The Umayyad invasion of Georgia, known in Georgian historiography as the Invasion of Marwan the Deaf ( ka, მურვან ყრუს შემოსევა, tr) took place from 735 to 737, initiated by last

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

caliph

Marwan II Marwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan (; – 6 August 750), commonly known as Marwan II, was the fourteenth and last caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 744 until his death. His reign was dominated by a Third Fitna, civil war, and he was the l ...

against the

Principality of Iberia Principality of Iberia (Georgian language, Georgian: , ) was an Early Middle Ages, early medieval aristocratic regime in a core Georgia (country), Georgian region of Kartli, called Kingdom of Iberia (antiquity), Iberia by classical authors. It fl ...

. The goals of the campaign are disputed among historians. The Georgian historiography insists its main purpose was to finally break the stiff Georgian resistance against Arab rule, however, the Western historians such as Cyril Toumanoff, Toumanoff, Cyril, "Iberia between Chosroid and Bagratid Rule", in ''Studies in Christian Caucasian History'', Georgetown, 1963, p. 405. Accessible online at and Ronald Suny, Suny, Ronald Grigor (1994), ''The Making of the Georgian Nation: 2nd edition'', p. 28.

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes ...

, view it as a general campaign directed at both the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

, who exerted its domination over Western Georgia, and the

Khazars The Khazars ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a nomadic Turkic people who, in the late 6th century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, a ...

, whose repeated raids affected not only

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

(Eastern Georgia) and the whole

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

, but had reached Arab lands all the way to

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

in 730.

Battle of Anakopia

The invasion was led by Marwan ibn Muhammad, who later became the last Umayyad caliph

. He first campaigned in Kartli, after which he led his armies westwards and besieged the fortress of Anakopia, where Archil of Kakheti and his brother Mihr, who were assisted by Leon I of Abkhazia, were stationed. The Arabs failed to take the fortress and were forced to retreat. Fearing an onslaught, large numbers of Georgians fled to the mountainous regions. Marwan later invaded Samtskhe, encamped in Odzrkhe and led his forces against the princes of Argveti, Constantine and David, from whom, upon their capture, he demanded unconditional conversion to Islam, which both refused. He tortured and then killed them for their refusal. After that, Marwan took Tshkumi (modern

Sukhumi Sukhumi or Sokhumi is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the Capital city, capital and largest city of Abkhazia, a partially recognised state that most countries consider a part of Georgia (country), Georgia. The ...

) and Tsikhegoji and again turned to Anakopia. The Arabs could not take the fortress, especially after heavy rains and floods began, and retreated with heavy losses.

Legacy

Marwan's cruelty and ruthlessness was epitomized by the fact that the

Georgians Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and Peoples of the Caucasus, Caucasian ethnic group native to present-day Georgia (country), Georgia and surrounding areas historically associated with the Ge ...

called him Murvan Qru ("Marwan the Deaf"). After his campaign, most major settlements were utterly ruined and people faced starvation. If Georgian historiography insists that Kartli was devastated by the invasion, Toumanoff, relying on local and Arab sources, claims that most of the damage in the Eastern part of the country was actually the result of the previous Khazar raids, and that the local Georgian prince, Guaram III of Iberia, actually sided with the Arabs in order to repeal the Khazars beyond the Main Caucasian Range.Toumanoff 1963, p. 405, note 54 In any case, the Arab intervention gave them more power over Iberia than they had managed to attain in almost a century of previous conquests. They established the Emirate of Tbilisi to exert direct control over Iberia, even though the Principate of Iberia was not abolished, and the local nobility retained most of its power. Due to civil unrest and the fact that foreign enemies were plaguing the caliphate, it was unable to launch another invasion and, until 786, settled upon receiving irregular tributes from the Georgian local princes.

References

{{Invasions of Georgia (country) Invasions by the Umayyad Caliphate Invasions of Georgia (country)

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

8th century in Georgia (country) 730s in the Umayyad Caliphate Wars involving Georgia (country)