| George IV გიორგი IV | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Fresco of George IV Lasha | |||||
| King of Georgia | |||||
| Reign | 18 January 1213 – 18 January 1222/23 | ||||
| Coronation | 1207 as co-king | ||||
| Predecessor | Tamar | ||||
| Successor | Rusudan | ||||
| Born | 1191/4 Tabakhmela | ||||
| Died | 18 January 1222/23 (aged 31) Bagavan | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouse | Velistsikhian Aznauri's daughter[1] | ||||
| Issue | David VII (illegitimate) | ||||
| |||||
| Dynasty | Bagrationi | ||||
| Father | David Soslan | ||||
| Mother | Tamar of Georgia | ||||
| Religion | Georgian Orthodox Church | ||||
| Khelrtva |  | ||||
George IV (Georgian: გიორგი IV, romanized: giorgi IV) , also known as Lasha Giorgi (Georgian: ლაშა გიორგი, romanized: lasha giorgi) [2](1191–1223), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a king (mepe) of Georgia from 1213 to 1223.
Some medieval sources characterize George IV as a wise ruler and brave warrior, while others point to his immoral lifestyle and addiction to mysticism and even Sufism.
A son of Queen Regnant Tamar and her consort David Soslan, George was declared as a coregent by his mother in 1207. According to the Georgian chronicles the second name Lasha meant 'illuminator of the world' in the language of Apsar (cf. a-lasha meaning light in Abkhaz language).[3] He had princely domain in Javakheti, centered at Alastani, for which he was known by the title of javakht' up'ali, i.e., "the Lord of the Javakhians" as suggested by a type of silver coins struck in his name.[4]
After Tamar's death, George IV became the ruler of Kingdom of Georgia, George continued Tamar's policy of strengthening of the feudal Georgian state.
The feudal lords supporting George were Sargis Tmogveli, Shalva and Ivane Akhaltsikheli, Sula Surameli, Botso and Memna Jaqeli. Lasha's opponents were Ivane I Mkhargrdzeli and Varam Gageli.
At Tamar's death, the atabeg of Ganja stopped to pay tribute, King George called Darbazi – the supreme royal council – where he proposed punishing the atabeg of Ganja immediately. The nobles approved a campaign and with an ample army George IV set out to ravage Ganja. The Georgian army under Ivane Mkhargrdzeli immediately sent troops to Ganja and enforced Georgian suzerainty by besieging, instead of storming the city. George lost patience with his generals’ decision, detached 4,000 men from the siege force and circled Ganja. The Ganja garrison realized George’s vulnerability: 10,000 well-armed men left the citadel and attacked. The ensuing fighting, although the Georgians won, caused heavy casualties, atabeg of Ganja agreed to pay tribute again.[5][6]
The economy of Georgia's vassal states suffered from inflation in the 1210s. The nineteen lines inscribed on the stone block of the new ruined church of Ani record the head of the Georgian Church, Catholicos Epiphanes, a condyophysite layman. The fees for baptism, marriage and burial increased three times and reached 100 Tbilisi's drams, priests also demanded a banquet or a whole cow hide. The clergy refused to accept less, the laity boycotted the church. Epiphanes ordered the fess to be reduced by two-thirds: any extra should be within the layman's means. If this inflation was general, it explains the reluctance of Armenian cities to pay taxes to Tbilisi. Unlike in the east, where the Khwarazmians blocked Georgia from action, in the south the Georgian army could enforce its will.[7]
In 1219 George campaigned against Erzurum, Nakhchivan and Khlat and forced them to pay annual tribute, George once again confirmed the Georgian dominance in Anatolia and Iran.[7][8]
Innocent III had managed to secure the participation of the Kingdom of Georgia in the Crusade.[9] Tamar of Georgia led the Georgian state to its zenith of power and prestige in the Middle Ages. Under her rule, Georgia challenged Ayyubid rule in eastern Anatolia. In the late 1210s, according to the Georgian chronicles, George began making preparations for a campaign in the Holy Land to support the Franks.[10]
The first Mongol expedition defeated two Georgian armies in 1221–1222 and left through the Inner Caucasus. Georgians suffered heavy losses in this war, and the King himself was severely wounded, His plans for the Fifth Crusade were cut by the invasion of the Mongols.
King George IV went to Bagavan, Armenia, to secure his sister's marriage to the Shah of Shirvan and ensure her succession.[11] But at the age of 31, he died prematurely due to complications from his wound in Bagavan.[8] He was succeeded by his sister Rusudan. George was buried at Gelati monastery.
The nobles and Christian clergymen rejected his wife and failed to recognize her as queen. She was a girl from a family of commoners. Ultimately, the King had to compromise and divorced her formally, refusing, however, to marry anyone else.
