David the Builder Defeats Turks, Ushers in Golden Age

Since the 1080s the Kingdom of Georgia had been a tributary of the empire of the Seljuq Turks. In this dark time, known as the Great Turkish Onslaught (didi turkoba), young King David IV (left and below) decided he had had enough. He determined to bring order to the lawless land, reign in the unsubmissive feudal lords, centralize the state administration and build an army which could drive the Turks from Georgia and indeed the whole Caucasus.

While the Turks were dealing with the First Crusade, King David gathered his forces, consisting not only of ethnic Georgians but also Kipchak and Alan nomads and "Franks" from Western Europe. Between 1089 and 1100, King David organized cadres of loyal troops to restore order and destroy isolated enemy outposts. He resettled devastated regions, revived the major cities, ceased paying the annual tribute to the Seljuqs and stopped their seasonal migration into Georgia. (At the same time he rejected the Byzantine title of panhypersebastos, roughly translated "prince," indicating his refusal to be the vassal of any nation.)

In 1101 King David pushed further, capturing the fortress of Zedazeni, a strategic point for control of Kakheti and Hereti. David began to penetrate deeply into Seljuq territory, as far as the Araxes Basin and the Caspian littoral, disrupting Turkish trade throughout the region. In June of 1121 he began laying siege to Tbilisi, an ancient Georgian city which had been under foreign rule for centuries.

Sultan Mahmud II of the Seljuqs did not look kindly upon King David's attempts to liberate his country and the sultan launched a major counteroffensive, lead by his brother and several leading officials of the empire. Islamic, Georgian, Armenian and Western European sources vary in their accounts, but all agree that the Seljuq army numbered somewhere between 200,000 and 600,000. King David’s had a mere 40,000 Georgians, 15,000 Kipchaks, 500 Alans and 100 Western "Franks." For every one man in his camp there was somewhere between three and ten in the enemy camp.

On August 12, 1121, an advanced party of 200 of David's men surprised the Turks and the king then fell with the bulk of his forces upon the flanks of the sultan's army. In a three hour battle at Didgori, the Seljuq forces were defeated, leaving behind large amounts of booty as they fled.

The victory at the Battle of Didgori broke the enemy's back and the next year King David captured the city of Tbilisi. According to one Georgian chronicler, it became "forever an arsenal and capital for his sons." Though David at first dealt harshly with the Muslims of Tbilisi, the Arab historian al-'Ayni records that he eventually relented and "respected the feelings of the Muslims more than Muslim rulers had done."

When he later went on to liberate Armenian lands from the Turks as well, he was given the title "Sword of the Messiah." In addition to his political and military skills, King David was also a writer, penning the Galobani sinanulisani ("Hymns of Repentance"), free-verse poetry.

King David died on January 24, 1125, and was buried at the Gelati Monastery (whose ceiling is pictured above). As he requested, he was buried under the stones of the gatehouse, so anyone coming to visit would first step on his tomb, an act of great humility from such an accomplished man.

A friend of the church and a promoter of Christian culture, David the Builder was canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church.

The modern flag of Georgia began as the standard of King David and the Order of David the Builder is one of the most prestigious decorations awarded by Georgia. President Mikheil Saakashvili took his oath of office at the tomb of King David.

Memorial at Didgori

Tbilisi Builds New Cathedral

The Tbilisi Holy Trinity Cathedral is commonly known, even in the West, as "Sameba" from the Georgian სამება,"Trinity." It is the seat of the Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church.

In May of 1989 the Patriarch, in conjunction with the civil authorities in Tbilisi, announced an international contest to build a new cathedral, to mark the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Christ and the 1,500th anniversary of the autonomy (technically called "autocephaly") of the Georgian church. In a two-stage selection process the design of Archil Mindiashvili was selected from among hundreds. On November 23 (St. George's Day), 1995, the cornerstone was laid and exactly nine years later the church was consecrated by Catholicos Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II and representatives of fellow Orthodox churches from around the world. Also in attendance were political leaders and religious figures from non-Orthodox communities.

The new cathedral is a synthesis of traditional Georgian architectural styles from a variety of periods in Georgian history. The church is cruciform in layout with nine chapels, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, Saint Nino, Saint George, Saint Nicholas, the Twelve Apostles, each of the three Archangels and All Saints. The interior paintings are currently being done by a team of artists under the direction of Amiram Goglidze.

Sameba Cathedral is not only the primary building of the Georgian Orthodox Church, but also the largest church in the south Caucuses and among the largest Orthodox churches in the world. The complex also includes a freely-standing bell-tower, the Patriarch's residence, a monastery, a seminary, theological academy and several workshops.

Patron Saint Comes Bearing Grapevines

The Grapevine Cross ("Jvari Vazisa" or ჯვარი ვაზისა in Georgian), also known as Saint Nino's cross, is a major symbol of the Georgian Orthodox Church, and dates back to the 4th century AD, when Christianity became the official religion of the ancient Georgian kingdom of Iberia, thanks to the missionary work of St. Nino.

Legend has it that Nino received the Grapevine Cross from the Virgin Mary and bound it together with her own hair. This was the cross Nino brought with her when she came to evangelize the Georgians. The Grapevine Cross is recognizable by its slightly drooping horizontal arms.

Tradition holds that the original cross of St. Nino was kept at the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (see right) in Mtskheta until 541. During the Persian invasions, it was taken to Armenia and stayed there until David the Builder recovered the Armenian city of Ani from the Muslims in 1124 and returned the cross to Mtskheta. In the 14th century King Vakhtang III enshrined the cross in a special reliquary, decorated with scenes from the life of St. Nino. During subsequent Persian and Ottoman invasion, the cross was taken to the Gergeti Trinity Church, then to Ananuri (seen below) in highland Georgia, and eventually to Moscow. In 1801, the Georgian emigre prince George Bagration presented it to Tsar Alexander I who returned it to Georgia in 1802 after Georgia's incorporation into the Russian Empire. Since then, the cross has been kept in the Sioni Cathedral in Tbilisi.