The Battle of Basiani was fought between the armies of the Kingdom of Georgia and the Seljukid Sultanate of Rum in the Basiani Valley, 60 km north-east of the city of

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. It is the site of an ...

in what is now northeast

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. The date of the battle has been debated, but recent scholarship tends to favor the years 1203 or 1204. According to modern Turkish historians, the site of the battle is usually identified as the castle of Micingerd (Mazankert).

Date

According to the contemporary

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

chronicler Ibn Bibi, the battle took place in 598 AH (October 1, 1201 – September 19, 1202). Modern scholars date the battle variously between 1202 and 1206: 1202, 1203, 1203/1204, 1204, 1204/1205, 1205, 1206 but in recent times preference has been given to around 1203, or between 1202 and 1204.

Background

At the end of the 12th century, the Sultanate of Rum plunged into chaos due to Turkmen raids,

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

and fierce power struggles among the descendants of Kilij Arslan II (1156–1192). In 1197, Rukn ad-Din Suleiman Shah, the fifth son of Kilij Arslan II, captured Konya and forced his brother Kaykhusraw I to leave the country and go into exile in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. Rukn ad-Din began a policy of expansion, challenging

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion () was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' continued to be used as a n ...

, Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and Kingdom of Georgia, uniting much of

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

under his rule. The rise of the Georgian kingdom under King David IV the Builder continued under the reign of Queen Tamar, who managed to defeat a large

coalition at the Battle of Shamkor in 1195. Alarmed by Georgia's success, Sultan Rukn ad-Din Suleiman Shah, gathered the Muslim Anatolian beyliks against Georgia. The interests of Georgia and the Sultanate of Rum clashed on the southern coast of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

, where both sought to take advantage of Byzantine weakness and establish their own footholds. Sultan Rukn ad-Din prepared for war to weaken the power of

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Georgia and to conquer it. Between 1201 and 1203, Rukn ad-Din with detachments under the command of his brother, Mughis ad-din Tughril Shah of Elbistan, Mengujekid Bahram Shah of Erzincan, possibly with the help, of the Harput Artuqids as well as local Turkmen warriors, captured

and replaced the vassal of Georgia, Saltuk, with his brother Mughisuddin Togrul Shah. Rukn ad-Din's messenger delivered letters to Tamar, demanding surrender and threatening extermination of disobedient

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

. Stating that "every woman is simple-minded...you...simple-minded queen...murderer and tax collector of

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

." Tamar's first response was polite: "You rely on gold and numerous warriors, I... on the power of God". The ambassador also transmitted an oral afterword: Rukn ad-Din would make Tamar his wife if she accepted

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, otherwise he would make her his concubine. Zakaria II Mkhargrdzeli hit the ambassador, and told him: "If you were not an ambassador, it would be proper to cut out your tongue first and then cut off your head" and pointed to the expectation of Rukn ad-Din's divine judgement carried out by

Georgians Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and Peoples of the Caucasus, Caucasian ethnic group native to present-day Georgia (country), Georgia and surrounding areas historically associated with the Ge ...

Battle

The Georgian army, numbering 65,000–90,000 troops, was ready for battle within ten days, and as soon as Rukn ad-Din's envoy left, it entered the battlefield under the command of David Soslan. It was composed of Zakaria and Ivane Mhargrdzeli, Shalva and Ivane Akhaltskheli, and other famous commanders. "The Story of Queen Tamar" describes how the army assembled in

Vardzia Vardzia ( ka, ვარძია ) is a cave monastery site in southern Georgia (country), Georgia, Rock cut architecture, excavated from the slopes of the Erusheti Mountain on the left bank of the Kura (Caspian Sea), Kura River, thirty kilometre ...

before moving to battle, and how Tamar addressed the troops from the balcony of the church. As Tamar's chronicle states, "Tamar herself walked at the head of her troops, barefoot, with her face washed with tears." Rukn ad-Din gathered his troops: he was helped by his brother-in-law, the

Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

of Erzincan, but he was let down by

, who remembered that he was a vassal of Georgia. According to Muslim (Arabic and Turkish) sources he had 400,000 troops. Their numbers vary from 150,000 to 400,000 troops. Summoning his allies, Rukn ad-Din's massive army moved towards the borders of Georgia and encamped near Basiani. The Georgian army was deployed strategically, with western ( Abkhaz- Imereti) and eastern ( Kartli, Hereti and Kakheti) units on the sides and a substantial force in the centre of 40,000 warriors under the command of Shalva and Ivane Akhaltsikheli, with Zakaria II Mkhargrdzeli commanding the vanguard. During the night, the

first made a surprise attack with their advance group and caused confusion among the enemy troops. The Sultan managed to gather his forces and counterattack, but his army was surprised by coordinated flank attacks that defeated his troops. Rukn ad-Din's forces fought so determinedly that the Georgian horsemen had to fight on foot and faced defeat until other Georgian regiments led by David Soslan struck from the flank and surrounded the Turks. Historian Ibn Bibi blamed the Rukn ad-Din's standard bearer's horse, which slipped and fell, for starting the rumour of Rukn ad-Din's death and demoralising his army. Aksaray attributes the defeat to the Seljuks being ambushed, whereas, the Georgian chronicle emphasises the courage of the Georgian soldiers and God's help, although it admits that the Georgians were almost defeated at one point.

Aftermath

The battle of Basiani inflicted heavy casualties on both sides. Rukn ad-Din was forced to retreat back to

and the

captured the battle banners. Many of the Sultan's allies were captured by the Georgians, among them the

of Erzincan, an ally of the Sultan. In the "Historical Collection", Armenian historian Vardan Areveltsi boasts that

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

"filled Georgia with captivity and plundering Turks". In fury for attacking a former vassal, Queen Tamar ordered that Emir of Erzincan (Bahramshah) be sold into slavery for the price of one iron horseshoe. The victory at Basian secured the Georgian advantage in the region. Using her success in this battle, Queen Tamar annexed Arran and Dvin, also subjugated the

Emirate An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalent ...

of Kars, the Shah-Armenids and the emirs of Erzurum and Erzincan. Despite the defeat, Tughril Shah, brother of Sultan Rukn ad-Din, retained control of

. However, later in 1206, the

captured recalcitrant cities of Erzurum and Kars. After the victory, Archbishop Anton Gnolistavisdze, acquired an Arabic medical treatise, which he translated into Georgian, creating the "Book for Doctors" (Tsigni saakimoi), one of the earliest works of Galenic medicine in Georgia.

References

Sources

* D.

Ivane Javakhishvili Ivane Alexandres dze Javakhishvili ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილი; 23 April 1876 – 18 November 1940) was a Georgian historian and linguist whose works heavily influenced the Kartvelian studies, modern scholarship of the ...

, (1983), ქართველი ერის ისტორია (''History of Georgian Nation'')

Tbilisi: Georgia, USSR. * * Giorgi Melikishvili, Melikishvili, Giorgi ''et al.'' (1970), საქართველოს ისტორიის ნარკვევები (''Studies in the History of Georgia'')
Vol. 2.
Tbilisi: Sabch’ota Sakartvelo. * Osman Turan, ''Selçuklular Zamaninda Türkiye'', Istanbul, 1971 * V. Dondua ''et al.'' (transl., 1985), Жизнь царицы цариц Тамар (The Life of the Queen of Queens Tamar)

by N. Berdzenishvili. Tbilisi: ''Metsniereba'' * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Basiani 1202 Battles involving the Sultanate of Rum Conflicts in 1202 13th century in the Kingdom of Georgia 1202 in Asia Battles of the Georgian–Seljuk wars Battles involving the Alans