3 – David IV of Georgia – (1073 – 1125)
David IV of Georgia is also known as David the Builder and became king of Georgia in 1089. He is deemed to be Georgia’s greatest ever ruler and military commander and his feats helped start the Georgian Golden Age. As well as reforming the army to make it a formidable fighting force, David’s administrative skills helped unite the country and bring much of the territory in the Caucasus under his nation’s control.
He inherited a weakened kingdom when he took the throne. During the reign of George, the powerful Seljuk Turks invaded Georgia, and several provinces became depopulated. Ultimately, George had to sue for peace in 1083 as the nation became a tributary of the Turkish Sultan Malik-Shah I. Originally; it was assumed that David became king because his father died. However, some sources suggest that George abdicated to allow his son take the crown. George probably died in 1112, and while he held the royal title until his death, he took no part in the kingdom’s affairs.
Although David was only 16 when he became king, he was determined to revive the fortunes of his country. He sent small sets of troops around the kingdom to destroy enemy forces, and he prepared to take on the Turks. David had to deal with rebellious lords within Georgia and exiled one of the most powerful feudal lords in 1094. By the beginning of the 12th century, he stopped paying annual tribute to the Turks and began pushing them out of Georgian territory. He was helped by the fact that the Turks had to focus on the threat posed by the crusades.
His supporters took the province of Kakheti in 1104 and reunited it with the rest of the country. The following year, he routed a Seljuk army at Ertzukhi and took several key fortresses by 1118. He reformed the military, so every family had to provide at least one soldier, horse, and some weaponry. David’s greatest ever victory came at the Battle of Didgori in 1121. His army of around 56,000 men defeated a Turk army of at least 250,000. It was a stunning success and paved the way for further conquest. Tbilisi was taken in 1122, and within two years, the Seljuks had been driven out of Georgia. The so-called Sword of the Messiah died in 1125 after ensuring his nation was a major force in the region.