Kingdom of Kakheti-Hereti

Kingdom of Kakheti-Hereti
1014–1104
Georgian
Religion	Orthodox Christianity Sunni Islam (temporary)
Government	Prince-Bishopric (787–1010) Feudal Monarchy (1010–1104)
Prince-Bishop
• 787-827	Grigol (first)
• 976-1010	David (last)
King
• 1010-1037	Kvirike III (first)
• 1102-1104	Aghsartan II (last)
History
• Monarchy is established	1014
• incorporation of Hereti	1020s
• vassal of Seljuk Empire	1080s
• annexed to Kingdom of Georgia	1104
Preceded by Succeeded by Principality of Iberia Kingdom of Hereti Kingdom of Georgia Kingdom of Kakheti
Today part of	Azerbaijan Georgia Russia

Part of a series on the
History of Georgia
Prehistoric Georgia Trialeti culture Colchian culture Diauehi Mushki
Ancient history Colchis Aryan Kartli Kingdom of Iberia Pharnavazid dynasty Georgia in the Roman era Artaxiad dynasty of Iberia Campaign of Pompey Iberian–Armenian War Lazica Arsacid dynasty of Iberia Sasanian Iberia Chosroid dynasty Christianization of Iberia
Middle Ages Iberian War Lazic War Principality of Iberia Umayyad invasion of Georgia Arab rule in Georgia Emirate of Tbilisi Duchy of Tao Duchy of Klarjeti Bagrationi dynasty Kingdom of Hereti Kingdom of the Iberians Kingdom of Abkhazia Theme of Iberia Duchy of Kldekari Unification of the Georgian realm Kingdom of Georgia Duchy of Racha Kingdom of Kakheti-Hereti Byzantine–Georgian wars Great Turkish Invasion Georgian–Seljuk wars Georgian Golden Age Mongol invasions of Georgia Kingdom of Georgia (1256–1329) Kingdom of Western Georgia Armenia within the Kingdom of Georgia Timurid invasions of Georgia Turkoman invasions of Georgia Duchy of Aragvi Collapse of the Georgian realm
Early modern history Duchy of Ksani Samtskhe-Saatabago Kingdom of Kartli Kingdom of Kakheti Kingdom of Imereti Principality of Guria Principality of Svaneti Principality of Mingrelia Principality of Abkhazia Safavid Georgia Childir Eyalet Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti
Modern history Georgia since 1991 Russo-Georgian War
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The Kingdom of Kakheti-Hereti (

Grigol was succeeded by Vache (son of John Kvabulisdze). Vache's successor Samuel (839–61) was elected as a prince by the Gardabani a nobility who dominated the politics of Kakheti at the time. He allied with the Arab emir of Tbilisi, Ishaq ibn Isma'il, in the revolt against the Caliphate and hence Kakheti became targeted by the Arab punitive expeditions led by Khalid b. Yazid (840–42), allies pushed first Khalid bin Yazid, then his son Muhammad, back into Arran. The next Arab punitive expedition led by Bugha the Turk (853–54), managed to kill the emir of Tbilisi, but lost the battle to the Kakhetians, and retreated.

In contrast to his predecessor, Gabriel was at enmity with the Arab emir of Tbilisi, Gabuloc' who dispossessed him of the district of Gardabani. He was succeeded by Padla I (r. 881–93) of the Arevmaneli clan. There is another opinion saying that Padla I, the first Arevmaneli prince was a descendant of Grigol and therefore he was Bagratid too. During his rule, Padla succeeded in recovering the district of Gardabani. Kakheti befriended the emirate of Tbilisi: they both rejected the caliphate's authority. His successor Kvirike I forged an alliance with Constantine III of Abkhazia against his eastern neighbor Hereti, a principality in the Georgian-Albanian marchlands. The allies invaded Hereti and divided its major strongholds, with the Ortchobi fortress being allotted to Kakheti.

Kvirike I was succeeded by his son

Padla II was succeeded by his son Kvirike II. whose reign was spent in a continuous struggle against the expansionism of the kings of Abkhazia who ruled over a significant portion of western and central Georgia and aimed at conquering Kakheti. Subversively aided by the rebellious Kakhetian nobles, George II of Abkhazia even succeeded in dispossessing Kvirike of his principality in the 930s. Kvirike II soon recovered the crown in 957 and successfully resisted the attempts of George's successor Leon III to gain a foothold in Kakheti. After Leon's death during one of his incursions into Kakheti II (969), Kvirike capitalized on the dynastic feud in the Kingdom of Abkhazia to reassert his full authority and even expand his possessions to the west. In 976, Kvirike II invaded Kartli (central Georgia), captured the city of Uplistsikhe and took captive the Georgian Bagratid prince Bagrat who was intended by his powerful foster-father David of Tao to seat on the thrones of Iberia and Abkhazia. In response, David marshaled an army to punish Kvirike and forced him to withdraw from Kartli and release Bagrat, who would later inherit Kingdom of Georgia and proceed to press a claim to Kakheti and annexed it in or around 1010, after two years of fighting and aggressive diplomacy.

The last ruler bearing the title of chorepiscope was David and the following rulers are already titled as "The king of Kakheti and Hereti".

Establishment of the Kingdom

Hereti and declared himself King of Kakheti and Hereti. He made Telavi his capital and constructed a palace at Bodoji near Tianeti

. As a result of his administrative reforms, the kingdom was subdivided into seven duchies: Rustavi, Kveteri, Pankisi, Shtori, Vejini, Khornabuji and Machi. Under Kvirike III, the kingdom experienced a period of political power and prosperity.

In the beginning the kings of Kakheti were allies of Georgian kings in fights against foreign aggressors. In 1022, Kvirike III sent reinforcement to George I of Georgia against the Byzantine Empire, however they were defeated. In 1027, Kvirike joined the combined armies of Bagrat IV of Georgia led by Liparit Baguashi and Ivane Abazasdze, Emir Jaffar of Tiflis, and the Armenian King David I of Lori against the Shaddadid emir of Arran, Fadhl II, who was decisively defeated at the Eklez River. Around 1029, Kvirike III defeated an invasion force led by the Alan king Urdure who had crossed the Caucasus Mountains into Kakheti and ravaged Tianeti. Urdure was killed in battle.^[2] At the zenith of his power and prestige, Kvirike was assassinated while hunting in 1037/39. According to the Georgian historian Vakhushti, this was done by Kvirike's Alan slave who sought to avenge for the death of King Urdure. On Kvirike's death, Kakheti was temporarily annexed to the Kingdom of Georgia.^[3][4]

The last Arevmaneli ruler, Kvirike III had died without male heir and his sister's son

Hereti, Gagik allied himself with Liparit in the 1046-47 rebellion against Bagrat IV and achieved more or less stable control of his territories. He was succeeded by his son Aghsartan I, whose reign coincided with the Seljuk invasions in the Georgian lands

and persistent attempts by the Georgian Bagratid kings to bring all Georgian polities into their unified realm.

In 1068, Aghsartan submitted to the Seljuk sultan

Malik Shah I. However, when George II made peace with the sultan early in the 1080s, the latter recognized the king of Georgia as the only legitimate master of Kakheti and gave him a Seljuk force to conquer the region. George, at the head of a combined Georgian-Seljuk army, laid a siege to the Kakhetian fortress of Vezhini, but failed to take it and withdrew. Aghsartan immediately seized the opportunity to pledge his loyalty to the Seljuks, went to Malik Shah and embraced Islam

, thus winning a Seljuk protection against the aspirations of the king of Georgia.

Aghsartan I died in 1084, and was succeeded by his son

Hereti

, and handed over to King David IV of Georgia who finally annexed the kingdom to Unified Georgian realm. Henceforth the territory of the Kingdom of Kakheti was divided into several administrative units. These administrative units were the Duchy of Kakheti, the Duchy of Hereti, Khornabuji bank and the "Land of Arishini".

Rulers

Prince-Chorbishops

• Grigoli (787-827)
• Vache (827-839)
• Samuel (839-861)
• Gabriel (861-881)
• Padla I (881-893)
• Kvirike I (893-918)
• Padla II (918-929)
• Kvirike II (929-976)
• David (976-1010)
• Kvirike III (1010-1037)

Kings

• Kvirike III (1010-1037)
• Gagik (1037-1058)
• Aghsartan I (1058-1084)
• Kvirike IV (1084-1102)
• Aghsartan II (1102-1104)

Literature

• Muskhelishvil, D. Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia, V, p. 448, Tbilisi, 1980 (in Georgian)
• Lortkipanidze M, Mukhelishvili D, Metreveli R. History of Georgia, Vol. 2 - Georgia in the IV-XIII centuries. Tbilisi, 2012. (in Georgian)
• Акопян A. В., Варданян А. Р. Монеты Квирике III, царя Кахети и Эрети. В сб.: Семнадцатая Всероссийская нумизматическая конференция. Москва. Пущино. 22-26 апреля 2013. Тезисы сообщений и докладов. М.: Триумф принт, 2013. С. 43–44.

References

1. ^ [1] www.zeno.ru; Kwirike III King of Kakhet‛i (1014–1037/39); https://www.academia.edu/3931227/Coins_of_Kvirike_III_king_of_Kakheti_and_Hereti
2. ^ Kvachantiradze, Eka (2012). "Urdure" (PDF). Caucasus in Georgian Sources: Foreign States, Tribes, Historical Figures. Encyclopedical Dictionary. Tbilisi: Favorite. p. 376. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-20.
3. ^ Toumanoff, Cyrille (1976, Rome). Manuel de Généalogie et de Chronologie pour le Caucase chrétien (Arménie, Géorgie, Albanie).
4. Вахушти Багратиони."Вахушти Багратиони. История царства грузинского. Возникновение и жизнь Кахети и Эрети. Ч.1". Archived from the original on September 5, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link
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