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History of Georgia |
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The collapse of the Georgian realm (Georgian: ქართული სახელმწიფოს დაშლა, romanized: kartuli sakhelmts'ipos dashla) was a political and territorial fragmentation process that resulted in the dynastic triumvirate military conflict of the Bagrationi monarchs and war of succession in the united Kingdom of Georgia culminating during the second half of the 15th century.
The fragmentation of the unified realm started in the 13th century during the Mongol invasions that resulted in the establishment of de facto independent Kingdom of Western Georgia led by King David VI Narin and his successors, even though several reunifications would take place that will bring back monarchy united in fold.
Nevertheless, the reunification came up to be ephemeral as the fragmentation would escalate through dynastic triarchy. Championed under the reign of King George VIII, it continued under Bagrat VI and Constantine II and included the entire country, with clashes all around the realm. The dynastic war began in the 1460s following the separatist pushes of the Principality of Samtskhe, leading to a series of conflicts between the central Kartli-based government of Tbilisi and royal contenders in Imereti and Kakheti. For three decades, Georgia was impoverished and weakened. In 1490, a peace was concluded following the formal division of the unified kingdom of Georgia into three independent kingdoms, thus ending a monarchy that had existed since 1008.
The conflict took place during the major geopolitical changes in the Near East, including the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453 and the rise of the Ottoman Empire. Simultaneously, the Timurid and Turkoman invasions would result severe political divisions within Georgia that would speed up the fragmentation of the kingdom.