Everything about Emirate Of Tbilisi totally explained
The
Emirs of Tbilisi ruled over the parts of today’s
eastern Georgia from their base in the city of
Tbilisi, from
736 to
1080 (nominally to
1122). Established by the
Arabs during their invasions of Georgian lands, the
emirate was an important outpost of the
Muslim rule in the
Caucasus until recaptured by the Georgians under King
David IV in 1122. Since then, the city has been the capital of Georgia to this day.
History
The
Arabs first appeared in Georgia, namely in
Kartli (
Caucasian Iberia of the Classic authors), in
645. It was not, however, until
735, when they succeeded in establishing their firm control over a large portion of the country. In that year,
Marwan II took hold of Tbilisi and much of the neighbouring lands and installed there an Arab
emir, who was to be confirmed by the
Caliph of Baghdad or, occasionally, by the
Wali of
Armīniya.
During the Arab period, Tbilisi (
al-Tefelis) grew into a center of trade between the
Islamic world and
northern Europe. Beyond that, it functioned as a key Arab outpost and a buffer province facing the
Byzantine and
Khazar dominions. Over time, Tbilisi became largely
Muslim, but the Islamic influences were strictly confined to the city itself, while the environs remained largely
Christian.
Tbilisi was a large city with a strong double wall pierced by three gates. It lay on both banks of the
Kura River, and the two parts were connected by a bridge of boats. The contemporary geographers especially mention its thermal springs, which supplied the baths with constant hot waters. On the river were water-mills. The houses were primarily built, to the surprise of contemporary Arab travelers, of pine wood. In the first half of the 9th century, Tbilisi is said to have been the second largest, after
Derbend, city in the
Caucasus, with its at least 50.000 inhabitants and thriving commerce.
As the
Caliphate weakened after the destruction of
Baghdad in
813, the
Abbasid power was much troubled by the secessionist tendencies among peripheral rulers, those of Tbilisi not excluded. At the same time, the emirate became a target of the resurgent Georgian
Bagratids who liberated several Georgian lands from the Arab grasp. The Emirate of Tbilisi grew in relative strength under
Is’hak bin Ismail (
833-
853), who was powerful enough to quell the energies of the Georgian princes and to contend the Abbasid authority in the region. He withheld his annual payment of tribute to Baghdad, and declared his independence from the Caliph. To suppress the rebellion, Caliph
al-Mutawakkil dispatched, in 853, a punitive expedition led by
Bugha al-Kabir al-Sharabi (also known as Bugha the Turk) who burned Tbilisi to the ground and had Is’hak decapitated, terminating the city’s chances to become the center of an independent Islamic state in the Caucasus. The Abbasids chose not to rebuild the city extensively, and as a result the Muslim prestige and authority in the region began to wane.
Beginning in the
1020s, the
Georgian kings pursued contradictive but generally expansionist policy against the emirs of
Tbilisi, this latter city coming sporadically under Georgian control. The territories of the emirate shrank to Tbilisi and its immediate environs. However, the
Seljuk invasions of the
1070s-
1080s thwarted the Georgian advances and deferred the Bagratid plans for nearly a half of a century. The last line of emirs of Tbilisi went back, presumably, to circa 1080, and the city’s government was run thereafter by the merchant oligarchy known to Georgian annals as
tbileli berebi, that is, the elders of Tbilisi.
David IV’s victories over the Seljuk Turks inflicted a final blow to Islamic Tbilisi, and a Georgian army triumphantly entered the city in
1122, ending the four hundred years of a foreign domination.
Rulers
Shuabid emirs of Tbilisi
- Ismail b. Shuab (the first known emir, r. until 813)
- Mohammed b. Atab (813-829)
- Ali b. Shuab (829-833)
- Is’hak b. Ismail b. Shuab (833-853)
Shaybanid emirs of Tbilisi
- Mohammed b. Khalil (853-870)
- Isa b. ash-Sheikh ash-Shayban (870-876)
- Ibrahim (876-878)
- Gabuloc (878-880)
Jaffarid emirs of Tbilisi
Jaffar I b. Ali (880-914)
Mansur b. Jaffar (914-952)
Jaffar II b. Mansur (952-981)
Ali b. Jaffar (981-1032)
Jaffar III b. Ali (1032-1046)
Mansur b. Jaffar (1046-1054)
Abu’l-Haija b. Jaffar (1054-1062) (the last known emir)
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