Giorgi I.

Giorgi I (around 996 ; † August 16, 1027 ) was King of Georgia from 1014 to 1027 and son of Bagrat III.

Life

During Giorgi's reign there were serious clashes with the Byzantine Empire , which Georgia had always considered to be its sphere of influence and which wanted to prevent Georgia from gaining power since its unification.

In 1020 Giorgi actively intervened in the succession disputes in the Armenian kingdom of Ani. There his Bagratid cousins, the sons of King Gagik I (989-1020), Sumbat and Ashot fought bitterly for power. With the mediation of the Georgian king, the two brothers came to an agreement and divided the kingdom.

In 1021 Giorgi and the Armenian King Sumbat III decided. (1020-1042) to shake off the existing tributary relationship to Byzantium. They sent an embassy from Emperor Basil II (976-1025) who wanted to collect the due tribute with scorn and mockery back to Constantinople . In the same year the emperor personally moved to Georgia. A battle broke out at Lake Balagatsis , which the Georgians lost after a long undecided battle. The king had to seek refuge in the gorges of the Caucasus .

After the Byzantine troops left the country in 1022, Giorgi quickly gathered an army and invaded Byzantine territory in turn. After initial successes, the emperor felt compelled to attack Giorgi I again personally. Fearing another defeat and worrying about the reprisals that might be imminent in his country, Giorgi asked for peace. This was granted under tough conditions. Giorgi had to send his four-year-old son Bagrat as a hostage to the Byzantine imperial court, who stayed there for three years. He also had to rely on the inheritance of David III. Do without Kuropalats († 1000).

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predecessor	Office	successor
Bagrat III.	King of Georgia 1014-1027	Bagrat IV.