[3] In 1080, George II was surprised, in the vicinity of Queli, by a large Turkish force led by Aḥmad, probably of the Mamlān dynasty, whom the Georgian chronicle calls "a powerful emir and strong archer".

On June 24, 1080,[1] the half-nomadic Turks began to arrive en masse in the southern provinces of Georgia, quickly moving deeper into the country and overrunning Asispori, Klarjeti, Shavsheti, Adjara, Samtskhe, Kartli, Argueti, Samokalako, and Chqondidi.

[1] Watching his kingdom being destroyed, George II, in despair, repaired to Isfahan, to Malik Shah, who treated the Georgian monarch with much consideration and promised security from the nomads in exchange of a tribute (kharaj).

The Turks continued their seasonal movement into the Georgian territory to make use of the rich herbage of the Kura valley and the Seljuq garrisons occupied the key fortresses in Georgia's south.

George II attempted to make use of Malik Shah's favor to bend Aghsartan I, the recalcitrant king of Kakheti in eastern Georgia, into submission, but failed to achieve any result due largely to his contradictory actions.

[14][15] A string of military successes over the regional successors of the Seljuq empire was concluded by a major victory over the Muslim armies at Didgori in 1121, which made the Georgian kingdom a formidable power in the Caucasus and East Anatolia.