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The unification of the Georgian realm (Georgian: ქართული სახელმწიფოს გაერთიანება, romanized: kartuli sakhelmts'ipos gaertianeba) was the 10th-century political movement that resulted in the consolidation of various Georgian crowns into a single realm with centralized government in 1008, the Kingdom of Georgia, or Sakartvelo.[a] It was originally initiated by the powerful local aristocracy of the eristavs,[b] due to centuries-long power struggles and aggressive wars of succession between the Georgian monarchs, arising from their independent ruling traditions of classical antiquity and their Hellenistic-era monarchical establishments in Colchis and Iberia.[c]
The initiative was supported by David III the Great of the Bagrationi dynasty, the most powerful ruler in the Caucasus at the time, who would put prince royal Bagrat, his kin and foster-son, on the Iberian throne, who would eventually be crowned King of all-Georgia.[1] David's Bagratid successors would become the champions of national unification, just like the Rurikids or the Capetians,[2][3] but despite their enthusiasm, some of the Georgian polities that had been targeted for unification did not join the unification freely and would actively fight against it throughout this process, mostly seeking help and support from the Byzantine Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate. Even though the 1008 unification of the realm would unite most of western and central Georgian lands, the process would continue to the east, and eventually reach its total completion under King David IV the Builder.[4] This unprecedented political unification of lands[5] and the meteoric rise of Bagrationi power[6] would inaugurate the Georgian Golden Age and creation of the only medieval pan-Caucasian empire,[7] attaining its greatest geographical extent and dominating the entire Caucasus in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.[8]
The centralizing power of the crown started to weaken in the 14th century, and even though the tide turned back under King George V the Brilliant,[9] the reunification turned out to be short-lived; the unified realm would evaporate after invasions by the Mongols and Timur that would result in its total collapse in the 15th century.[10]