Bagrat V of Georgia

Bagrat V the Great (Georgian: ბაგრატ V დიდი, Bagrat V Didi) (died 1393) from the Bagrationi dynasty was the son of the Georgian king David IX of Georgia by his wife Sindukhtar Jaqeli. He was co-ruler from 1355, and became king after the death of his father in 1360.

Bagrat V ბაგრატ V
King of Georgia (more...)
Predecessor	David IX
Successor	George VII
Died	1393
Burial	Gelati Monastery
Spouse	Helena Megale Komnene (d. 1366) Anna Megale Komnene (m. 1367)
Issue	George VII Constantine I
Dynasty	Bagrationi dynasty
Father	David IX of Georgia
Mother	Sindukhtar Jaqeli
Religion	Georgian Orthodox Church

Life

A fair and popular ruler, also known as a perfect soldier, he was dubbed “Bagrat the Great” by his multi-ethnic subjects. The Trapezuntine chronicler Michael Panaretos, who knew the king personally, calls him a “prominent and victorious general”.

Caucasus after the collapse of the Ilkhanate.

Later he was an ally of the khan of the Golden Horde, Tokhtamysh, in his war with Timur (also known as Tamerlane). In late autumn 1386, a huge army of Timur attacked Georgia. Tbilisi was besieged and taken on 22 November 1386, after a fierce fight. The city was pillaged and Bagrat V and his family were imprisoned. Taking advantage of this disaster, the royal vassal Duke Alexander I of Imereti proclaimed himself an independent ruler and was crowned king of Imereti at the Gelati Monastery in 1387.

In order to secure his release, Bagrat V agreed to convert from Orthodox Christianity and become Muslim.[1] Timur agreed to free Bagrat and sent him with the troops of 20,000 Mongols back to Georgia. However, with secret aid from Bagrat, his son George completely destroyed a Mongol army and released the king.

In the spring of 1387, Timur again invaded Georgia but could not force the Georgians to submission. News of a revolt in Persia and an invasion of Azerbaijan forced Timur to withdraw.

In 1389, on the death of Alexander of Imereti, Bagrat was able to reduce his successor to a vassal duke again.

He died in 1393, leaving the throne to his son George.

Family and children

George VII was Bagrat V's son with his first wife, Helena Megale Komnene, who died in 1366. In June 1367, Bagrat V married Anna Megale Komnene, daughter of Emperor Alexios III of Trebizond and Theodora Kantakouzene at Makriali Church in Lazia. She gave birth to four children:

• Constantine I
• David
• Tamar (subsequently wife of Prince Eles Baratashvili)
• Olympias (Ulumpia; subsequently wife of Kakhaber Chijavadze, Prince-Chamberlain of Georgia).

References

1. : At the Crossroads of Empires : 14th - 15th Century Eastern Anatolia. Andrew Peacock, Between Georgia and the Islamic World : The Atabegs of Samc'xe and the Turks, Istanbul, p. 55

Preceded by David IX	King of Georgia 1360–1393	Succeeded by George VII