Wikipedia's first sentence called it “fought between the georgians and seljuk turks at didgori valley sixteen kilometers northwest of tbilisi in east”. Today it says “fought between the armies of the kingdom of georgia and the seljuk empire at the narrow place of didgori”. Sections present on October 6, 2023 no longer exist: “Prelude”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
Battle of Didgori was fought between the Georgians and Seljuk Turks at Didgori Valley sixteen kilometers northwest of Tbilisi in eastern Georgia on August 12 , 1121 . It ended in the greatest military victory in Georgian history. King David the Builder of Georgia had been gradually forcing the Seljuk garrisons out of his kingdom, having recaptured the Seljuk -held fortresses of Zedazeni ( 1103 ), Samshvilde ( 1110 ), Rustavi ( 1115 ), Gishi ( 1117 ) and Lore ( 1118 ). The Kingdom of Georgia had been making intensive preparations for a decisive battle aimed at liberating the Arab -held city of Tbilisi . Muhammed Tapar (reigned in 1117 - 1131 ) called upon all Muslims of the Near East to unite against Georgia in 1121 . The Seljuk coalition army of 300,000-strength under Artuklu Ilgazi invaded the southwestern provinces of the Georgian Kingdom and reached Didgori Valley in mid- August 1121 . The Sultan’s brother Turgul, the Melik of Ganja , Atabeg Gundogdu, and Dubeys b. Sadaka were among the coalition commanders. King David the Builder’s army consisted of 40,000 Georgians , 15,000 Kipchak auxiliaries, 500 Alan mercenaries and 300 French Crusaders . The Georgian generals encamped in the deep forest and blocked the passage of the gorge to prevent their soldiers’ retreat. The two armies clashed on August 12 , 1121 . King David sent 200 cavalrymen to the enemy’s camps. They pretended to be renegades and attacked suddenly as they reached the center of the enemy’s camps. Meanwhile, the Georgians’ main forces under David the Builder and his son Demetre (the future King Demetre I ) attacked the Seljuk flanks despite being vastly outnumbered. The fierce, three-hour battle ended in a crushing victory of the Georgians. Myriads of the Seljuks were annihilated and many of the survivors were enslaved. After the battle, King David expelled the remaining Seljuk garrisons from the country and reconquered Tbilisi after heavy fighting in 1122 . The victory at Didgori marked the beginning of the Georgian golden era. In commemoration of the 1121 victory, an impressive memorial monument was erected at the place of Didgori in the early 1990s . The Georgian national festival "Didgoroba" (“the Day of Didgori”) is celebrated annually on September 2 . King David the Builder ’s appeal to his warriors just before the battle (according to the French knight and historian, Galterius ): "... If we fight with abandon, defending the faith of our Lord, we shall not only overcome countless servants of Satan, but the Devil himself. I will only advise you one thing that will add to our honor and our profit. And raising our hands to Heaven we will all swear to our Lord that in the name of love to Him, we will rather die in the battlefield than run ....”1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 17272553.
The opening as it stood in 2010 24 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
The Battle of Didgori ( Georgian : დიდგორის ბრძოლა ) was fought between the armies of the Kingdom of Georgia and the crumbling Great Seljuq Empire at the place of Didgori , 40 km west of Tbilisi , the modern-day capital of Georgia , on August 12, 1121.The battle resulted in King David IV of Georgia ’s decisive victory over a Seljuk invasion army under Ilghazi and the subsequent reconquest of a Muslim-held Tbilisi, which became the royal capital.The victory at Didgori inaugurated medieval Georgia’s " Golden Age " and is celebrated in the Georgian chronicles as a "miraculous victory" (ძლევაჲ საკვირველი, dzlevay sakvirveli ), while modern Georgians continue to remember the event as an annual September festival known as Didgoroba ("[the day] of Didgori").
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 367353474.
The opening as it stood in 2015 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
The battle resulted in King David IV of Georgia ’s decisive victory over a Seljuk invasion army under Ilghazi and the subsequent reconquest of a Muslim-held Tbilisi, which became the royal capital. The victory at Didgori inaugurated the medieval Georgian Golden Age and is celebrated in the Georgian chronicles as a "miraculous victory" (ძლევაჲ საკვირველი, dzlevay sakvirveli ). Modern Georgians continue to remember the event as an annual September festival known as Didgoroba ("[the day] of Didgori"). Alexander Mikaberidze, Miraculous Victory:’ Battle of Didgori, 1121 , Published: May 14, 2008;" The size of the Muslim army is still a matter of debate with numbers ranging from a fantastic 800,000 men (“Bella Antiochena”, Galterii Cancelarii), 600,000 Turks (Matthew of Edessa) to 400,000 (Smbat Sparapet’s Chronicle) while the estimates of modern Georgian historians vary between 100,000-250,000 men.The Making of the Georgian Nation .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 659711326.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
The Battle of Didgori was fought between the armies of the Kingdom of Georgia and the Great Seljuq Empire at the narrow place of Didgori, 40 km west of Tbilisi , on August 12, 1121.The large Muslim army, under the command of Ilghazi , was unable to maneuver, and suffered a devastating defeat due to King David IV of Georgia ’s effective military tactics.The battle at Didgori was the culmination of the entire Georgian-Seljuk wars , and led to the Georgians’ reconquest of Tbilisi in 1122.Soon after that David moved the capital from Kutaisi to Tbilisi.The victory at Didgori inaugurated the medieval Georgian Golden Age and is celebrated in The Georgian Chronicles as a ( Georgian : ძლევაჲ საკვირველი dzlevay sak'virveli lit. the " miraculous victory "). Modern Georgians continue to remember the event as an annual September festival known as Didgoroba ("[the day] of Didgori"). Alexander Mikaberidze , Miraculous Victory:’ Battle of Didgori, 1121 , Published: May 14, 2008;" The size of the Muslim army is still a matter of debate with numbers ranging from a fantastic 800,000 men (“Bella Antiochena”, Galterii Cancelarii), 600,000 Turks (Matthew of Edessa) to 400,000 (Smbat Sparapet’s Chronicle) while the estimates of modern Georgian historians vary between 100,000-250,000 men. The Making of the Georgian Nation .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 960641939.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
The Battle of Didgori ( Georgian : დიდგორის ბრძოლა , romanized : didgoris brdzola ) was fought between the armies of the Kingdom of Georgia and the Seljuk Empire at the narrow place of Didgori, 40 km west of Tbilisi , on August 12, 1121. The large Muslim army, under the command of Ilghazi , was unable to maneuver and suffered a devastating defeat due to King David IV of Georgia 's effective military tactics. The battle at Didgori was the culmination of the entire Georgian–Seljuk wars and led to the Georgians' reconquest of Tbilisi in 1122. Soon after that David moved the capital from Kutaisi to Tbilisi. The victory at Didgori inaugurated the medieval Georgian Golden Age and is celebrated in The Georgian Chronicles as a ( Georgian : ძლევაჲ საკვირველი dzlevay sak'virveli lit. the " miraculous victory "). Modern Georgians continue to remember the event as an annual August 12 festival known as Didgoroba ("[the day] of Didgori").Investigation of Communist takeover and occupation of the non-Russian nations of the U.S.S.R .Nomads in the Sedentary World .The Caucasus – An Introduction (Routledge Contemporary Russia and Eastern Europe) (1st ed.).Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia .Geschichte Georgiens (Handbook of Oriental Studies.Section 8 Uralic & Central Asi) (German ed.).Historical Dictionary of Georgia (2nd ed.).Georgia in the 11th–12th Centuries (1st ed.).The Crusades: An Encyclopedia 4 Volume Set . Alexander Mikaberidze , Miraculous Victory:’ Battle of Didgori, 1121 , Published: May 14, 2008;" The size of the Muslim army is still a matter of debate with numbers ranging from a fantastic 800,000 men (“Bella Antiochena”, Galterii Cancelarii), 600,000 Turks (Matthew of Edessa) to 400,000 (Smbat Sparapet’s Chronicle) while the estimates of modern Georgian historians vary between 100,000–250,000 men. The Making of the Georgian Nation .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1178565604.
The opening as it stood in 2025 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
The Battle of Didgori ( Georgian : დიდგორის ბრძოლა , romanized : didgoris brdzola ) was fought between the armies of the Kingdom of Georgia and the Seljuk Empire at the narrow place of Didgori, 40 km west of Tbilisi , on August 12, 1121. The large Muslim army, under the command of Ilghazi , was unable to maneuver and suffered a devastating defeat due to King David IV 's effective military tactics. The battle at Didgori was the culmination of the entire Georgian–Seljuk wars and led to the Georgians' reconquest of Tbilisi in 1122. Soon after that David moved the capital from Kutaisi to Tbilisi. The victory at Didgori inaugurated the medieval Georgian Golden Age and is celebrated in The Georgian Chronicles as a ( Georgian : ძლევაჲ საკვირველი dzlevay sak'virveli lit. ' miraculous victory ' ). Modern Georgians continue to remember the event as an annual August 12 festival known as Didgoroba ( ' [the day] of Didgori ' ). Investigation of Communist takeover and occupation of the non-Russian nations of the U.S.S.R . Nomads in the Sedentary World . The Caucasus – An Introduction (Routledge Contemporary Russia and Eastern Europe) (1st ed.). Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia . Geschichte Georgiens (Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 8 Uralic & Central Asi) (German ed.). Georgia in the 11th–12th Centuries (1st ed.). The Crusades: An Encyclopedia 4 Volume Set . Alexander Mikaberidze , Miraculous Victory:’ Battle of Didgori, 1121 , Published: May 14, 2008;" The size of the Muslim army is still a matter of debate with numbers ranging from a fantastic 800,000 men (“Bella Antiochena”, Galterii Cancelarii), 600,000 Turks (Matthew of Edessa) to 400,000 (Smbat Sparapet’s Chronicle) while the estimates of modern Georgian historians vary between 100,000–250,000 men. The Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa ."Artuk Oğlu İlgazi." TTK Belleten , XXVI (104), PAGE 684. The Making of the Georgian Nation .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1297171645. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “fought between the georgians and seljuk turks at didgori valley sixteen kilometers northwest of tbilisi in east”. Today it says “fought between the armies of the kingdom of georgia and the seljuk empire at the narrow place of didgori”. Sections present on October 6, 2023 no longer exist: “Prelude”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
fought between the georgians and seljuk turks at didgori valley sixteen kilometers northwest of tbilisi in east
Now
fought between the armies of the kingdom of georgia and the seljuk empire at the narrow place of didgori
Sections that no longer exist
Present on October 6, 2023, absent today, with no near-matching heading in the current article and the article shorter overall, so this is not a renamed heading or a topic absorbed into a fuller treatment. 1 section of 400 characters or more gone since October 6 2023, with the article 2,005 characters shorter.
Prelude
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.