Dawit IV. The builder

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David the Builder, in his left hand a model of the Gelati Monastery (wall painting from the Gelati Monastery)

Dawit IV. (Also: David ), the builder or the renewer , also sword of the Messiah (born Davit Agmaschenebeli ; Georgian დავით IV აღმაშენებელი ; * 1073 in Kutaisi , Georgia ; † January 24, 1125 ) was King of Georgia from 1089 . He broke the independence of the nobility, built a permanent army and liberated Georgia from the Seljuk Turks between 1110 and 1122 . He moved the capital from Kutaisi to Tbilisiand extended the borders of Georgia far into Transcaucasia . He is considered the most important statesman in the medieval Caucasus .

Life

Conquests of Dawit

. David IV came from the Bagratids - dynasty . At the age of 16 he ascended the Georgian throne as David IV in 1089 when his father Giorgi II went to the monastery. Officially, his father remained co-regent until the end of his life in 1112.

In 1103 David was granted both secular ( Mzignobartuchuzes ) and ecclesiastical rule ( Bishop of Tschkondidi ) over Georgia. With the help of the Kipchak tribe, he established a new type of army. The tribe, which consists of 40,000 families, moved to Georgia from the North Caucasus. Every family was obliged to provide the king with a soldier with a horse and weapons, so that an army of 40,000 men arose. David settled the Kipchak clan in various areas, especially on Georgia's external borders.

In 1110 David liberated eastern Georgia around Samschwilde, and in 1116 southern Georgia around Tao-Klarjeti from the Turkish Seljuks. In 1118 he drove the Turks from the banks of the Arak. In 1120 David attacked the Turks in western Georgia. Only a few escaped. David crossed the border into Shirvan (today Azerbaijan ) to the east and conquered the city of Kabala. From 1120 to 1121 he attacked the Turkish troops on the eastern and southwestern foothills of the Transcaucasus and prepared the attack on Tbilisi.

On August 12, 1121, the decisive battle on the Didgori took place . The numerically vastly outnumbered Seljuk army had set up camp in the vicinity of Mount Didgori. King David had 40,000 Georgian soldiers, 20,000 Kyptschaks , 500 Ossetian mercenaries and 200 European crusaders . Two days later the Georgians inflicted a crushing defeat on the Turks. In 1122 they occupied Tbilisi after heavy fighting. The king then moved his residence from Kutaisi to Tbilisi.

Tomb of David the Builder in the entrance of the Gelati monastery complex

In 1123 David expelled the Turkish emirs from Ani. The following year he conquered the entire area of ​​Shirvan and occupied a number of fortresses in Armenia .

Georgia was thus completely liberated from the Seljuks and united under one monarch. David had also occupied northern Armenia, what is now Azerbaijan and the North Caucasus. On copper coins of that time he was honored as King of Kings, David, son of Giorgi, the sword of the Messiah .

By order of David, the Gelati Monastery was built in Kutaisi in 1106 . Attached to it was an Academy of Sciences taught by the most distinguished theologians, philosophers and legal scholars of Georgia. According to David's plan, a second Athens was to be built there.

David died in 1125. At his own request, he was not buried in the cathedral, but in one of the entrances to the Gelati monastery complex. On his grave slab, David stated that every visitor to the monastery should walk over his grave. After David's canonization by the Georgian Orthodox Apostle Church , however, the entrance was blocked and a red ribbon prevents visitors from entering the grave plate to this day.

David's successor was his son Demetre . He and other descendants were buried in Gelati Cathedral.

Adoration

Churches of the Georgian Orthodox Church consecrated to David IV:

literature

Web links

Commons : Dawit IV. The Builder  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
predecessor government office successor
Giorgi II King of Georgia
1089–1125 		Dimitri I.
personal data
SURNAME Dawit IV. The builder
ALTERNATIVE NAMES David IV .; David the Builder; David Agmaschenebeli (maiden name); დავით IV აღმაშენებელი (Georgian)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Georgian king
BIRTH DATE 1073
PLACE OF BIRTH Kutaisi , Georgia
DATE OF DEATH January 24, 1125