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. By 1099, the year when Jerusalem fell to the Crusaders, David felt strong enough to withhold annual tribute paid to the Seljuqs. 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.