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17 - Georgia and the Caucasus

from Volume I Part 3 - Views from the Edges

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

By
Lorenzo Pubblici
Edited by
Michal Biran  and
Hodong Kim
Michal Biran
Affiliation:
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hodong Kim
Affiliation:
Seoul National University
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Summary

The Mongols embarked on an explorative incursion in the Caucasus in 1220 before fully invading the area in 1235–1236. Due to their organized and well-thought-out campaign, in a few years they managed to subdue the region from present-day Armenia to Ossetia. From the beginning of their rule, the Mongols relied upon an indirect administrative model, without replacing the pre-existing institutions of the area. The formation of the Ilkhanate in the 1250s moved the focal point of power southward and the political conduct of Caucasia became more indirect and relied on the local aristocracy. The decline of the Ilkhanate in the 1330s opened a process of political readaptation whose more immediate result was the fragmentation of power and the disappearance of a hegemonic center. This chapter discusses the phases of the Mongol conquest, as well as the huge consequences it had for Caucasia.

Keywords

medieval CaucasusCaucasiaKingdom of GeorgiaGreater ArmeniaCiliciaBlack SeaMongolsMongol Empire
Type
Chapter
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The Cambridge History of the Mongol Empire , pp. 707 - 733
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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