Before the 10th-century unification of the country by the Bagrationi dynasty, several Georgian states (including Iberia and Colchis) subsisted between the Roman Empire (the Byzantine Empire after the fall of Rome's western half) on the west and the Sassanid Empire (later replaced by the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates) on the east. Between the 11th and 15th centuries, the Kingdom of Georgia was a major regional power which withstood invasions by the Seljuk, Mongol and Timurid Empires before its fragmentation and submission to the Ottoman and Safavid Empires. Many Georgians fought in the armies of empires that ruled the country since the 16th century, be it the Safavids (and successive Afsharids and Qajars), the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union. Since 1991, independent Georgia has taken part in a number of wars; its modern-day conflict with Russia began in 1992 (war in Abkhazia) and culminated in the 2008 Russo–Georgian War, and its alliance with the United States led to Georgia's participation in the Afghan and Iraq Wars.
Antiquity
Kingdom of Iberia
Iberia (, and Greek: ), also known as Iveria (), was a name given by the ancient Greeks and Romans to the Georgian kingdom of KartliCourse of Ancient Geography, Henry Immanuel Smith, p. 279. (4th century BC – 5th century AD), corresponding roughly to east and south present-day Georgia.The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars, Geoffrey Greatrex, Samuel N. C. Lieu, p. 82The Emperor Domitian, Brian W. Jones, p. 156. The term Caucasian Iberia (or Eastern Iberia) was used to distinguish it from the Iberian Peninsula, where present-day Spain, Portugal and Andorra are located.
The Caucasian Iberians provided a basis for later Georgian statehood and, along with Colchis (an early west Georgian state), formed the core of the present-day Georgian people.Ronald Grigor Suny. The Making of the Georgian Nation. Indiana University Press, p. 13 .William Coffman McDermott, Wallace Everett Caldwell. Readings in the History of the Ancient World. p. 404.
Pompey's Georgian campaign
Pompey invaded Georgia in 65 BC after making the Kingdom of Armenia a vassal of Rome. He demanded vassalage from the Iberians, but they refused and began a partisan resistance against him. Roman troops were ambushed in forested areas, and a number of women reportedly participated in the irregular warfare. Later that year, the Iberians fought Pompey's main force across the Aragvi river near Mtskheta (the Iberian capital). Greek historian Plutarch called the engagement a great battle, noting that Iberian casualties were about 9,000; more than 10,000 were captured by the Romans. After subduing Iberia, Pompey turned towards the kingdom of Colchis and subjugated its fortresses and peoples by diplomatic and military means.
Kingdom of Colchis
Colchis or Kolkhis (Georgian and Laz: კოლხეთი, ḳolkheti or ḳolkha; , Kolkhís) was an ancient GeorgianRonald Grigol Suny, The Making of the Georgian Nation, p 9Georgia in Antiquity: A History of Colchis and Transcaucasian Iberia, 550 BC-AD 562, David Braund Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994. Pp. 359The Making of the Georgian Nation, Ronald Grigor Suny, p. 13Modern Hatreds: The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War, Stuart J. Kaufman, p. 91 stateCyril Toumanoff, Studies in Christian Caucasian History, p 69One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups, James Minahan, p. 282 kingdom and regionMarc Van de Mieroop, A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000–323 BC, p 265 in western Georgia which played an important role in the ethnic and cultural formation of the Georgian people.Charles Burney and David Marshal Lang, The Peoples of the Hills: Ancient Ararat and Caucasus, p. 38Oliver Wardrop, The Kingdom Of Georgia: Travel In A Land Of Women, Wine And Song (Kegan Paul Library of History and Archaeology) It covered the present-day Georgian provinces of Samegrelo, Imereti, Guria, Adjara, Abkhazia, Svaneti, Racha; the modern Turkish provinces of Rize, Trabzon and Artvin provinces (Lazistan, Tao-Klarjeti); and the modern Russian districts of Sochi and Tuapse. The Colchians were probably established on the Black Sea coast by the mid-Bronze Age.David Marshal Lang, The Georgians, Frederich A. Praeger Publishers, New York, p 59
War between Iberia and Armenia
The first-century war between Armenia and the Kingdom of Iberia is known chiefly through its description in Tacitus' Annals. Fearing usurpation by Rhadamistus, his father convinced him to declare war on his uncle and claim the Armenian throne for himself. The Iberians invaded with a large army and forced Mithridates of Armenia to retreat to the fortress of Gorneas (Garni), which was garrisoned by the Romans under the command of prefect Caelius Pollio and centurion Casperius. Rhadamistus was unable to take the fortress after an assault and a siege. Pollio, swayed by bribery from Rhadamistus, induced the Roman soldiers to threaten to surrender. As a result, Mithridates left the fortress to make peace with Rhadamistus. Rhadamistus executed Mithridates and his sons despite a promise of non-violence, and became king of Armenia. Tacitus wrote about the usurpation, "Rhadamistus might retain his ill-gotten gains, as long as he was hated and infamous; for this was more to Rome's interest than for him to have succeeded with glory." Shortly afterward, the Iberians were expelled from Armenia by a rebellion of the Armenian nobility which was supported by the Parthian Empire. Both kingdoms then take sides during the Roman–Parthian War of 58–63.
Late antiquity Iberian–Sasanian wars
In 327, Georgia adopted Christianity as its state religion; this escalated tensions between Georgia and its Zoroastrian neighbor.Theodor Dowling, Sketches of Georgian Church History, New York, 1912, p 37Charles Burney and David Marshal Lang, The Peoples of the Hills: Ancient Ararat and Caucasus, p. 22Allen, W.E.D.: A History of the Georgian People, 1932, p. 64 From 483 to 522, the Georgian king Vakhtang I made it a strong regional power. The Persians referred to him as "Gorgasal" (roughly translated as "wolf") because of the wolf's-head helmet he wore into battle. Military ambitions grew during this period, reflected in a large fighting force. Refusing Persian supremacy over the region and allying with the Byzantine Empire, the Iberians faced a number of Sasanian incursions. This culminated in the defeat of the Iberians and their Armenian allies, leaving the kingdom ravaged.
Iberian War
The Iberian War was a conflict between the Eastern Roman and Sassanid Empires over the Georgian kingdom of Iberia which lasted from 526 to 532. It began after a rise of tensions between the two empires in the upper Mesopotamian and Transcaucasian regions and an anti-Persian revolt in Iberia. The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Eternal Peace, giving the Sassanids Iberia and the Byzantines the region of Lazica. The treaty was broken with the outbreak of the Lazic War nine years later.
Lazic War
In the Treaty of Eternal Peace between the Sassanid and Byzantine Empires, the Sassanids considered Lazica a region in the Byzantine sphere of influence; the Lazic king, Tzath I, was granted baptism by Emperor Justinian I in Constantinople. Lazica became a Byzantine protectorate, which led to a full-scale uprising in 541 supported by the Persian shah Khosrow I. The Byzantine Empire lost control of the region.
This changed in 548, when the Lazic people began to revolt against Persian rule with Byzantine support. The conflict ended with a 562 status quo agreement in which the Sassanids recognized Lazica as a vassal state of the Byzantine Empire.
Early Middle Ages War with the Umayyad Caliphate
Georgia fought the Umayyad Caliphate, led by Marwan bin Muhammad, from 735 to 737. The Georgians lost the war, and the Umayyads razed several Georgian towns.
Middle Ages Kingdom of Georgia
Georgia reached its zenith of power between 1180 and 1236, becoming one of the most formidable Christian kingdoms. It had a population of about eight million (including its vassal states), and fielded 40,000 to 90,000 troops.
Byzantine–Georgian wars
Territorial ambitions of the Byzantine Empire and the Kingdom of Georgia caused a number of clashes between 1014 and 1208. The Byzantine Empire invaded the Kingdom of Georgia, losing the first major battle before recovering and forcing the Georgian king to surrender land after several more-costly battles. Around that time, the Georgians were also fighting off Seljuk and Arab invasions. When the Georgians regained power and resources under Queen Tamar, they reconquered their territory (including Tao-Klarjeti) and invaded Byzantium to help the Komnenos establish the Trebizond Empire.
Georgian–Seljuk wars
In 1118, under David the Builder, Georgia underwent several military reforms and created a royal guard of about 5,000 horsemen. The king directed the army's training and equipment. The army faced the regional Seljuk foothold with a methodical offensive to expel the Seljuks from Georgia and the Caucasus. Over a 106-year period, the Georgians had four victories over the Seljuk Turksin the battles of Ertsukhi (1104), Didgori (1121), Shamkori (1195) and Basiani (1205) and slowly eliminated their dominance and presence in the region. David's army organization remained practically unchanged during the 12th century.
Battle of Didgori
The Battle of Didgori was fought between the kingdom of Georgia (about 55,600 troops) and the Seljuk Empire (over 300,000 troops) on the fields of Didgori, 40 km west of the present-day Georgian capital of Tbilisi, on 12 August 1121. The battle resulted in King David's decisive victory over the Seljuk force (under Ilghazi) and the reconquest of Muslim-held Tbilisi, which became the royal capital. The victory at Didgori began medieval Georgia's Golden Age, and was celebrated in Georgian chronicles as a "miraculous victory"; Georgians commemorate the event in an annual September festival known as Didgoroba ("[the day] of Didgori").Suny, Ronald Grigor (1994), The Making of the Georgian Nation, p. 36. Indiana University Press,
Battle of Shamkor
On 1 June 1195, a 35,000-strong Georgian army commanded by David Soslan (spouse of Queen Tamar) decisively defeated an army of 70,000 men led by Atabeg Abu Bakr. The battle took place in the present-day Shamkir District in Azerbaijan, and Abu Bakr was taken prisoner after his retreat to Nakhichevan.
Battle of Basian
Georgia defeated a significantly-larger Muslim coalition army of the Sultanate of Rum in the Basiani Vale, 60 km northeast of Erzurum, on 27 July 1202.
Mongol invasions of Georgia
The Mongols first appeared in the Caucasus in 1220, when the Mongol generals Subutai and Jebe invaded Georgia. Their apparent defeat was a ruse; a Georgian army was sent to drive them out, but the Georgian cavalry detachments were lured into a trap and most were killed. The Mongols withdrew to pillage lands in Persia and, after resupplying, returned two months later to crush a hastily organized Georgian-Armenian army near Tbilisi. Subutai and Jebe then advanced north into Kievan Rus'.
In 1236, the Mongols launched a full-scale invasion of Georgia with the Empire of Trebizond and the Sultanate of Rum. They took the southernmost regions of Georgia in Armenia (effectively annexing the state), and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and some Crusader states became vassals. Georgia enjoyed a short period of independence from the Mongols under King George V, which ended with the Timurid invasions.
Timurid invasions of Georgia