Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti
Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti ქართლ-კახეთის სამეფო | |||||||||||||||
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1762–1801 | |||||||||||||||
King | | ||||||||||||||
• 1762–1798 | Heraclius II (first) | ||||||||||||||
• 1798–1800 | George XII (last) | ||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||
• Unification of Kingdom of Kartli and Kingdom of Kakheti | 1762 | ||||||||||||||
• De jure submission to the Zand dynasty | 1762-1763 | ||||||||||||||
July 24, 1783 | |||||||||||||||
1795 | |||||||||||||||
• Annexation to the Russian Empire | December 18, 1800 | ||||||||||||||
• Ratification of Russian Annexation | September 12, 1801 | ||||||||||||||
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Today part of | Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia Russia |
Part of a series on the |
History of Georgia |
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The Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti (Georgian: ქართლ-კახეთის სამეფო, romanized: kartl-k'akhetis samepo; 1762–1801[2][3]) was created in 1762 by the unification of the two eastern Georgian kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti. From the early 16th century, according to the 1555 Peace of Amasya, these two kingdoms were under Iranian control. In 1744, Nader Shah granted the kingship of Kartli to Teimuraz II and that of Kakheti to his son Heraclius II, as a reward for their loyalty.[4] When Nader Shah died in 1747, Teimuraz II and Heraclius II capitalized on the instability in Iran proper, and declared de facto independence. After Teimuraz II died in 1762, Heraclius succeeded him as ruler of Kartli, thus unifying the two kingdoms.
Heraclius was able, after centuries of Iranian suzerainty over Georgia, to guarantee the autonomy of his kingdom throughout the chaos that had erupted following Nader Shah's death. He became the new Georgian king of a politically united eastern Georgia for the first time in three centuries. Though Heraclius tendered his de jure submission to the newly established Zand dynasty quickly after the unification in 1762, the kingdom remained de facto autonomous for the next three decades to come. In 1783, Heraclius signed the Treaty of Georgievsk with the Russian Empire, by which he formally laid Kartli-Kakheti's investiture in the hands of the Russian monarch, and made the kingdom a Russian protectorate. Amongst others, this provided the nominal guarantee for protection against new Iranian attempts, or by any others, to (re)conquer or attack eastern Georgia. By the 1790s, a new strong Iranian dynasty, the Qajar dynasty, had emerged under Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, which would prove pivotal in the history of the short-lived kingdom.
In the next few years, having secured mainland Iran, the new Iranian king set out to reconquer the Caucasus and to re-impose its traditional suzerainty over the region. After Heraclius II refused to denounce the treaty with Russia and to voluntarily reaccept Iran's suzerainty in return for peace and prosperity for his kingdom, Agha Mohammad Khan invaded Kartli-Kakheti, captured and sacked Tbilisi, effectively bringing it back under Iranian control. This was short-lived, however, for Agha Mohammad Khan was assassinated two years later. Heraclius II himself died a year after that.
The following years, which were spent in confusion, culminated in 1801 with the official
History
After Nader Shah's death in 1747, Heraclius II and Teimuraz II capitalized on the eruption of chaos in mainland Iran. In the ensuing period Heraclius II made alliances with the
Seeking to remain independent, but also realizing that he would need a foreign protector with regard to his kingdom's foreign policy, King Heraclius II concluded the Treaty of Georgievsk with Russia in 1783, resulting in the transfer of responsibility for defense and foreign affairs in the eastern kingdom,[2] as well as importantly, officially abjuring any dependence on Iran or any other power.[5] However, despite these large concessions made to Russia, Heraclius II was successful in retaining internal autonomy in his kingdom.[2]
Heraclius II's "curiously ambivalent position" in these decades is reflected in the coins issued by him in his realm.[7] Silver coins were struck with the name of Ismail III on it, or with the Zand-style inscription ya karim ("O Gracious One"), whereby an epithet to God was invoked, which actually referred to Karim Khan Zand.[7] These coins were minted in Tbilisi up until 1799 – some twenty years after Karim Khan Zand's death.[7] In the same decades, the copper coins struck at Tbilisi bore three types of iconography; Christian, Georgian, "and even" Imperial Russian (such as the double-headed eagle).[7] By minting the silver coins with a reference to Karim Khan Zand on it they were usable for trade in Iran, whereas the copper coins, struck for only local use, reflected Heraclius II's political orientation towards Russia.[7]
Court and reign
While Heraclius II's court maintained a certain Persian-type pomp, and he himself dressed in the Persian style as well, he launched an ambitious program of "Europeanization" which was supported by the Georgian intellectual élites; it was not overwhelmingly successful however, because Georgia remained physically isolated from
Qajar invasion
In the last few decades of the 18th century, Georgia had become a more important element in
The consequences of these events came a few years later, when a new dynasty, the Qajars, emerged victorious in the protracted power struggle in Iran. Qajar shah, Agha Mohammad Khan, as his first objective,[11] resolved to bring the Caucasus again fully under the Iranian orbit. For Agha Mohammad Khan, the re-subjugation and reintegration of Georgia into the Iranian Empire was part of the same process that had brought
Finding an interval of peace amid their own quarrels and with northern, western, and central Persia secure, the Iranians demanded Heraclius II to renounce the treaty with Russia and to re-accept Persian suzerainty,[11] in return for peace and the security of his kingdom. The Ottomans, Iran's neighboring rival, recognized the latter's rights over Kartli and Kakheti for the first time in four centuries.[12] Heraclius appealed then to his theoretical protector, Empress Catherine II of Russia, asking for at least 3,000 Russian troops,[12] but he was ignored, leaving Georgia to fend off the Iranian threat alone.[13] Nevertheless, Heraclius II still rejected the shah's ultimatum.[14]
Agha Mohammad Khan subsequently crossed the Aras River, and after a turn of events by which he gathered more support from his subordinate khans of Erivan and Ganja, he sent Heraclius a last ultimatum, which he also declined, but, sent couriers to St. Petersburg. Gudovich, who sat in Georgievsk at the time, instructed Heraclius to avoid "expense and fuss",[12] while Heraclius, together with Solomon II and some Imeretians headed southwards of Tbilisi to fend off the Iranians.[12]
With half the number of troops Agha Mohammad Khan had crossed the Aras river, he now marched directly upon Tbilisi, where it commenced into a huge battle between the Iranian and Georgian armies. Heraclius had managed to mobilize some 5,000 troops, including some 2,000 from neighboring Imereti under its King Solomon II. The Georgians, hopelessly outnumbered, were eventually defeated despite stiff resistance. In a few hours, the Iranian king Agha Mohammad Khan was in full control of the Georgian capital. The Persian army marched back laden with spoil and carrying off thousands of captives.[13][15][16]
By this, after the conquest of Tbilisi and being in effective control of eastern Georgia,
Aftermath and absorption into the Russian Empire
Reestablishment of Iranian rule over Georgia was short-lived this time, and the next few years were years of muddling and confusion. In 1797, Agha Mohammad Khan was assassinated in his tent in
The resulting dynastic upheaval prompted King George to secretly invite Paul I of Russia to invade Kartli-Kakheti, subdue the Bagrationi princes, and govern the kingdom from St. Petersburg, on the condition that George and his descendants be allowed to continue to reign nominally – in effect, offering to mediatise the Bagrationi dynasty under the Romanov emperors.[20] Continued pressure from Persia, also prompted George XII's request for Russian intervention.[21]
Paul tentatively accepted this offer, but before negotiations could be finalized, he changed his mind and issued a decree on December 18, 1800 annexing Kartli-Kakheti to Russia and deposing the Bagratids.[3] Paul himself was assassinated shortly thereafter. It is said that his successor, Emperor Alexander I, considered retracting the annexation in favor of a Bagratid heir, but being unable to identify one likely to retain the crown, on September 12, 1801 Alexander proceeded to confirm annexation.[3] Meanwhile, King George had died on December 28, 1800, before learning that he had lost his throne. By the following April, Russian troops took control of the country's administration and in February 1803 Tsarevich David Bagrationi was escorted by Russian troops from Tbilisi to St. Petersburg.
As it was impossible for Iran to give up Georgia, which had made part of the concept of Iran for centuries like the rest of its Caucasian territories,
Kings
- Heraclius II (1762–1798)
- George XII (1798–1800)
References
- ISBN 9783319054131.
- ^ a b c
Eur, Imogen Bell (2002). Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia 2003. Taylor & Francis. p. 170. ISBN 1-85743-137-5.
- ^ a b c Encyclopædia Britannica, "Treaty of Georgievsk", 2008, retrieved 2008-6-16
- ^ Suny 1994, p. 55.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hitchins 1998, pp. 541–542.
- ^ Perry 1991, p. 96.
- ^ a b c d e Perry 2006, pp. 108–109.
- ^ a b Fisher et al. 1991, p. 327.
- ^ Mikaberidze 2011, p. 327.
- ^ a b c d e f Fisher et al. 1991, p. 328.
- ^ a b Mikaberidze 2011, p. 409.
- ^ ISBN 1780230702p 255
- ^ a b Lang, David Marshall (1962), A Modern History of Georgia, p. 38. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
- ISBN 0-253-20915-3
- ^ P.Sykes, A history of Persia, Vol. 2, p.293
- ^ Malcolm, Sir John (1829), The History of Persia from the Most Early Period to the Present Time, pp. 189-191. London: John Murray.
- ^ ISBN 0141903414
- ^ Fisher, William Bayne (1991). The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 7. Cambridge University Press. pp. 128–129.
(...) Agha Muhammad Khan remained nine days in the vicinity of Tiflis. His victory proclaimed the restoration of Iranian military power in the region formerly under Safavid domination.
- ^ a b c d Fisher et al. 1991, p. 329.
- ISBN 0-85011-029-7
- ^ Tsagareli, A (1902). Charters and other historical documents of the XVIII century regarding Georgia. pp. 287–288.
Sources
- Fisher, William Bayne; Avery, P.; Hambly, G. R. G; Melville, C. (1991). The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 7. Cambridge: ISBN 0521200954.
- Hitchins, Keith (1998). "EREKLE II". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. VIII, Fasc. 5. pp. 541–542.
- Mikaberidze, Alexander (2011). Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1598843361.
- Perry, John (1991). "The Zand dynasty". The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 7: From Nadir Shah to the Islamic Republic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 63–104. ISBN 9780521200950.
- Perry, John R. (2006). Karim Khan Zand. Oneworld Publications. ISBN 978-1851684359.
- ISBN 978-0253209153.
External links
Media related to Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti at Wikimedia Commons