David IV
David IV, also known as David IV the Builder, of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the 5th king of the Kingdom of Georgia from 1089 until his death in 1125.
Popularly considered to be the greatest and most successful Georgian ruler in history and an original architect of the Georgian Golden Age, he succeeded in driving the Seljuk Turks out of the country, winning the Battle of Didgori in 1121. His reforms of the army and administration enabled him to reunite the country and bring most of the lands of the Caucasus under Georgia's control. A friend of the Church and a notable promoter of Christian culture, he was canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church.
Sobriquet and regnal ordinal
The epithet aghmashenebeli, which is translated as ,, or, first appears as the sobriquet of David in the charter issued in the name of "King of Kings Bagrat" in 1452 and becomes firmly affixed to him in the works of the 17th- and 18th-century historians such as Parsadan Gorgijanidze, Beri Egnatashvili and Prince Vakhushti. Epigraphic data also provide evidence for the early use of David's other epithet, the Great.Retrospectively, David the Builder has been variously referred to as David II, III, and IV, reflecting substantial variation in the ordinals assigned to the Georgian Bagratids, especially in the early period of their history, as the numbering of successive rulers moves between the many branches of the family. Scholars in Georgia favor David IV, his namesake predecessors being: David I of Iberia, David II of Iberia, and David III of Tao, all members of the principal line of the Bagrationi dynasty.
Early life and accession to the throne
Born in 1073 in Kutaisi, David was the only son of King George II of Georgia and his wife, Queen Elene. He was likely educated by George of Chqondidi, a member of the royal court. David grew up during a period marked by war and devastation, caused by the ravages of the Seljuks and by the numerous defeats suffered by his father at the hands of these invaders. In response to this situation, significant opposition arose against George II, leading to a transfer of power in favor of the young David; George of Chqondidi is believed to have been among the opposition leaders.The Life of David, King of Kings does not describe the details of the transition of power between George II and his son. Historian Nodar Asatiani characterizes the event as a “palace revolution” involving several dignitaries, occurring in 1089. Other historians instead describe it as pressure that compelled George II to abdicate, rather than a direct coup. A contemporary chronicler merely notes that David’s succession occurred through a coronation performed by his father. This has led several Kartvelologists, including Cyril Toumanoff, to propose a period of co-rule between George II and David IV, lasting at least until 1112. Meanwhile, frescoes discovered in the Ateni Sioni Church depict George II in monastic attire, which would suggest forced abdication.
Although an 18th-century historical tradition established by Vakhushti of Kartli—and later followed by Marie-Félicité Brosset—maintains that David succeeded his father only upon George’s death, surviving documents indicate that George II lived until around 1112. Although he retained the royal title until his death, he played no significant political role, real power having passed on to David. Moreover, David himself had been a co-ruler with his father sometime before his becoming a king-regant in 1089; a document of 1085 mentions David as "king and sebastos", the latter being a Byzantine title.
The accession of David IV was welcomed by several factions within the kingdom as a sign of liberation for Georgia, then suffering politically, economically, culturally, and even religiously. Expressions such as a coronation “from God” appear in contemporary narratives. The Georgian Chronicles recount:
Revival of the kingdom
Challenges facing the new king
When David IV ascended the throne at the age of sixteen, he inherited a kingdom drastically reduced from its early eleventh-century extent. Once stretching from Shirvan to the eastern coast of the Black Sea, Georgia now consisted largely of Abkhazia and Kartli. Repeated seasonal incursions by Turkish forces since the 1080s had devastated the country’s economy and compelled Georgia to accept Seljuk suzerainty and pay tribute to the invaders. Within the kingdom, the foundations of the Georgian state—rooted in Orthodoxy and centralized royal authority—had weakened to the point that the supposedly unified kingdom stood on the verge of collapse. Historians often compare the challenge facing the young David IV to that faced by David III of Tao and by Ioane Marushidze during the first political unification of the country.To restore the Georgia of Bagrat III, David IV was required to leverage both favorable international circumstances and his own political and military strength. His accomplishments are traditionally divided into three major phases: the internal reform of the state, the reconquest of lost territories, and the securing of external safety.
End of the Turkish devastations
The first step taken by David IV to restore the Georgian economy was to bring an end to the Turkish raids in Georgia. Since 1080, when the emir Ahmed captured Kutaisi, the Kingdom of Georgia had been forced to accept Seljuk suzerainty and to pay an annual tribute. Despite these concessions, Muslim forces continued their seasonal devastations, and several nomadic Turkic tribes settled in Georgia at the expense of the local population, contributing to the collapse of the Georgian feudal system. Contemporary historiography reports that by the time David the Builder ascended the throne, the Georgian countryside had been nearly depopulated, with inhabitants having taken refuge in local citadels.To drive the Turcomans from his territories, David began by reorganizing an army whose morale had been shattered by repeated defeats. He created small military detachments composed of minor nobles and peasants drawn from royal estates. Soon, dozens of such units had been formed, and a new strategy—centered on surprise attacks against Muslim encampments—was developed. In a short time, the king succeeded not only to stop the Seljuk incursions but also in launching counterattacks against the Turcoman nomads.
A truce was soon concluded between the Georgians and the Turks. Under its terms, David IV agreed to pay faithfully the tribute established during his father’s reign in exchange for a complete cessation of Seljuk raids. Nonetheless, some Turkish units continued their incursions and were subsequently destroyed by Georgian forces, while Turcoman groups settled in the countryside were gradually expelled, allowing Georgians to return to their villages. As a result, living conditions slowly improved, the national economy revived, and the population began to increase once again.
Cessation of tribute to the Seljuks
The death of Malik-Shah I and the onset of the First Crusade, which forced the Seljuks to concentrate on defending Syria and Palestine while leaving the Caucasus largely unattended, enabled David IV to cease paying tribute to the Seljuks in 1099. He subsequently began repopulating the depopulated and devastated regions and undertook the restoration of cities and the reorganization of the army. This amounted to a declaration of war, but the Seljuk sultan did not respond.Consolidation of royal authority
After ending the Turkish incursions and restoring the traditional feudal system, David IV focused on strengthening central authority as a prelude to broader state reforms. Following the revival of the Georgian economy, a significant portion of the nobility—including the duke Liparit V of Kldekari and Niania Kakhaberisdze—swore allegiance to the king. This renewed loyalty represented a marked shift from the attitudes of the aristocracy toward earlier monarchs, although it proved short-lived.In 1093, Liparit V organized a conspiracy against David. Informed of the plot, the king had the duke imprisoned “to make him a wise man,” according to the Georgian Chronicles. Liparit was released two years later under oath of renewed loyalty and restored to his domains of Trialeti and Kldekari. However, he soon resumed his intrigues. Upon learning of a second conspiracy, David acted more decisively: Liparit was again imprisoned until 1098 and subsequently exiled permanently to Constantinople. Liparit’s son, Rati III, described as a “disloyal man and true son of a viper,” died in 1103, bringing an end to the rebellious branch of the Baghvashi and enabling David to expand the royal domain.
Liparit was not the only prominent noble affected by David’s consolidation policies. Several others, including Dzagan Abuletisdze, faced similar punishments following acts of rebellion, and their territories were incorporated into the royal estates. Through such measures, David advanced major initiatives to centralize authority. He also dismissed numerous officials appointed by earlier monarchs solely on the basis of hereditary privilege, replacing them with loyal advisers often drawn from the lesser nobility.
Reunification of Kakheti–Hereti
After curbing the authority of the powerful noble families, King David IV turned to completing the political unification of the realm. This required the reintegration of western Georgia into the rest of the kingdom. The united Kingdom of Kakheti-Hereti had declared its independence during the reign of George I, thereby depriving Georgia of a substantial portion of its territory. Determining that only military action could restore control, David launched a brief campaign against King Kvirike IV and, in 1101, captured the fortress of Zedazeni, north of Mtskheta.Kvirike IV died the following year and was succeeded by his nephew Aghsartan II, who is described as “the very opposite of his uncle”. Having converted to Islam, Aghsartan declared himself a vassal of the Seljuks in an effort to avert another Georgian invasion. His decision, however, provoked discontent among the Kakhetian nobility, who resented their ruler’s change of faith. In 1104, a conspiracy led by the Heretian nobles Arishiani, Baram, and their uncle Kavtar Baramisdze deposed Aghsartan II and delivered him to David IV. As Georgian forces advanced, the citadels and fortresses of Kakheti surrendered without resistance, permitting David to restore control without launching a full-scale campaign. After the annexation of Kakheti and Hereti, David appointed the noble Arishiani as governor of the province.
The Seljuks, who continued to regard Kakheti-Hereti as their vassal, were unwilling to accept another defeat at the hands of the Georgians. In response, the Atabeg of Ganja declared war on Georgia and confronted its forces in a decisive battle of Ertsukhi. The Turco-Kakhetian army was destroyed by the Georgian troops, who were personally commanded by David IV. His deeds are vividly recorded in the Georgian Chronicles, where the chronicler likens the king’s courage to that of the biblical David and recounts the severity of his blows. Three of his horses were slain during the battle, yet the monarch, mounted on a fourth, continued the fight, causing his sword to draw “a mass of thickened and congealed blood”.
According to a legendary tradition described in The Georgian Chronicles, when David removed his armor after the battle, blood splashed down from behind his armor plate. This led by-standers to believe that their king had been wounded, when in fact the blood belonged to the enemies he had slain in battle.
This victory, which restored Georgia’s eastern frontier to approximately its extent in 1010, is generally regarded as the first major international success of David IV the Builder. It inaugurated a new period in Georgian–Muslim relations later known as the “Georgian Crusade.”