David VIII (

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 ...

: დავით VIII; 1273–1311), from the Bagrationi dynasty, was King of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

in 1292–1302 and 1308-1311. Eldest son of Demetre II the Self-sacrificing by his Trapezuntine wife, he was appointed by the Ilkhan ruler Gaikhatu as king of

as reward for his military service during the

Rüm Rūm ( ar, روم , collective; singulative: Rūmī ; plural: Arwām ; fa, روم Rum or Rumiyān, singular Rumi; tr, Rûm or , singular ), also romanized as ''Roum'', is a derivative of the Aramaic (''rhπmÈ'') and Parthian (''frwm'') t ...

elian uprising in 1293. Succeeding his cousin Vakhtang II, David's rule actually extended only over the eastern part of the kingdom, whereas western Georgia had been under the

Imereti Imereti ( Georgian: იმერეთი) is a region of Georgia situated in the central-western part of the republic along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni River. Imereti is the most populous region in Georgia. It consists of 11 munic ...

an branch of the House of Bagrationi since 1259. In 1295, he supported Baidu Khan in an internal conflict in the

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm ...

. However, Baidu was killed and

Ghazan Mahmud Ghazan (5 November 1271 – 11 May 1304) (, Ghazan Khan, sometimes archaically spelled as Casanus by the Westerners) was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of ...

became a khan. Ghazan ordered the

n king to arrive to his capital

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...

. Remembering the fate of his father, David refused to comply and began preparations for war.

Khan responded with a

punitive expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong beh ...

, and ravaged the country. Supported by the Mongols,

Ossetes The Ossetians or Ossetes (, ; os, ир, ирæттæ / дигорӕ, дигорӕнттӕ, translit= ir, irættæ / digoræ, digorænttæ, label=Ossetic) are an Iranian ethnic group who are indigenous to Ossetia, a region situated across the n ...

attacked

Shida Kartli Shida Kartli ( ka, შიდა ქართლი, , ; "Inner Kartli") is a landlocked administrative region (''Mkhare'') in eastern Georgia. It comprises a central part of the historical-geographic province of Shida Kartli. With an area of , S ...

province and occupied the

Liakhvi River The Great Liakhvi ( ''Didi Liakhvi'', , ''Styr Lewakhi'') is a river in central Georgia, which rises on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range in the de facto independent region of South Ossetia and flows into the Kura (Mtk ...

gorge. David entrenched himself in the

Mtiuleti Mtiuleti ( ka, მთიულეთი; literally, "the land of mountains") is a historical province in eastern Georgia, on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. It primarily comprises the White Aragvi Valley, and is bordered by ...

mountains and defeated a large Mongol force in a desperate guerilla fighting at Tsikare. Then, the Khan declared him deposed and appointed David's younger brother Giorgi V as king in 1299. Although backed by the

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

forces, the power of Giorgi did not extend out of the Georgian capital

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 ...

, and the Khan replaced him by another brother, Vakhtang III, in 1302. The new king led a Mongol army against David, but could not penetrate deeply into the largely mountainous provinces held by the rebels, and a truce was negotiated. David was recognized as joint sovereign with his brother and received the princedom of Alastani in the southern province of

Javakheti Javakheti ( ka, ჯავახეთი ) or Javakhk ( hy, Ջավախք, ''Javakhk'') is a historical province in southern Georgia, corresponding to the modern municipalities of Akhalkalaki, Aspindza (partly), Ninotsminda, and partly to the Turk ...

. He developed friendly relations with the

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

ian

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

s, the traditional rivals of the

, and, mediated by Byzantium, achieved the restoration of the

Monastery of the Cross The Monastery of the Cross ( ar, دير الصليب, ''Dayr al-Salīb''; he, מנזר המצלבה; ka, ჯვრის მონასტერი, ''jvris monast'eri'') is an Eastern Orthodox monastery near the Nayot Nayot ( he, נָיו� ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

to the

Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...

in 1305. David was married twice, first to the Mongol princess

Oljath Oljath (Öljätäi; ka, ოლჯათი) () was a Queen consort of Georgia as the wife of two successive kings, Vakhtang II ( r. 1289–1292) and David VIII (r. 1292–1311). She was a daughter of Abaqa Khan, the Mongol Ilkhan of Iran. Or ...

, and then to a daughter of the Georgian nobleman Hamada Surameli. He was succeeded by his son Giorgi VI the Little in 1311.

Coinage

Two types of coins issued in David's name survive, silver and copper coins, stuck in 1297 and 1310, respectively. The gap between these two periods is filled with the emissions of David's brother Vakhtang III.

Ancestry

References

* Limper, B. Die Mongolen und die christlichen Völker des Kaukasus - Eine Untersuchung zur pol. Geschichte Kaukasiens im 13. und beginnenden 14. Jh. Diss. Köln 1980 * Lang, D. M. Georgia in the Reign of Giorgi the Brilliant (1314–1346) BSOAS 17/1 S 74-91 London 1955 * Kapanadse,D. G. Gruzinskaja Numizmatika Moskau 1955

External links

დავით VIII
(in

) {{DEFAULTSORT:David 08 Of Georgia Kings of Georgia 1273 births 1311 deaths Eastern Orthodox monarchs Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Georgia