Battle of Partskhisi

Battle of Partskhisi
Part of Georgian–Seljuk wars
The ruins of castle of Partskhisi.
Date dated from 1073 to 1077 A.D. Location Partskhisi, Georgia Result Decisive Georgian victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Georgia	Great Seljuq Empire
Commanders and leaders
Giorgi II of Georgia Aghsartan I of Kakheti	Sarang of Arran; Muslim rulers of Dmanisi, Dvin and Ganja
Strength
25,000 men	48,000 men[1]
Casualties and losses
unknown	unknown

The Battle of Partskhisi (Georgian: ფარცხისის ბრძოლა) was fought between the armies of Kingdom of Georgia and Seljuk Empire. After hours of intense fighting, Georgians won a decisive victory over the Turks.

Description

After a brief campaign conducted by Melik-Shah I of Seljuq Empire in southern Georgia, the emperor handed the duchies of Samshvilde and Arran to a certain "Sarang of Gandza", referred to as Savthang in Arabic sources. Leaving 48 thousand cavalrymen to Sarang, he ordered another campaign to bring Georgia fully under the dominion of Seljuq Empire. The ruler of Arran, aided by the Muslim rulers of Dmanisi, Dvin and Ganja marched his army into Georgia.^[2] The dating of the invasion is disputed among modern Georgian scholars. While the battle is mostly dated in 1074 (Lortkipanidze, Berdzenishvili, Papaskiri), Prof. Ivane Javakhishvili puts the time somewhere around 1073 and 1074. 19th-century Georgian historian Tedo Jordania dates the battle in 1077. According to the latest research, the battle happened either in August or in September of 1075 A.D.^[3] Giorgi II, with military support of Aghsartan I of Kakheti, met the invaders near the castle of Partskhisi. Although the details of the battle remain largely unstudied, it is known that one of the most powerful Georgian nobles, Ivane Baghuashi of Kldekari, pledged allegiance to the Seljuks handing his son, Liparit, as a political prisoner to show loyalty. The battle raged on for an entire day finally ending with a decisive victory for Giorgi II of Georgia. The momentum gained after the victory of an important battle fought in Partskhisi allowed the Georgians to recapture all the territories lost to the Seljuk Empire (Kars, Samshvilde) as well as the Byzantine Empire (Anacopia, Klarjeti, Shavsheti, Ardahan, Javakheti).^[4]

References