THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE IN THE KINGDOM OF GEORGIA’S FOREIGN POLICY IN THE 11th CENTURY

The end of the 10th century and the early 11th century marked an important beginning for the political affairs of the Kingdom of Georgia. At the beginning of the 11th century, the unification of the Kingdom of Georgia and the Kingdom of Abkhazia by the Bagrationi Dynasty made Georgia an important player in its region after a long time. The completion of this political formation was initiated by Bagrad III and took place towards the end of the 10th century. In this period, the Caucasus occupied an important place in Byzantine foreign policy. The influence of the Byzantine Empire on Georgia, as a knock-on effect, influenced the South Caucasus in general. In the first half of the 11th century, the Byzantine Empire was an important vector in Georgian foreign policy but it was the Turks, who influenced Georgian foreign policy fundamentally in the second half of the same century. In domestic politics, Georgia was busy in recovering its order and resolving disputes created by its feudal lords. Liparit, a member of the Georgian aristocrat Bagvashi family, received support from the Byzantine Empire in order to gain power in the Kingdom of Georgia. The Byzantine Empire’s policy of dominating Transcaucasia was facilitated by Liparit’s ambitions and his cooperation with the Empire. In the light of a wide range of sources, this article is an attempt to examine relations between the Kingdom of Georgia and the Byzantine Empire in the context of the policies of Bagrat IV and Liparit. This period in history is significant because Alp-Arslan’s military campaigns towards Georgia came after this political epoch of Transcaucasia.