagrat early in the 1030s. Liparit’s military prowess had been demonstrated once again in 1034 when, at the head of a combined Georgian-Armenian army, he defeated a Shaddadid
troops in Arran. In 1038, Liparit was on the verge of capturing the ancient Georgian capital of Tbilisi
, which had been a Muslim stronghold
since the 8th century. Fearing his growing power, the Georgian nobles persuaded Bagrat to withdraw Liparit’s army and thus thwarted the plan. As a result, Liparit became a sworn enemy of the king and began actively cooperating with the Byzantines for vengeance on Bagrat and his nobles.
On behalf of the pretender Demetre, Liparit enjoyed a series of successes against Bagrat. In spite of Demetre’s death in 1042, Liparit continued his struggle in alliance with the Byzantines and David I of Lorri
. After the defeat at Sasireti
, Bagrat was left with the western provinces only. During the Seljuk campaigns in Anatolia
in 1048, Liparit, who had been fighting on the Byzantine side, was captured at the Battle of Kapetrou
. Bagrat took advantage of this, and returned to his eastern possessions. The king’s fortunes were quickly reversed, however, upon Liparit’s return from captivity. The rebellious duke forced Bagrat to flee to Constantinople where he was kept, as a result of Liparit’s intrigues, for three years. In the absence of Bagrat (1050–1053), Liparit was an effective ruler of Georgia; he even installed Bagrat’s son George
as king and declared himself a regent. After Bagrat’s return, Liparit again warred against him. Eventually in 1060 his followers conspired and surrendered the duke to King Bagrat, who forced him into a monastery. Now, Bagrat gained a momentum to restrict the power of dynastic princes, reduced the kings of Lorri
and Kakheti
to impotence, and briefly held Tbilisi.
started to penetrate the frontier regions of Georgia. Bagrat had to buy peace through marrying her niece off to Alp Arslan.
The Seljuk threat prompted the Georgian and Byzantine governments to seek a closer cooperation. To secure the alliance, Bagrat’s daughter Mart’a (Maria) married, at some point between 1066 and 1071, the Byzantine co-emperor Michael VII Ducas
. The choice of a Georgian princess was unprecedented, and it was seen in Georgia as a diplomatic success on Bagrat's side.
On December 10, 1068, Alp Arslan accompanied by the kings of Lorri and Kakheti as well as the emir of Tbilisi again marched against Bagrat. The provinces of Kartli
and Argveti
were occupied and pillaged. Bagrat’s long-time rivals, the Shaddadids of Arran, were given compensation: the fortresses of Tbilisi and Rustavi. After Alp Arslan left Georgia, Bagrat recovered Kartli in July 1068. Al-Fadl I b. Muhammad
, of the Shaddadids, encamped at Isani (a suburb of Tbilisi on the left bank of the Mtkvari) and with 33,000 men ravaged the countryside. Bagrat defeated him, however, and forced the Shaddadid troops to flight. On the road through Kakheti, Fadl was taken prisoner by the local ruler Aghsartan
. At the price of conceding several fortresses on the Iori River
, Bagrat ransomed Fadl and received from him the surrender of Tbilisi where he reinstated a local emir on the terms of vassalage.
The last years of Bagrat's reign coincided with what Professor David Marshall Lang
described as "the final débacle of eastern Christendom" — the Battle of Manzikert
— in which Alp Arslan dealt a crushing defeat to the Byzantine army, capturing the emperor Romanos IV
, who soon died in misery. Bagrat IV died the following year, on 24 November 1072, and was buried at the Chkondidi Monastery. The suzerainty over the troubled kingdom of Georgia passed to his son George II.
Bagrationi Dynasty
The Bagrationi dynasty was the ruling family of Georgia. Their ascendency lasted from the early Middle Ages until the early 19th century. In modern usage, this royal line is frequently referred to as the Georgian Bagratids, a Hellenized form of their dynastic name.The origin of the Bagrationi...
, was the King of Georgia
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 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
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...
and Seljuqid empires. In a series of intermingled conflicts, Bagrat succeeded in defeating his most powerful vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
s and rivals of the Liparitid family, bringing several feudal enclaves under his control, and reducing the kings of Lorri
Kingdom of Lori
Kingdom of Lori alternatively known as the Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget or Kingdom of Albania, was an Armenian kingdom formed during the breakup of Bagratuni Armenia. The kingdom encompassed territories of modern-day Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia....
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...
, as well as the emir of Tbilisi
Emirate of Tbilisi
The Emirs of Tbilisi ruled over the parts of today’s eastern Georgia from their base in the city of Tbilisi, from 736 to 1080 . Established by the Arabs during their invasions of Georgian lands, the emirate was an important outpost of the Muslim rule in the Caucasus until recaptured by the...
to vassalage. Like many medieval Caucasian
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
rulers, he bore several Byzantine titles, particularly those of nobelissimos, curopalates
Curopalates
Kouropalatēs, Latinized as curopalates or curopalata and Anglicized as curopalate, was a Byzantine court title, one of the highest from the time of Emperor Justinian I to that of the Komnenoi in the 12th century...
, and sebastos
Sebastos
Sebastos was an honorific used by the ancient Greeks to render the Roman imperial title of Augustus. From the late 11th century on, during the Komnenian period, it and variants derived from it formed the basis of a new system of court titles for the Byzantine Empire. The female form of the title...
.
Early reign
George I of Georgia
Giorgi I , 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.-Early reign:...
(r. 1014-1027) by his first wife 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...
. At the age of three, Bagrat was surrendered by his father as a hostage to the Byzantine 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...
(r. 976-1025) as a price for George’s defeat in the 1022 war with the Byzantines
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...
. The young child Bagrat spent the next three years in the imperial capital of 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:...
and was released in 1025. He was still in the Byzantine possessions when Basil died and was succeeded by his brother 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...
(r. 1025-8). Constantine ordered the retrieval of the young prince, but the imperial courier was unable to overtake Bagrat – he was already in the Georgian kingdom.
After George I died in 1027, Bagrat, aged eight, succeeded to the throne. Queen Dowager
Queen Dowager
A queen dowager or dowager queen is a title or status generally held by the widow of a deceased king. In the case of the widow of a deceased emperor, the title of empress dowager is used...
Mariam then returned to prominence and became a regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
for his underage son. She shared the regency with the grandees, particularly Liparit IV, Duke of Trialeti, and Ivane, Duke of Kartli
Ivane Abazasdze
Ivane Abazasdze was a 11th-century Georgian feudal lord who functioned as an eristavi of Kartli under King Bagrat IV of Georgia . During the king’s minority, he assumed an important place in the country’s aristocratic regency government...
.
By the time when Bagrat became a king, the Bagratids’ drive to complete the unification of all Georgian lands had gained irreversible momentum. The kings of Georgia set at 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:...
in western Georgia whence they run all of what had been the Kingdom of Abkhazia and a greater portion of Iberia
Caucasian Iberia
Iberia , also known as Iveria , was a name given by the ancient Greeks and Romans to the ancient Georgian kingdom of Kartli , corresponding roughly to the eastern and southern parts of the present day Georgia...
/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...
; 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...
/Tayk
Tayk
Tayk was a historical province of the Greater Armenia, one of its 15 ashkars . Tayk consisted of 8 cantons:* Kogh* Berdats por* Partizats por* Tchakatk* Bokha* Vokaghe* Azordats por* Arsiats por....
had been lost to the Byzantines while a Muslim
Muslim conquests
Muslim conquests also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests, began with the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He established a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula which under the subsequent Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates saw a century of rapid expansion of Muslim power.They...
emir
Emirate of Tbilisi
The Emirs of Tbilisi ruled over the parts of today’s eastern Georgia from their base in the city of Tbilisi, from 736 to 1080 . Established by the Arabs during their invasions of Georgian lands, the emirate was an important outpost of the Muslim rule in the Caucasus until recaptured by the...
remained in Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
and the kings 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...
obstinately defended their autonomy in easternmost Georgia. Furthermore, the loyalty of great nobles to the Georgian crown was far from being stable. During Bagrat’s minority, the regency had advanced the positions of the high nobility whose influence he subsequently tried to limit when he assumed full ruling powers. Simultaneously, the Georgian crown was confronted with two formidable external foes: the Byzantine Empire and the resurgent Seljuq Turks
Seljuq dynasty
The Seljuq ; were a Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim dynasty that ruled parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries...
. Although the Byzantine Empire and Georgia had centuries-long cultural and religious ties, and the Seljuqs posed a substantial threat to the empire itself, Constantinople’s aggressiveness on the Caucasian political scene contributed to an atmosphere of distrust and recrimination, and prevented the two Christian nations from effective cooperation against the common threat. With assertion of the Georgian Bagratid hegemony in the Caucasus being the cornerstone of Bagrat’s reign, his policy can be understood as the attempt to play the Seljuqs and Byzantines off against one another.
Dynastic wars
Shortly after Bagrat's ascension to the throne, Constantine VIII sent in an army to take over the key city-fortress of Artanuji (modern ArdanuçArdanuç
Ardanuç is a town and district of Artvin Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey located 32 km east of Artvin..- Geography :Ardanuç is a mountainous district, rising from 250 m in the Şavşat River basin up to the highest point, 3050 m Mount Çadır. Other high mountains are Kürdevan, Yalnızçam...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
) on behalf of the Georgian Bagratid prince Demetre, son of Gurgen of Klarjeti, who had been dispossessed by Bagrat IV's grandfather, Bagrat III
Bagrat 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...
, of his patrimonial fief at Artanuji early in the 1010s. Several Georgians nobles defected to the Byzantines, but Bagrat's loyal subjects put up a stubborn fight.
Constantine's death in 1028 rendered the Byzantine invasion abortive, and, in 1030, the queen Mariam paid a visit to the new emperor Romanos III
Romanos III
Romanos III Argyros was Byzantine emperor from 15 November 1028 until his death.-Biography:...
(r. 1028-1034). She negotiated a peace treaty, and returned with the high Byzantine title of curopalates
Curopalates
Kouropalatēs, Latinized as curopalates or curopalata and Anglicized as curopalate, was a Byzantine court title, one of the highest from the time of Emperor Justinian I to that of the Komnenoi in the 12th century...
for his son in 1032. Mariam also brought him a Byzantine princess Helena as wife. Helena was a daughter of Basil Argyros
Basil Argyros
Agent of Byzantium is a collection of short stories by Harry Turtledove, centred around the exploits of the eponymous Basil Argyros, a Byzantine secret agent...
, brother of the emperor Romanos, and the marriage was a diplomatic effort to establish a strategic association. However, Helena's death shortly afterwards at 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:...
presented the Georgian court with the opportunity to pursue yet another diplomatic initiative through Bagrat's marriage with Borena
Borena of Alania
Borena was a sister of the Alan king Durgulel "the Great", and the Queen consort of Georgia, as the second wife of Bagrat IV .The medieval Georgian historical tradition exposes little information about Borena. Bagrat married her, in the early 1030s, after the death of his first wife, Helene...
, daughter of the king 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...
, a Christian country in the North Caucasus
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian Seas and within European Russia. The term is also used as a synonym for the North Caucasus economic region of Russia....
.
In 1033, the royal court faced another dynastic trouble, this time with Bagrat's half-brother Demetre
Demetrius of Anacopia
Demetrius was a Georgian prince of the Bagrationi royal dynasty, and a claimant to the throne of Georgia. He was the younger son of George I of Georgia by his second wife Alda, daughter of the king of Alania....
, a son of George I of his second marriage with Alda of Alania
Alda of Alania
Alda or Alde was an 11th-century Alan princess and the second wife of King George I of Georgia . The couple had a son, Demetre, who played a notable role in the civil unrest of Georgia during the reign of his half-brother Bagrat IV....
. Demetre and Alda lived in Anacopia, a fortress in Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
, which had been bequeathed to them by the late king George I. Although an attempt by some great nobles to exploit Demetre’s possible aspirations to the throne in their opposition to Bagrat’s rule failed, the Georgian court’s efforts to win his loyalty also went in vain. Threatened by Bagrat, the dowager queen Alda defected to the Byzantines and surrendered Anacopia to the emperor Romanos III who honored her son Demetre with the rank of magistros.
In 1039, Demetre returned to Georgia with Byzantine troops. This time, he was supported by Liparit IV
Liparit IV, Duke of Kldekari
Liparit IV, sometimes known as Liparit III , was an 11th-century Georgian general and political figure who was at times the most valuable support of King Bagrat IV of Georgia and his most dangerous rival...
, of the Liparitid clan, the most powerful noble in Georgia.
Liparit, as duke of the district of 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....
and later as a commander-in-chief of the royal armies, had appeared as the defender of a boy-king Bagrat early in the 1030s. Liparit’s military prowess had been demonstrated once again in 1034 when, at the head of a combined Georgian-Armenian army, he defeated a Shaddadid
Shaddadid
The Shaddadids were a Kurdish dynasty who ruled in various parts of Armenia and Arran from 951-1174 AD. They were established in Dvin. Through their long tenure in Armenia, they often intermarried with the Bagratuni royal family of Armenia....
troops in Arran. In 1038, Liparit was on the verge of capturing the ancient Georgian capital of Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, which had been a Muslim stronghold
Emirate of Tbilisi
The Emirs of Tbilisi ruled over the parts of today’s eastern Georgia from their base in the city of Tbilisi, from 736 to 1080 . Established by the Arabs during their invasions of Georgian lands, the emirate was an important outpost of the Muslim rule in the Caucasus until recaptured by the...
since the 8th century. Fearing his growing power, the Georgian nobles persuaded Bagrat to withdraw Liparit’s army and thus thwarted the plan. As a result, Liparit became a sworn enemy of the king and began actively cooperating with the Byzantines for vengeance on Bagrat and his nobles.
On behalf of the pretender Demetre, Liparit enjoyed a series of successes against Bagrat. In spite of Demetre’s death in 1042, Liparit continued his struggle in alliance with the Byzantines and David I of Lorri
David I Anhoghin
David I Anhoghin succeeded his father to the throne of the Kingdom of Lori. His nickname Anhoghin refers to a temporary loss of his lands he suffered after a defeat at the hands of the king of Ani.-References:...
. After the defeat at Sasireti
Battle of Sasireti
The Battle of Sasireti took place in 1042 at the village of Sasireti in the present day Shida Kartli region, not far from the town of Kaspi, during the civil war in the Kingdom of Georgia...
, Bagrat was left with the western provinces only. During the Seljuk campaigns in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
in 1048, Liparit, who had been fighting on the Byzantine side, was captured at the Battle of Kapetrou
Battle of Kapetrou
The Battle of Kapetron or Kapetrou was fought between the Byzantine-Georgian armies and the Seljuq Turks on September 10 or September 18, 1048...
. Bagrat took advantage of this, and returned to his eastern possessions. The king’s fortunes were quickly reversed, however, upon Liparit’s return from captivity. The rebellious duke forced Bagrat to flee to Constantinople where he was kept, as a result of Liparit’s intrigues, for three years. In the absence of Bagrat (1050–1053), Liparit was an effective ruler of Georgia; he even installed Bagrat’s son George
George II of Georgia
George II , of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was a king of Georgia from 1072 to 1089. He was a son and successor of Bagrat IV and his wife Borena of Alania...
as king and declared himself a regent. After Bagrat’s return, Liparit again warred against him. Eventually in 1060 his followers conspired and surrendered the duke to King Bagrat, who forced him into a monastery. Now, Bagrat gained a momentum to restrict the power of dynastic princes, reduced the kings of Lorri
Kingdom of Lori
Kingdom of Lori alternatively known as the Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget or Kingdom of Albania, was an Armenian kingdom formed during the breakup of Bagratuni Armenia. The kingdom encompassed territories of modern-day Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia....
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...
to impotence, and briefly held Tbilisi.
Seljuk attacks
In the 1060s, Bagrat faced with an even greater problem: the Seljuks under Alp ArslanAlp Arslan
Alp Arslan was the third sultan of the Seljuq dynasty and great-grandson of Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty...
started to penetrate the frontier regions of Georgia. Bagrat had to buy peace through marrying her niece off to Alp Arslan.
The Seljuk threat prompted the Georgian and Byzantine governments to seek a closer cooperation. To secure the alliance, Bagrat’s daughter Mart’a (Maria) married, at some point between 1066 and 1071, the Byzantine co-emperor Michael VII Ducas
Michael VII
Michael VII Doukas or Ducas , nicknamed Parapinakēs , was Byzantine emperor from 1071 to 1078.- Life :...
. The choice of a Georgian princess was unprecedented, and it was seen in Georgia as a diplomatic success on Bagrat's side.
On December 10, 1068, Alp Arslan accompanied by the kings of Lorri and Kakheti as well as the emir of Tbilisi again marched against Bagrat. The provinces of 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 Argveti
Argveti
Argveti , also Argwet’i or Margweti , is a historic district in Imereti, western Georgia.The area lay on the historic Iberian-Lazican frontier, i.e., between what are now eastern and western parts of Georgia...
were occupied and pillaged. Bagrat’s long-time rivals, the Shaddadids of Arran, were given compensation: the fortresses of Tbilisi and Rustavi. After Alp Arslan left Georgia, Bagrat recovered Kartli in July 1068. Al-Fadl I b. Muhammad
Al-Fadhl ibn Muhammad
Al-Fadhl ibn Muhammad al-Shaddadi Al-Fadhl ibn Muhammad al-Shaddadi Al-Fadhl ibn Muhammad al-Shaddadi (also al-Fadl ibn Muhammad, Fadl ibn Muhammad, Fadlun ibn Muhammad, Fadhlun ibn Muhammad, or Fadl I was the Shaddadid emir of Arran from 985-1031. Of Kurdish origin , al-Fadhl was called "Fadhlun...
, of the Shaddadids, encamped at Isani (a suburb of Tbilisi on the left bank of the Mtkvari) and with 33,000 men ravaged the countryside. Bagrat defeated him, however, and forced the Shaddadid troops to flight. On the road through Kakheti, Fadl was taken prisoner by the local ruler Aghsartan
Aghsartan I of Kakheti
Aghsartan I was a king of Kakheti in eastern Georgia from 1054 until his death in 1084.He succeeded on the death of his father Gagik of Kakheti. His reign coincided with the Seljuk invasions in the Georgian lands and persistent attempts by the Georgian Bagratid kings to bring all Georgian...
. At the price of conceding several fortresses on the Iori River
Iori River
The Iori is a river in the South Caucasus which originates in the Greater Caucasus Mountains in eastern Georgia and continues in Azerbaijan where it is also known as Gabirry and flows into the Mingachevir Reservoir. Its length is 320km....
, Bagrat ransomed Fadl and received from him the surrender of Tbilisi where he reinstated a local emir on the terms of vassalage.
The last years of Bagrat's reign coincided with what Professor David Marshall Lang
David Marshall Lang
David Marshall Lang , was a Professor of Caucasian Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He was one of the most productive British scholars who specialized in Georgian, Armenian and ancient Bulgarian history.David M...
described as "the final débacle of eastern Christendom" — the Battle of Manzikert
Battle of Manzikert
The Battle of Manzikert , was fought between the Byzantine Empire and Seljuq Turks led by Alp Arslan on August 26, 1071 near Manzikert...
— in which Alp Arslan dealt a crushing defeat to the Byzantine army, capturing the emperor Romanos IV
Romanos IV
Romanos IV Diogenes was a member of the Byzantine military aristocracy who, after his marriage to the widowed empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa was crowned Byzantine emperor and reigned from 1068 to 1071...
, who soon died in misery. Bagrat IV died the following year, on 24 November 1072, and was buried at the Chkondidi Monastery. The suzerainty over the troubled kingdom of Georgia passed to his son George II.