Battle of Rakhsi
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| Battle of Rakhsi | |||||||
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| Part of the Georgian–Seljuk wars | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kingdom of Georgia | Seljuk Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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David IV | Unknown | ||||||
The Battle of Rakhsi or Araxes (Georgian: რახსის ბრძოლა) took place between the Kingdom of Georgia and the Seljuks in the Rakhsi (Araxes) river in 1118.
In 1118, Beshken II Jaqeli, a Georgian nobleman who ruled Javakheti, was killed by the Seljuks in Javakheti. The Georgian king, David IV, heard in Nakhiduri about the Seljuk invasion of Javakheti and the killing of Beshken Jaqeli. David refused to listen to his nobles’ advice to retreat and managed to avenge Beshken’s death by defeating the Seljuks in Rakhsi (Aras River) and massacring the Seljuk garrisons on the Aras in April 1118.[1]
Aftermath
David IV captured Lori in 1118. Since 1065, the city had been the capital of Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget, created by the Kiurikian dynasty. David IV annexed Lori with its surrounding territory to Georgia.[2] In July 1118, David IV captured Agarani in one day. Bagrat IV, David's grandfather, had taken three months to capture Agarani in the previous century.[3]