Great Turkish Invasion

The Seljuks made their first appearances in Georgia in the 1060s, when the Sultan Alp Arslan laid waste to the south-western provinces of the Georgian kingdom and reduced Kakheti. These intruders were part of the same wave of the Turkish movement which inflicted a crushing defeat on the Byzantine army at Manzikert in 1071. ==Invasion==

In 1080, George II was surprised, in the vicinity of Queli, by a large Turkish force led by Aḥmad, probably of the Mamlān dynasty, whom the Georgian chronicle calls "a powerful emir and strong archer". George was put to flight, through Adjara, to Abkhazia. The Turks conquered Kars from the Georgians and returned to their bases laden with wealth The key towns of Kutaisi and Artanuji and the vibrant Christian hermitages of Klarjeti were all burnt down. Those who survived the fighting had to flee to the mountains, where many of them found their death of cold and starvation. ==Results==

George's acceptance of the Seljuq suzerainty did not bring a real peace for Georgia. The Turks continued their seasonal movement into the Georgian territory to make use of the rich herbage of the Kura valley and the Seljuq garrisons occupied the key fortresses in Georgia's south. These inroads and settlements had a ruinous effect on Georgia's economic and political order. Cultivated lands were turned into pastures for the nomads and peasant farmers were compelled to seek safety in the mountains. To make the things worse, a severe earthquake struck the southern provinces of Georgia, devastating Tmogvi and the surrounding area on April 16, 1088. , qaba and tiraz''. Church of the Archangels, Zemo-Krikhi, Racha, northern Georgia. 11th century, Inv. No. 03086-75. The great nobles of Georgia capitalized on weakening of the royal power to promote their autonomy. George II attempted to make use of Malik Shah's favor to bend Aghsartan I, the recalcitrant king of Kakheti in eastern Georgia, into submission, but failed to achieve any result due largely to his contradictory actions. Aghsartan was able to outplay him by offering submission to Malik Shah and buy security by converting to Islam. ==Aftermath==

. Such was the situation in Georgia, when, in 1089, George II chose to put the crown—or was forced to do so by his nobles—on the head of his 16-year-old son David IV. This energetic young ruler was able to capitalize on the disorder in the Seljuq empire following Malik Shah's death in 1092 and the arrival of the First Crusade in the Middle East in 1096 and embarked on a systematic campaign aimed at curbing the aristocratic opposition and expelling the Seljuqs from his kingdom. A string of military successes over the regional successors of the Seljuq empire was concluded by a major victory over the Muslim armies at Didgori in 1121, which made the Georgian kingdom a formidable power in the Caucasus and East Anatolia. ==References==