Duchy of Kldekari კლდეკარის საერისთავო
Duchy of theKingdom of Georgia
876–1184
Duchy of Kldekari in 10th century
Capital	Kldekari
Historical era	Middle Ages
• Established	876
• Disestablished	1184
Preceded by Principality of Tao-Klarjeti
Today part of	Georgia

TheDuchy of Kldekari (Georgian:კლდეკარის საერისთავო,romanized:k'ldek'aris saeristavo), sometimes also referred to asCounty of Trialeti was aduchy (saeristavo) within thekingdom of Georgia from 876-1184. Ruled by a powerful dynasty ofLiparitids-Baghuashi, the duchy existed in the south-western parts of modernKvemo Kartli province, and despite its small size, created problems for theBagrationi kings as they sought to bring all Georgian vassals and principalities into a unified state.

The duchy was established in 876 by Liparit I of the Baghuashi, who had been expelled by theAbkhazian kings from his fiefdom ofArgveti (in upperImereti).^[1] In their new fiefdom, the Liparitids accepted the suzerainty ofDavid I of Iberia, a Georgian Bagratid prince ofIberia based inTao-Klarjeti, and built a stronghold calledKldekari (Georgian:კლდე კარი;lit. the "rock gate", as this was a common naming scheme of border strongholds (see "Alan's gate") on astrategic mountain of theTrialeti Range to control the roads cut through the cliff connecting the regions of Eastern Georgia with the southern neighboring countries and theByzantine Empire. This area lay in the possessions of David’s kinsmanGuaram of Javakheti, and the move eventually led to a split among the Bagratids which concluded with the murder of David by his nephew (son of Guaram Mampali)Nasra in 881. In a civil war that ensued, Liparit supported David’s heir,Adarnase IV of Iberia, who was victorious and crowned, with the Armenian support, as King of the Iberians in 888. Thus, Liparit and his heirs secured a hereditary dukedom of Trialeti and Kldekari. They quickly rose in prominence, gaining more possessions and prestige and when, in the early 11th century, the Bagratid dynasty established theunified all-Georgian monarchy, the Liparitids were among its most powerful vassals and rivals.

In the mid-eleventh century, the Liparitid house reached the apogee of their might and remained, for a century, leaders of the feudality in its struggle against the growing power of the kings of Georgia. In 1047, one of the most illustrious representatives of the family,Liparit IV became a regent for the young Georgian kingBagrat IV in the early 1030s, and even succeeded in temporarily driving KingBagrat IV into the Byzantine territory. The kings of Georgia had to concede more possessions and titles to the family in order to pacify a series of the Liparitid rebellions. Subsequently, relations between the two men deteriorated and flared into an armed conflict. With the military support from theByzantine Empire, Liparit defeated Bagrat at theBattle of Sasireti in 1042, and became a virtual ruler of Georgia, but eventually was forced out by his own subjects in 1059. His son and heir,John, was allowed by the Georgian crown to succeed Liparit IV as a duke. In 1074, John revolted against KingGeorge II of Georgia and attempted to getSeljuk support. However, a Seljuk invasion force temporarily occupied the duchy and captured the ducal family.

David IV, a new and perhaps the most successfulking of Georgia, forced the Liparitid-Baghuashi into submission in 1093 and checked their subsequent attempts to revolt. In 1103, David took advantage of the death of the last Kldekarian duke Rati III and abolished the duchy by incorporating the area directly into the royal domain.

• Duchy of Aragvi
• Duchy of Racha
• Duchy of Ksani

• (in Georgian)"Duchy (Saeristavo) of Kldekari."

• States and territories established in the 870s
• States and territories disestablished in the 1180s
• Duchies of the Kingdom of Georgia
• Kvemo Kartli

• Articles with Russian-language sources (ru)
• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles containing Georgian-language text
• Articles with Georgian-language sources (ka)