Battle of Ertsukhi

The Battle of Ertsukhi was fought, in the 12th century, between the armies of the Kingdom of Georgia and the Great Seljuq Empire in southeastern part of Georgia, near Ertsukhi.

Battle of Ertsukhi
Part of the Georgian-Seljuk wars
Date1104
Location
Near Ertsukhi
Result Georgian victory
Belligerents
 Kingdom of Georgia

Seljuk Empire

Commanders and leaders
David IV Atabeg of Ganja

History

The Kingdom of Kakheti-Hereti had been a tributary to the Great Seljuq Empire since the 1080s. However, in the 1104, the energetic Georgian king David IV (c. 1089-1125) was able to exploit internal unrest in the Seljuq state and successfully campaigned against Seljuk vassal state Kakheti-Hereti, finally turning it into one of his Saeristavo. The king of Kakheti-Hereti, Agsartan II, was captured by the Georgian nobles Baramisdze and Arshiani and was imprisoned in Kutaisi.

The Seljuk Sultan Barkiyaruq (c.1092-1105) sent a large army to Georgia to retake Kakheti and Hereti. the battle was fought in southeastern part of the Kingdom, near the Ertsukhi. King David of Georgia personally took part in the battle, where the Seljuks were decisively defeated.

Folklore

According to a legendary tradition described in The Georgian Chronicles, when David removed his armor after the battle, piled up blood splashed down from behind his armor plate. This led the by-standers to believe that their king was wounded, when in fact the blood belonged to the enemies that the king had slain in battle.[1]

Notes
  1. "Kartlis Tskhovreba" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-04.The Georgian Chronicles, Chapter 6, pg 346.

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