Azat Mousa's invasion of Georgia took place from 1302 to 1303. The invasion was initiated by group of Turkoman tribes led by Azat Mousa, it is likely that they were connected with the
Chepni
Chepni (; ; ) is one of the 24 Oghuz Turkic tribes.
History
In the legend of Oghuz Qaghan, the Chepni was stated as one of the clans of the tribe of ''Gök Han'' that consists of Pecheneg (''Beçenek''), Bayandur (''Bayındır''), Chowdur ('' ...
clan, the main nomadic tribe in the hinterland of
Pontus
Pontus or Pontos may refer to:
* Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea)
* Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology
* Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...
.
History
By 1298, the Turkomans had become a serious threat to the
Empire of Trebizond
The Empire of Trebizond or the Trapezuntine Empire was one of the three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire that existed during the 13th through to the 15th century. The empire consisted of the Pontus, or far northeastern corner of A ...
, advancing east as far as the Georgian border and laying waste to territories including Speri and
Bayburt
Bayburt () is a city in northeast Turkey lying on the Çoruh River. It is the seat of Bayburt Province and Bayburt District.Chepni tribe in the depths of
Pontus
Pontus or Pontos may refer to:
* Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea)
* Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology
* Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...
. In 1298-1299,
Rashid al-Din Hamadani
Rashīd al-Dīn Ṭabīb (; 1247–1318; also known as Rashīd al-Dīn Faḍlullāh Hamadānī, ) was a statesman, historian, and physician in Ilkhanate Iran.Trebizond
Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid Em ...
” (probably referring to the Pontic Alps) and the regions of
Erzincan
Erzincan (; ), historically Yerznka (), is the capital of Erzincan Province in eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The city is majority Turkish Sunni w ...
and Bayburt.
Around 1301 or 1302,
Alexios II of Trebizond
Alexios II Megas Komnenos (; Sept./Dec. 1282 – 3 May 1330) was Emperor of Trebizond from 1297 to 1330. He was the elder son of John II and Eudokia Palaiologina.
Alexios proved to be a skillful and energetic ruler, under whose rule the Empire ...
defeated a Turkoman invasion. The Turks continued their seasonal movement into the Georgian territory. When Azat-Mousa reached
Tao
The Tao or Dao is the natural way of the universe, primarily as conceived in East Asian philosophy and religion. This seeing of life cannot be grasped as a concept. Rather, it is seen through actual living experience of one's everyday being. T ...
and
Basiani
Phasiane ( ''Phasianoi''; ''Basean;'' ka, ბასიანი ''Basiani'', ) is a historical region now part of the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, as well as the name given to the region where the Aras River originates.
Origin
Accor ...
, he devastated them and took captives, later he moved to impassable Murghuli and
Nigali valley
Nigali or the Nigali valley ( ka, ნიგალი, ნიგალის ხევი, ''nigalis khevi''), also known, through a subsequent metathesis, as Ligani (ლიგანი) or Livana (ლივანა; ) Toumanoff, Cyril (1963). ' ...
, where his army was beaten off by the sons of noble Kherkhemeli. In about 1302, duke of Tao, Taqa Panaskerteli defeated the Turkomans at Tortomi Castle,
Toumanoff, Cyril
Cyril Leo Toumanoff ( ka, კირილ თუმანოვი; ; 10 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Georgian-American historian, and academic genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armen ...
. "The Fifteenth-Century Bagratids and the Institution of Collegial Sovereignty in Georgia." ''Traditio'' 7 (1949–51): 184-185 but was unable to drive them from his lands. The Turks grew yet more furious, and devastated Tao. News of these events reached prince Beka I of Samtskhe, who summoned all his subjects and set out against the Turks.
Georgian National Academy of Sciences
The Georgian National Academy of Sciences (GNAS) ( ka, საქართველოს მეცნიერებათა ეროვნული აკადემია, tr) is the main learned society of Georgia. It was named the Georgia ...
, Kartlis Tskhovreba (The Georgian Chronicles), Artanuji pub. Tbilisi 2014
Next year, the Turks started to return. Beka called all his subjects and gathered about 12,000 men, and set out against the Turks. The Turks entered the Parkhali Mountains, where they set up a camp, and sent 10,000 horsemen to plunder in Vashlovani. A fierce battle took place, and the Turks fled, and a great number of them were destroyed. Beka quickly advanced towards Speri and
Bayburd
Geghmahovit () or Bayburd () is an abandoned town in the Ararat Province of Armenia. Traces of an early medieval armenian Bayburd settlement have been preserved in the Khosrov reserve, at the confluence of the Aghjo and Glan tributaries of the Az ...
. They captured the town, except for the fortress. When it became impossible to stand Beka's siege, they sent him an envoy and agreed to pay tribute.