page_title: Kingdom of Georgia
section_title: Final disintegration
hierarchical_section_title: Kingdom of Georgia / History / Final disintegration
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of Caucasus Region 1460 in German. Deutsch: Kaukasus-Region Anfang 1460 n. Chr. Quellen sind: Michael Kemper: Herrschaft, Recht und Islam in Daghestan. Von den Khanaten und Gemeindebünden zum ǧihād-Staat. Wiesbaden 2005. S. 30–111. Clemens P. Sidorko: Dschihad im Kaukasus: antikolonialer Widerstand der Dagestaner und Tschetschenen gegen das Zarenreich (18. Jahrhundert bis 1859). S. 8–25. Wiesbaden 2007. Die Artikel zu dagestanischen Nationalitäten in The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition also z.B. Ḳumuḳ (Band V, S.381–384 v. Wilhelm Barthold, aktualisiert v. David K. Kermani), Darghin (II. 141–142, v. Chantal Lemercier-Quelquejay), Avars (I., 755–756 v. Hélène Carrère d’Encausse und Alexandre Bennigsen), Laḳ (V. 617–18v. Robert Wixman) usw. Die Artikel "Shakki" v. Wladimir Minorski und Clifford Edmund Bosworth; "Shirwānshāh" (IX. 488-89), von Barthold und Bosworth., "Ķara-Ķoyunlu" (IV., S. 584-88, v. F. Sümer). Annika Stello: Grenzerfahrungen. Interaktion und Kooperation im spätmittelalterlichen Schwarzmeerraum, Diss. Trier 2011. Karten von Artur Zuzijew:http://www.iriston.com/books/cuciev_-_etno_atlas/cuciev_etno-polit_map.htm. http://www.iriston.com/books/cuciev_-_etno_atlas/maps/map02.jpg (für gleich gebliebene Grenzen); http://www.iriston.com/books/cuciev_-_etno_atlas/maps/map47.jpg für Tscherkessen, Kabarda und Abasinen; http://www.iriston.com/books/cuciev_-_etno_atlas/maps/map46.jpg für Osseten u.a. В.А. Кузнецов: Очерки истории алан. Владикавказ 1992. М.Г. Магомедов: История аварцев. Махачкала 2005. Kadir I. Natho: Circassian History. New York 2009. Heinz Fähnrich: Geschichte Georgiens. Leiden 2010. Heinz Fähnrich: Geschichte Georgiens von den Anfängen bis zur Mongolenherrschaft. Shaker, Aachen 1993, ISBN&#160;3-86111-683-9 "Scheki" in der Sowjetischen Historischen Enzyklopädie. Robert H. Hewsen et.al.: Armenia: a historical atlas. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2001. Karten von Armenica: http://www.armenica.org/cgi-bin/armenica.cgi?178711717323498=1=3==Armenia==1=3=AAA Karten von Andrew Andersen: http://www.conflicts.rem33.com/images/Georgia/Lang_22.htm
context_page_description: The Kingdom of Georgia, also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy which emerged circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic strength during the reign of King David IV and Queen Tamar the Great from 11th to 13th centuries. Georgia became one of the pre-eminent nations of the Christian East, their pan-Caucasian empire stretching, at its largest extent, from Eastern Europe and the North Caucasus to the northern portion of Iran and Anatolia, while also maintaining religious possessions abroad, such as the Monastery of the Cross in Jerusalem and the Monastery of Iviron in Greece. It was the principal historical precursor of present-day Georgia.
  Lasting for several centuries, the kingdom fell to the Mongol invasions in the 13th century, but managed to re-assert sovereignty by the 1340s. The following decades were marked by the Black Death, as well as numerous invasions under the leadership of Timur, who devastated the country's economy, population, and urban centers. The Kingdom's geopolitical situation further worsened after the fall of the Byzantine and then Empire of Trebizond.
context_section_description: The political split of the kingdom was sped up by the Eristavs of Samtskhe. In 1462 Kvarkvare II Jaqeli called against the king of Georgia  Uzun Hasan, the leader of the Aq Qoyunlu. His invasion was used by the viceroy of the western Georgia – Bagrat VI. In 1463 Bagrat VI defeated Giorgi VIII at Chikhori. "Dadiani, Gurieli, Abkhazians and Svans came to the conqueror and expressing the wish of all the Imerians (westerners) blessed him to be King. From that time Imereti turned into one kingdom and four Duchies or satavado.
  Bagrat was the king of only west Georgia for a short period. In 1466 he crossed the borders of East Georgia (Inner Kartli) and proclaimed himself King of all Georgia. In fact, he possessed only west Georgia and Inner Kartli. Giorgi VIII went to Kakheti and formed an independent Kakhetian Kingdom. Recognizing as a sovereign of Bagrat VI the grandson of Alexander I the Great – Constantine II was consolidated in the lower Kartli (Tbilisi), while Samtskhe-Saatabago became an independent principality. 
  In 1477, Eristav of Odishi Vameq II Dadiani opposed Bagrat VI. He "assembled the Abkhazians and Gurians and began the raids, devastation and capturing of Imereti". The reaction of the king of Georgia was immediate. Bagrat VI attacked Odishi with the great army, defeated and subdued Vameq II Dadiani. The king of Kartli and west Georgia – Bagrat VI died in 1478. Constantine II ascended the throne of Kartli. The son of Bagrat VI – Alexander II tried to ascend the throne in west Georgia. For coronation he summoned "Dadiani, Gurieli, Sharvashidze and Gelovani", but headed with Vameq II Dadiani. who refused to support him and invited Constantine II to Western Georgia. Constantine with the help of the Eristavs of western Georgia took Kutaisi and for a short time restored the integrity of Kartli with western Georgia. The allies were planning to unite the whole Georgia and in the first place tried to join Samtskhe-Saatabago. Vameq II Dadiani with the army of west Georgia helped Constantine II in 1481 in the battle with prince and after this the King subordinated Samtskhe. Constantine II became the King of All Georgia. He "subdued Imers, Odishians and Abkhazians; Atabag served him and the Kakhetians were in his subordination.
  in 1483 Constantine II was defeated at Aradeti in the battle with atabag. The son of Bagrat – Alexander, later known as Alexander II took advantage of it and captured Kutaisi and was crowned as a King. Then, the new possessor of Odishi - Liparit II Dadiani invited Constantine II to West Georgia for the second time. In 1487 Constantine came to west Georgia again with the army and occupied Kutaisi and other significant fortresses with the help of Liparit II Dadiani and other great feudals of West Georgia. But he failed to fully annex west Georgia. In 1488 Yaqub b. Uzun Hasan invaded East Georgia and the king of Kartli went to fight with him. Alexander II took advantage of it and captured Kutaisi and all fortresses of Imereti again and after that "reconciled with Dadiani and Gurieli. By this act, he pacified Imereti and firmly subdued the Abkhazians and Svans".
  In 1490 Constantine asked a specially assembled royal court for an advice concerning restoration of the integral kingdom. The royal court advised Constantine II to postpone this struggle till the better times. After this the king of Kartli had to temporarily reconcile with the kings of Kakheti and Imereti and also prince of Samtskhe having thus formed the factual split of Georgia. Its unity was finally shattered and, by 1490/91, the once powerful monarchy fragmented into three independent kingdoms – Kartli (central to eastern Georgia), Kakheti (eastern Georgia), and Imereti (western Georgia) – each led by the rival branches of the Bagrationi dynasty, and into five semi-independent principalities – Odishi (Mingrelia), Guria, Abkhazia, Svaneti and Samtskhe – dominated by their own feudal clans.
caption: Map of Caucasus Region 1460.
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