Emirate of Tbilisi
Emirate of Tbilisi, an administrative-political unit established by the Arabs in Georgia (approx. 730s–1080s). The Emirate of Tbilisi was governed by an Arab official—the Emir (Amira). It constituted one of the districts of a large province of the Arab Caliphate, and the Emir of Tbilisi was subordinate to its Wali (Governor). The Emir was appointed directly by the Caliph. Initially, the Emirate encompassed all Eastern Georgia; accordingly, its rulers were often referred to as the "Emirs of Kartli."
Over time, the boundaries of the Emirate gradually became smaller. In the 9th–10th centuries, the northern border extended to the Digomi Valley; to the south, the fortresses of Birtvisi, Orbeti, and Partskhisi remained within the Emirate; to the west, it was bordered by Trialeti; and the eastern border primarily followed the Mtkvari River. Subordinate Arab emirs under the Tbilisi Emir were stationed in significant Eastern Georgian cities: Rustavi, Dmanisi, and Khunan.
In the late 8th and early 9th centuries, the Emirs of Tbilisi began a struggle to gain independence from the central authority of the Caliphate and to transform their brunch into a hereditary position. During the 8th and 9th centuries, Caliphs dispatched punitive expeditions to subdue rebellious emirs (e.g., the campaign of Buqha al-Kabir [Buqha the Turk] in 853; the campaigns of Khalid ibn Yazid). From the early 9th century until 853, the emirate was held by the House of Shuab. Ishaq ibn Ismail ibn Shuab (known in Georgian sources as Sahak) was defeated in 853 in battle against the Caliph’s general Buqa the Turk. Subsequently, representatives of the Shaban house held the title, followed by the Jaffarids from the 880s until the 1080s. The Jaffarids effectively seceded from the Caliphate’s central authority. Although Arab coinage in the Emirate was struck in the name of the Caliph, from the 940s, the Emirs included their own names alongside the Caliph’s on their coins, acknowledging only the supreme religious authority of the Caliph of Baghdad.
From the early 9th century, the Georgian kingdoms and principalities competed with the Emirate of Tbilisi to seize the inner regions of Georgia. In practice, the Emirate fought only to defend itself, and largely without success. It gradually lost its fortresses and lands. By the beginning of the 11th century, the territory of the Emirate was restricted to Tbilisi and its immediate surroundings, and the Emir fell under the influence of the King of Unified Georgia. Following the extinction of the Jaffarid line in the 1080s, power in Tbilisi passed to a local self-government body—the Elders of Tbilisi (Tbileli Berebi).
Literature: თბილისის საამირო, წგ.: საქართველოს ისტორიის ნარკვევები, ტ. 2, თბ., 1973; ლ ო რ თ ქ ი ფ ა ნ ი ძ ე მ., თბილისის საამიროს ისტორიიდან, «მიმომხილველი», 1951, № 2; ჯ ა ვ ა ხ ი შ ვ ი ლ ი ივ., ქართველი ერის ისტორია, წგ. 2, თბ., 1983 (თხზ. თორმეტ ტომად); ჯ ა ნ ა შ ი ა ს., არაბობა საქართველოში, შრომები, [ტ.] 2, თბ., 1952.
M. Lortkipanidze
