Bagrat V the Great (, ) (died 1393) from the

Bagrationi dynasty The Bagrationi dynasty (; ) is a royal dynasty which reigned in Georgia from the Middle Ages until the early 19th century, being among the oldest extant Christian ruling dynasties in the world. In modern usage, the name of the dynasty is sometim ...

was the son of the

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

David IX of Georgia David IX of Georgia (died 1360), from the Bagrationi dynasty, was king of Georgia from 1346 until his death. Family David was the only known son of George V of Georgia. The identity of his mother is not known. The "Georgian Chronicle" of the 18t ...

by his wife Sindukhtar

Jaqeli The House of Jaqeli ( ka, ჯაყელი) was a Georgian princely (''mtavari'') family and a ruling dynasty of the Principality of Samtskhe, an offshoot of the House of Chorchaneli. History "Jaqeli", literally meaning "of/from Jaqi", was ori ...

. He was co-ruler from 1355, and became king after the death of his father in 1360.

Life

A fair and popular ruler, also known as a perfect soldier, he was dubbed "Bagrat the Great" by his multi-ethnic subjects. The Trapezuntine chronicler

Michael Panaretos Michael Panaretos ( el, ) (c. 1320 – c. 1390) was an official of the Trapezuntine empire and a Greek historian. His sole surviving work is a chronicle of the Trapezuntine empire of Alexios I Komnenos and his successors. This chronicle not only pr ...

, a contemporary of the king, describes him as "a most excellent general."Panaretos, ch. 105. Greek text and English translation in Scott Kennedy, ''Two Works on Trebizond'', Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library 52 (Cambridge: Harvard University, 2019), p. 55 Caucasus 1380 map en alt

Later he was an ally of the khan of the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...

Tokhtamysh Tokhtamysh ( kz, Тоқтамыс, tt-Cyrl, Тухтамыш, translit=Tuqtamış, fa, توقتمش),The spelling of Tokhtamysh varies, but the most common spelling is Tokhtamysh. Tokhtamısh, Toqtamysh, ''Toqtamış'', ''Toqtamıs'', ''Toktamy ...

, in his war with

Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...

(also known as Tamerlane). In late autumn 1386, a huge army of Timur's attacked Georgia.

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

was besieged and taken on 21 November 1386, after a fierce fight. The city was pillaged and Bagrat V and his family were imprisoned. Taking advantage of this disaster, the royal vassal Duke

Alexander I of Imereti Alexander I ( ka, ალექსანდრე I, ''Alek'sandre I'') (died 1389), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was king of western Georgian kingdom of Imereti from 1387 to 1389. Prior to that, he was '' eristavi'' ("duke") of Imereti under the au ...

proclaimed himself an independent ruler and was crowned

king of Imereti The Kingdom of Imereti ( ka, იმერეთის სამეფო, tr) was a Georgian monarchy established in 1455 by a member of the house of Bagrationi when the Kingdom of Georgia was dissolved into rival kingdoms. Before that time, Im ...

at the

Gelati Monastery Gelati ( ka, გელათის მონასტერი) is a medieval monastic complex near Kutaisi in the Imereti region of western Georgia. One of the first monasteries in Georgia, it was founded in 1106 by King David IV of Georgia as a ...

in 1387. In order to secure his release, Bagrat V agreed to convert from

Orthodox Christianity Orthodoxy (from Ancient Greek, Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Late antiquity, A ...

and become

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, though it is assumed that his conversion was not real but rather one of convenience. Timur agreed to free Bagrat and sent him with 12,000 troops back to Georgia. However, with secret aid from Bagrat, his son

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

completely destroyed Timur's force and released the king. In the spring of 1387, Timur again invaded Georgia but could not force the Georgians to submission. News of a revolt in Persia and an invasion of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

by the

Golden horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...

forced Timur to withdraw. In 1389, on the death of Alexander of Imereti, Bagrat was able to reduce his successor to a vassal duke again. He died in 1393, leaving the throne to his son

Family and children

George VII was Bagrat V's son with his first wife,

Helena Megale Komnene Helena Megale Komnene ( el, Έλενα Μεγάλη Κομνηνή, translit=Elena Megalē Komnēnē; ka, ელენა კომნენა) (died 1366) is the name given for the first wife of King Bagrat V of Georgia. Her first name is record ...

, who died in 1366. In June 1367, Bagrat V married Anna Megale Komnene, daughter of Emperor

Alexios III of Trebizond Alexios III Megas Komnenos ( el, Αλέξιος Μέγας Κομνηνός, 5 October 1338 – 20 March 1390), or Alexius III, was Emperor of Trebizond from December 1349 until his death. He is perhaps the best-documented ruler of that country, ...

and

Theodora Kantakouzene Theodora Komnene Kantakouzene (c. 1340 – after 1390) was the Empress consort of Alexios III of Trebizond. Family Theodora is considered a daughter of Nikephoros Kantakouzenos, '' sebastokratōr''. According to the history of their kinsman Joh ...

at Makriali Church in Lazia.Panaretos, Chronicle, ch. 87. English translation in Kennedy, ''Two Works on Trebizond'', p. 43 She gave birth to four children: *

Constantine I Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...

* David * Tamar (subsequently wife of Prince Eles Baratashvili) * Olympias (Ulumpia; subsequently wife of Kakhaber

Chijavadze Chijavadze ( ka, ჩიჯავაძე) or Chizhavadze (ჩიჟავაძე) were a Georgian noble family (''tavadi''), prominent in the western kingdom of Imereti in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Chijavadze of Imereti share origin wit ...

, Prince-Chamberlain of Georgia).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagrat 05 Of Georgia Kings of Georgia Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Georgia 1393 deaths Eastern Orthodox monarchs Former Georgian Orthodox Christians Converts to Islam from Eastern Orthodoxy Year of birth unknown