Timur's Campaign Against Georgia (1386–1387)

Timeline

1. 1386Dariel Pass · GeorgiaOn the pretext that Georgian King Bagrat V had supported his arch-enemy Tokhtamysh, Timur led a great army north from the Iranian Plateau, crossing the Caucasus Mountains via passes including Dariel, entering Georgia's northern and eastern borderlands and beginning the systematic conquest of the country.
2. 1386Tbilisi · GeorgiaTimur's army besieged the Georgian capital Tbilisi, and the defenses fell under the fierce assault. The city was sacked, many churches and buildings destroyed, and large numbers of inhabitants captured or displaced. Bagrat V fled elsewhere around the time the city fell and was unable to organize an effective counterattack to recover the capital.
3. 1386–1387Georgia · GeorgiaUnder military pressure Bagrat V was forced to submit to Timur, promising tribute and sending his son George (later George VII) as a hostage; Georgian nobles' sons were also conscripted into Timur's campaigns. In 1387 Timur continued fighting in the Caucasus and Anatolia; Georgia nominally retained its royal house but in reality became a vassal, its independence and church resources long-term damaged.