Giorgi III.

Depiction of Giorgis III. in a wall painting from the 13th century

Giorgi III. ( Georgian გიორგი III ; † March 27, 1184 ) was King of Georgia from 1156 to 1184 .

Life

He was the youngest son of King Dimitris I and next to his grandfather David IV the most important king of medieval Georgia. Under his rule, northern Armenia with the capital Ani was taken from the Muslims in 1161 , only to be reconquered in 1174. It remained united with Georgia until the Mongol invasion in 1236. In disputes with neighboring Islamic states, including the emirate of Ganja and the empires of the Ahlat Shahs and Atabegs of Azerbaijan , he defended Georgia's dominance in the Caucasian region.

In 1177 the high feudal aristocracy started a conspiracy against the king. The aim was to raise the king's nephew, Demna, son of David V, to be king. Giorgi had to flee to Tbilisi. Since the conspirators hesitated to attack the city, the king managed to win old friends back for himself. He received auxiliary troops from the Kyptschakenkhan . Strengthened that way, he dared a sortie and defeated the rebels. Giorgi's revenge was cruel: many conspirators were executed or mutilated.

Since Giorgi had no male descendants, he appointed his daughter Tamara in 1178 as co-regent and successor. To do that, he returned the tax-free privilege to the church.

predecessor	Office	successor
Dimitri I.	King of Georgia 1156–1184	Tamara

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