Ivane I, Duke of Kldekari

Who is Ivane I, Duke of Kldekari?

Ivane I, Duke of Kldekari was an 11th-century Georgian general and duke of Kldekari, Argveti, and Orbeti-Samshvilde of the House of Liparitid-Baguashi from 1059 to 1080/89.

Ivane was the son of Liparit IV, Duke of Kldekari, who posed a serious challenge to the power of the Bagratid kings of Georgia. Ivane participated in his father’s struggle against King Bagrat IV whose eventual victory in the 1050s forced Liparit and his family into exile in the Byzantine Empire. Ivane's brother, Niania, had already departed for Ani where he died in the Byzantine service. Ivane likewise offered his service to the imperial administration, being appointed by the emperor Isaac I governor of the city of Erez in the province of Archamouni, near Theodosiopolis. Ivane capitalized on the withering Byzantine control of eastern Anatolia in the wake of Seljuk attacks and civil tumults to enlarge his fiefdom and occupied two fortresses, Olnout and Khabtzitzin, arresting the imperial official and expropriating much of the imperial treasury in the latter town. He then marched to Theodosiopolis and, once refused entry, laid siege to the city. He had to withdraw when the Byzantine governor of Ani sent an army to its relief, but stuck a deal with the Seljuks and led a marauding raid into the theme of Chaldia.