Battle of Alinja (1399)

The Battle of Alinja took place in 1399 at the Alinja Fortress, located in present-day Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan. King George VII of Georgia, seeking to break the siege laid by Timurid forces, led a coalition of Georgian and Caucasian allies to successfully relieve the fortress and defeat a Timurid reinforcement army. This victory, however, provoked a brutal retaliatory campaign by Timur, which devastated Georgia and the surrounding regions in the following years.

Battle of Alinja
Alinja Tower
Date 1399 Location Alinja Result Georgian victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Georgia	Timurid Empire
Commanders and leaders
George VII	Seif ad-Din Abu Bakr

Background

Since 1386, Timur had launched multiple invasions, devastating Georgia's cities, killing civilians, and forcing George VII into submission at various points. However, the Georgian king continued to resist Timurid dominance.^[1]

Since 1388, the Timurids had laid siege to the Jalayirids at Alinja. During a brief lull in the siege, Tahir, the son of Ahmad Jalayir, ruler of the Jalayirid Sultanate,^[2] arrived to strengthen the defenses of the fortress.^[3] In 1396, Timur appointed Miran Shah as the governor of Azerbaijan and tasked him with the siege of Alinja.^[3][4] Meanwhile, in 1398, Timur himself led a massive army to invade India.^[4] That same year, Miran Shah’s forces constructed a wall around Alinja, effectively severing all communication between the fortress and the outside world.^[3][4]

Battle

In 1399, George VII of Georgia attacked the Timurid army besieging the castle of Alinja. The Georgian army cut it way through the besiegers temporarily freeing the Jalayirid Prince Tahir and some of those inside the castle, while the Timurid general Seif ad-Din fled.^[5][2][6]

While the Georgian army was withdrawing from the castle, an army sent by Miran Shah under the command of Abu Bakr arrived and a battle broke out. As the Timurid army advanced the Georgians attacked, resulting in a Georgian victory. Abu Bakr retreated to Tabriz.^[6][1]