towards Saltuk. In 1154 he planned a plot and formed a secret alliance with the Demetrius I. While a Georgian army waited in ambush, he offered tribute to Saltukids, ruler of Erzerum and asked the latter to accept him as a vassal. In 1153-1154 Emir Saltuk II marched on Ani, but Shaddad informed his suzerain, the King of Georgia, of this. Demetrius marched to Ani, defeated and captured the emir. At the request of neighbouring Muslim rulers and released him for a ransom of 100,000 dinars, paid by Saltuk's sons in law and Saltuk swore not to fight against the Georgians he returned home. In 1156 the Ani's Christian population rose against the emir Fakr al-Din Shaddad, and turned the town over to his brother Fadl V. But Fadl, too, apparently could not satisfy the people of Ani, and this time the town was offered to the George III of Georgia, who took advantage of this offer and subjugated Ani, appointing his general Ivane Orbeli as its ruler in 1161. A coalition of Muslim rulers led by Shams al-Din Eldiguz, ruler of Adarbadagan and some other regions, embarked upon a campaign against Georgia in early 1163. He was joined by the Shah-Armen Sökmen II, Ak-Sunkur, ruler of Maragha, and others. With an army of 50,000 troops they marched on Georgia. The Georgian army was defeated. George had no choice but to make peace. Eldiguz, a resurgent atabeg of Azerbaijan handed the city over to Shahanshah on terms of vassalage. The Shaddadids, ruled the town for about 10 years, but in 1174 King George took the Shahanshah as a prisoner and occupied Ani once again. Ivane Orbeli, was appointed governor of the town. In 1175 the southern provinces of Georgia were again overrun by a united Muslim host. This marked the beginning of another long struggle for Ani. The chronicles do not allow the reconstruction of any coherent picture of this struggle, but we can assume that the town and region frequently changed hands. The Georgians captured Ani four times; 1124, 1161, 1174 and 1199. The first three times, it was recaptured by the Shaddadids. In the year 1199, Georgia's Queen Tamar captured Ani, she granted the city to the Armeno–Georgian Mkhargrzeli family. Shaddadid rulers Emirs in Dvin and Ganja Muhammad (951–54) Lashkari I (971–78) Marzuban (978–85) Fadl I (985–1031) Abu'l-Fath Musa (1031–34) Lashkari II (1034–49) Anushirvan (1049) Abu'l-Aswar Shavur I