Timur's Campaign Against Georgia (1399)

Timeline

1. 1399Alinja fortress · AzerbaijanGeorge VII led Georgian and Caucasian allied forces against Timur's army besieging Alinja, rescuing Jalairid prince Tahir and others; Abu Bakr, son of Miran Shah, arrived with reinforcements and was again defeated by the Georgians, providing the direct trigger for Timur's retaliatory campaign.
2. 1399Samarkand · TransoxianaNews of the defeat at Alinja reached Timur, then campaigning in India; after ending the Delhi expedition he returned north to Samarkand, assembled 100,000 picked troops, and allied with Shirvan's ruler Ibrahim I, planning the final conquest or destruction of Georgia.
3. 1399Kura River crossing · GeorgiaTimur's army built pontoon bridges to cross the Kura River, moving stealthily to avoid outposts, and made a surprise attack on Kakhi and Hereti; Georgian commander Shimesh delayed the enemy with guerrilla tactics, and most of the population fled into forests and caves, yet Timur's forces still burned and plundered extensively.
4. 1399Kakhi · GeorgiaTimur's forces burned churches and monasteries, hunted down hidden inhabitants, and carried out mass massacres and enslavement; southern Georgia became an occupied zone of Timur. This battle was one in the series of Timur's seventh invasion of Georgia, and the kingdom was gravely weakened.