Bagrat V of Georgia

Biography

Bagrat was the son of David IX and his wife Sindukhtar Jaqeli. He was co-ruler from 1355, and became king after the death of his father in 1360.

In 1360, after the death of his father, Bagrat V inherited the throne and, to mark his rule over western and eastern Georgia, was crowned in Kutaisi. Bagrat V earned the title ‘the Great’ for his reputation as a victorious general and archer. When King Bagrat V ascended the throne, Georgia was slowly recovering from the ravages of the black death.

The alliance concluded in 1385 with Tokhtamysh, Khan of the Golden Horde, led him to a protracted and heavy war with Timur, Emir of the Timurid Empire. King Bagrat V, learning of Timur's possible attack, fortified himself in Tbilisi, creating powerful defence fortifications.

In the late autumn of 1386, a huge army under the command of Timur invaded the Georgian kingdom. Timur laid siege to Tbilisi. Most of the Georgian nobility betrayed their king, taking refuge in castles. Bagrat V desperately resisted, repeatedly personally participating in attacks on the enemy army besieging the city.

On 22 November 1386, after a six-month siege, the city was captured. Timur kept his promise and preserved the lives of the king, Queen Anna and Prince David, but ordered his soldiers to sack Tbilisi. Bagrat V with his wife and son David were declared prisoners of the emir. Timur sent the famous library of Georgian kings to Samarkand, together with rich booty. The eldest sons of Bagrat V escaped captivity. The subjects offered to crown prince George the new king, but he refused, fearing for his father's life in captivity.

Timur's army halted in Karabakh for a winter camp. Timur tried to persuade Bagrat V to renounce Christianity, but the king was unwilling to do so, even though he recognised himself as Timur's vassal. Finally, they managed to agree that Bagrat V would accept Islam. After converting to Islam, Timur agreed to release Bagrat V and sent him and twelve thousand Timurid warriors back to the Georgian kingdom to convert the Georgians to Islam. But as soon as they were on the territory of the Georgian kingdom, Bagrat V, together with his sons, prince George and Constantine and Georgian warriors, destroyed the Timurids.

Believing that this time Bagrat V could not escape death, his vassal Imeretian prince Alexander proclaimed himself an independent ruler and in 1387 was crowned king of Imereti in Gelati monastery. In the spring of 1388 Timur invaded the Georgian kingdom again, but could not force the Georgians to submit. Bagrat V was helped by allies from the Golden Horde who invaded Azerbaijan and the rebellion that had begun in Persia. Timur had to retreat from Tbilisi. In 1389, after the death of the Imeretian king Alexander, Bagrat V managed to restore his suzerainty over his successor. Bagrat died in 1393, leaving the throne to his eldest son George.

Family

Bagrat V was married twice. His first wife was Helen, whose origin is unknown; she died of the bubonic plague in 1366. In June 1367, he married Anna Megale Komnene, daughter of Alexios III of Trebizond. Bagrat V had the following children:

• George VII of Georgia (died 1405 or 1407), by his first wife, Helen; associated as co-king with his father from 1369, and King of Georgia from 1393 (or 1395) to 1407 (or 1405);
• Constantine I of Georgia (1369–1412), by his second wife, Anna; King of Georgia from 1407 (or 1405) to 1412;
• David, by his second wife, Anna;
• Olympias, by his second wife, Anna; married Kakhaber Chijavadze;
• Tamar, an illegitimate daughter; married Eles Baratashvili.

References

Bibliography

References

1. Syed Jamaluddin. "[https://www.amazon.com/State-Under-Timur-Empire-Building/dp/8124102589 The State Under Timur: A Study in Empire Building]", Har-Anand, (1995), p. 133.
2. {{cite conference. (1988). link. АН Армении, Институт востоковедения
3. {{harvnb. Toumanoff. 1949–1951
4. Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, Volume 32. Magyar Tudományos Akadémia, (1978), p. 109.
5. Encyclopædia Britannica: A New Survey of Universal Knowledge, Volume 10, (1963), p. 195.
6. Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd. "[https://www.amazon.com/Burkes-royal-families-world-Vol/dp/0850110297 Burke's Royal Families of the World: Africa & the Middle East]", Burke's Peerage, (1977), p. 61.
7. {{harvnb. Toumanoff. 1949–1951
8. [link](https://web.archive.org/web/20210202083651/https://books.google.ge/books/about/Trebizond.html?id=bmEfAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y, (London, 1926), pp. 60–61.)
9. [link](https://web.archive.org/web/20210202083651/https://books.google.ge/books/about/Trebizond.html?id=bmEfAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y, (London, 1926), pp. 60–61.)
10. [link](https://web.archive.org/web/20210202083651/https://books.google.ge/books/about/Trebizond.html?id=bmEfAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y, (London, 1926), pp. 60–61.)