Topic summary
Battle of Didgori
Tughril II
Dubays ibn Sadaqa
Demetrius I
- Modern estimates:
- Several times larger
- 100,000–250,000 (Georgian sources)
Medieval Christian sources: 150,000, 400,000, 600,000 or 800,000
Medieval Arab sources: 30,000
Total: 55,600 (Georgian sources)
- 40,000 Georgians
Including 5,000 - 15,000 Kipchaks
- 500 Alan mercenaries
- 100–500 Frankish knights
- Unknown number of Armenian and Shirvanese forces
400,000 killed, 30,000 captured (Matthew of Edessa)
400,000 killed, 50,000 captured (Smbat Sparapet)
Turkish sources:
Tens of thousands dead, 4,000 captured (Ali Sevim)
The Battle of Didgori (Georgian: დიდგორის ბრძოლა, romanized:didgoris brdzola) was fought between the armies of the Kingdom of Georgia and the Seljuk Empire at the narrow place of Didgori, 40 km west of Tbilisi, on August 12, 1121. The large Muslim army, under the command of Ilghazi, was unable to maneuver and suffered a devastating defeat due to King David IV's effective military tactics.
The battle at Didgori was the culmination of the entire Georgian–Seljuk wars and led to the Georgians' reconquest of Tbilisi in 1122. Soon after that David moved the capital from Kutaisi to Tbilisi. The victory at Didgori inaugurated the medieval Georgian Golden Age and is celebrated in The Georgian Chronicles as a (Georgian: ძლევაჲ საკვირველიdzlevay sak'virvelilit.'miraculous victory'). Modern Georgians continue to remember the event as an annual August 12 festival known as ('[the day] of Didgori').