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| Georgian-Seljuk wars |
| Didgori – Basian |
The Battle of Basian was fought between the Georgians and the Seljuk Turks of Rüm at the place of Basian, 60 kilometers northeast of the city of Erzurum (in modern Turkey) in 1203. Alarmed by the Georgia advances, Sultan Rukn ad-Din of Rüm allied himself with the neighbouring Seljuk rulers and marched to the southwestern borders of the Georgian Kingdom. Queen Tamar of Georgia sent her husband David Soslani with approximately 90,000 men to meet the enemy in the Basian region. The Georgian vanguard repelled the Seljuks desperate attacks and counterattacked successfully, but had to retreat being outnumbered threefold by the Sultan's reserve forces. Ultimately, the Georgian main forces repulsed Rukn ad-Din's offensive and crushed him decisively. Both sides lost several thousand men killed and wounded. The Sultan himself fled to Erzurum.
[edit] See also
Kingdom of Georgia
