Sheki Area During the Invasion of the Georgian Czar David the Builder

At the end of the 11th century, the Abkhaz-Kartli Czar David the Builder was able to restore his country’s power and regain the self-confidence of the people in the fight against strangers. According to the Georgian source, David the Builder stopped paying tribute to the Sultan of Seljuk in 1097, and the Seljuks could no longer spend the winter in Kartli. This meant the elimination of Abkhaz-Kartli Czar’s dependence on Sultan. David the Builder, who put an end to supremacy of the Seljuks in the country, had begun serious preparations to seize neighboring states, especially the Tiflis Muslim Emirate, Sheki (Hereti-Kakheti) realm and the Shirvanshahs state.The Sheki realm, which emerged as the legitimate successor of Albania after the fall of the Caliphate and occupied the title of the “Albanian Czar”, existed for about 230 years, in 886-1104. The territory of the Sheki realm, covering the areas from the Kur River to the north from Gabala to Telavi, was extended to the Aragvi River in the west after the political unification with the Kakheti prince in 1014. Among other feudal states (Sajids, Salaris, Ravvadis, Shirvanshahs, Shaddadis) emerged in Azerbaijan at that time, the Sheki realm was distinguished by majority of Christian population.After the first local military campaigns against the Sheki realm in 1101, David the Builder was able to capture the territory of the Sheki realm with the help of some local feudal groups of Sheki in 1104-1117. The Abkhaz-Kartli czar, David the Builder began to exacerbate the Seljuks outside his home country and to force Ganja Atabey to military intervention on Sheki. But in the Ertsukhi battle, David the Builder was able to win his first big victory over the Seljuks. After the occupation, David the Builder added the title of “the Czar of Rans / Albanians and Kakhs” to his title “the Czar of Abkhazes and Kartvels. In Muslim sources, he is mentioned as “the Czar of Czars of Abkhaz, Sheki, Alan...” As a result of David the Builder’s invasive campaigns, the Sheki realm emerged on the territory of North-West Azerbaijan and existed for more than 230 years fell and was added to the Abkhaz-Kartli czardom, which included two military-administrative districts: Sheki / Heretian eristavrate and Kakheti eristavrate. David the Builder incorporated large armies from the peoples of the former Sheki realm (in the source Hers and the Kakhs) into his armies