The Mongols make their first appearance in the Georgian possessions when this latter kingdom is still at its zenith, dominating most of the Caucasus.

First contact occurs early in the fall of 1220, when approximately twenty thousand Mongols led by Subutai and Jebe, with the consent of Genghis Khan, proceed west on a reconnaissance mission.

They thrust into Armenia, at this time under Georgian authority, and defeat some sixty thousand Georgians and Armenians commanded by King George IV "Lasha" of Georgia and his atabek (tutor) and spasalar (commander-in-chief) Iwane Mkhargrdzeli at the Battle of Khunan on the Kotman River.

George is severely wounded in the chest.

The Mongol commanders, however, are not inclined to conquer the Caucasus at that time and turn back south to Hamadan, only to return in force in January 1221.

The Mongols’ battle with the Georgians at Bardav (Pardav; modern-day Barda, Azerbaijan) is indecisive and the invaders withdraw to the Caspian Sea.

The Georgians have suffered heavy losses and the King himself has been severely wounded.

King George IV, who has become an invalid as a result of his wounds, dies prematurely at the age of 31.

The surprise attacks by the Mongols have left the Georgians in confusion as to the identity of their attackers: the record of one contemporary chronicler indicates that he is unaware of the nature of the attackers and does not mention them by name.

In 1223, when the Mongols have seemingly deferred their plans regarding Georgia, King George IV's sister and successor Queen Rusudan writes, in a letter to Pope Honorius III, that the Georgians had presumed the Mongols were Christians because they fought Muslims, but they had turned out to be pagans.