The Battle of Garni was fought in 1225 near
Garni
Garni ( hy, Գառնի), is a major village in the Kotayk Province of Armenia. It is known for the nearby classical temple. As of the 2011 census, the population of the village is 6,910.
History
The settlement has an ancient history, and is b ...
, in modern day
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
, then part of the
Kingdom of Georgia
The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic ...
. The invading
Khwarazmian Empire
The Khwarazmian or Khwarezmian Empire) or the Khwarazmshahs ( fa, خوارزمشاهیان, Khwārazmshāhiyān) () was a Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire that ruled large parts of present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran in the app ...
was led by
Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu
Jalal al-Din Mangburni ( fa, جلال الدین مِنکُبِرنی), also known as Jalal al-Din Khwarazmshah (), Minkubirni or Mengu-Berdi (c.1199 – August 1231), was the last Khwarazmshah of the Anushteginid dynasty. The eldest son and succ ...
, its last
Sultan, who was driven from his realm by the
Mongol Empire and was trying to recapture lost territories. The battle ended with a Khwarezmid victory and is marked as a disastrous event in Georgian history due to betrayal. As a result, the royal court of Georgian Queen
Rusudan (1223–1245) moved to
Kutaisi and the country was exposed to subsequent looting during the
Mongol invasion
The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire: the Mongol Empire (1206- 1368), which by 1300 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...
.
Prelude
Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu
Jalal al-Din Mangburni ( fa, جلال الدین مِنکُبِرنی), also known as Jalal al-Din Khwarazmshah (), Minkubirni or Mengu-Berdi (c.1199 – August 1231), was the last Khwarazmshah of the Anushteginid dynasty. The eldest son and succ ...
sent an abasement letter to
Queen Rusudan demanding subordination of Georgia under his rule. At the same time, he assembled a huge military force, asking for troops from his allies and nobles across the empire. The purpose was to completely crush the
Kingdom of Georgia
The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic ...
and take all its dominions successfully ceding its existence. The Georgian court and leadership had notes and reports about a possible intervention but did not consider it necessary to take measures since that threat was not taken seriously. Instead, the nobility replied by sending a letter that reminded
Jalal ad-Din of his crushing defeat against the Mongols, while having no idea how strong his empire already was by then. In 1225, a large Khwarezmid army crossed the Georgian border and soon both parties met on the battlefield.
[Great Battles of Georgia By Jaba Samushia; elf, pp. 71–72]
Strength
Under the command of Queen
Rusudan, messengers were sent out to all regions of the
Kingdom of Georgia
The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic ...
in order to gather troops. During that period the kingdom had the potential to raise around 100,000 men in total including mercenaries. However the Georgians had reserved some forces for security reasons, thus leaving around 60–70,000 men for battle. The strength of the invading army far exceeded that of Rusudan's forces. According to
Ata-Malik Juvayni
Atâ-Malek Juvayni (1226–1283) ( fa, عطاملک جوینی), in full, Ala al-Din Ata-ullah (), was a Persian historian and an official of the Mongol state who wrote an account of the Mongol Empire entitled '' Tarīkh-i Jahān-gushā'' ( ...
, the army of Jalal ad-din was 30,000 men strong.
While according to the unknown
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 ...
chronicler named "jamtaaghtsereli", the army of Jalal ad-din was 140,000 men strong. Armenian sources say that the Muslim coalition deployed up to 200,000 men.
[Merab Vachnadze, Vakhtang Guruli, Mikheil Bakhtadze, History of Georgia; Artanuji 2004, page 112.]
Disposal
A Georgian vanguard of around 20,000 men led by the
Toreli brothers - Shalva Akhaltiskheli and Ivane Akhaltsikheli rushed towards the Khwarazmid forces to secure areal dominance. While the Khwarazmians were disposed on lower ground and flat lands, the Georgian who had arrived earlier were deployed wisely on top of surrounding plateaus and established a strategic advantage for the arriving main army. General Mkhargrdzeli with his more than 50,000 warriors arrived in time and initially kept himself in the background being expected by the other commanders to react on any attack against his vanguard while remaining unnoticed by the enemy.
Battle
The battle began with
Jalal ad-Dins left wing attacking the Georgian vanguard and it did not take long for his main forces to be ordered into fight. By that time,
Shalva Toreli-Akhaltiskheli and
Ivane Toreli-Akhaltsikheli had already sent several messengers to the commander of the main Georgian army asking him to strike the Khwarezmid rear as the vanguard was able to stabilize the front lines. Despite the crucial advantage of the terrain, relief for the vanguard became critically necessary. Mkhargrdzeli's army had still not replied and his Georgian army's main body remained absolutely stationary. A nearly perfect opportunity to force its enemy to fight against being encircled or caught in a pincer movement, was wasted. Soon the Georgian vanguard was breaking apart and finally got completely overrun. Commander Mkhargrdzeli then ordered his troops to abandon the battlefield entirely, leaving the other two commanders Shalva and Ivane Akhaltsikheli in their enemies' hands. Once again internal conflicts and personal feuds between Georgian grand feudal lords decisively crippled the Georgian kingdom's defences and its leaders power.
After the battle
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...
was sacked, allegedly
a hundred thousand citizens were put to death for not renouncing Christianity.
A quarter 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 ...
army was annihilated, leaving the country poorly steeled against an upcoming
Mongol invasion
The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire: the Mongol Empire (1206- 1368), which by 1300 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...
. The capture of Dvin brought about the end of Georgia's medieval heyday.
References
Bibliography
* Margarian, Hayrapet, "On the History of the Battle of Garni," ''
Armenian Review
''The Armenian Review'' is an academic journal that has been published in Watertown, Massachusetts since 1948. It publishes articles on topics related to Armenia and Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group ...
'' 37/4 (Winter 1984): pp. 63–71.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garni, Battle Of
Garni
Garni ( hy, Գառնի), is a major village in the Kotayk Province of Armenia. It is known for the nearby classical temple. As of the 2011 census, the population of the village is 6,910.
History
The settlement has an ancient history, and is b ...
Garni
Garni ( hy, Գառնի), is a major village in the Kotayk Province of Armenia. It is known for the nearby classical temple. As of the 2011 census, the population of the village is 6,910.
History
The settlement has an ancient history, and is b ...
Battles of the Middle Ages
Conflicts in 1225
Battle of Garni
Battle of Garni
13th century in the Kingdom of Georgia
Battle of Garni
Battles involving the Khwarazmian dynasty