Battle of Shirimni ( ka, შირიმნის ბრძოლა) also known as the Battle of Palakazio was fought between the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
and
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 ...
armies at the place of Shirimni at the
Palakazio Lake (now Childir,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
; then part of Georgia) on September 11, 1021.
Background
The battle was preceded by the two-decade-long dispute over the Georgian ''
courapalates''’ succession that included several Byzantine-Georgian-
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 ' ...
n marchlands in
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
. A full-scale war erupted when the Georgian king
George I George I or 1 may refer to:
People
* Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631)
* George I of Constantinople (d. 686)
* George I of Antioch (d. 790)
* George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9)
* George I of Georgia (d. 1027)
* Yuri Dolgor ...
took the disputed areas by force, 1014. In retaliation the Byzantine emperor
Basil II
Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...
led, in 1021, a large army into Georgia pushing the Georgians back to their inner frontiers.
Battle
Both Byzantine and Georgian armies were led by the monarchs themselves. Basil’s army included many
Varangian Guard
The Varangian Guard ( el, Τάγμα τῶν Βαράγγων, ''Tágma tōn Varángōn'') was an elite unit of the Byzantine Army from the tenth to the fourteenth century who served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine emperors. The Varangi ...
s while George was reinforced by Armenian auxiliaries. The two armies met at a village Shirimni at the Palakazio Lake. The Georgians were close to winning the battle, but powerful counterattacks by Basil proved to be decisive. Two Georgian high-ranking generals, Rati
Baghvashi The Liparitids ( ka, ლიპარიტები), also known as Baghuashi (ბაღჳაში), were a noble house ('' didebuli'') in medieval Georgia, with notable members from the 9th to 12th centuries and famed for their powerful resistanc ...
and Khursi were killed in action. Following this costly victory, the emperor plundered the nearby lands and returned to his dominions to winter at
Trapezius
The trapezius is a large paired trapezoid-shaped surface muscle that extends longitudinally from the occipital bone to the lower thoracic vertebrae of the spine and laterally to the spine of the scapula. It moves the scapula and supports the ...
.
See also
*
Byzantine-Georgian wars
*
Battle of Svindax
The Battle of Svindax ( ka, სვინდაქსის ბრძოლა) was fought during the spring of 1022 between the Byzantine army of Emperor Basil II and the Georgian army of King George I. History
The battle was fought at Svind ...
References
* René Grousset, L'Empire du Levant : Histoire de la Question d'Orient, Paris, Payot, coll. « Bibliothèque historique », 1949 (réimpr. 1979), 648 p. (), p. 153
Shirimni
Shirimni
1020s in the Byzantine Empire
Conflicts in 1021
Battles of Basil II
Byzantine–Georgian wars
1021 in Asia
1021 in Europe
11th century in the Kingdom of Georgia
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