Levan of Kakheti
Levan | |
---|---|
Dynasty | Bagrationi dynasty |
Father | George II of Kakheti |
Mother | Elene Cholokashvili |
Religion | Georgian Orthodox Church |
Khelrtva |
Levan (
from 1518/1520 to 1574. He presided over the most prosperous and peaceful period in the history of the Kakhetian realm.Levan's presumed tomb was discovered in the south-western corner of the Gremi church in 2021.[1]
Biography
He was the son of
Having secured the crown, Levan forced the highlanders of eastern Georgia into submission and established friendly relations with the Shamkhal of Tarki in Dagestan. In 1521, he mounted an expedition against Hassan-Bey, the ruler of Shaki in Shirvan, took the city and had Hassan executed. Shaki was under the patronage of Iran, and when Ismail I marched against Kakheti, Levan's courage began to fail. He officially accepted the shah's suzerainty and agreed to pay tribute. He reaffirmed his loyalty to the new shah, Tahmasp I, in 1541, and even helped him subdue rebellious Shaki in 1551.
In the 1555
Levan, then, attempted to counterbalance the Iranian hegemony by enlisting the
In general, Kakheti remained a peaceful country during Levan's reign. Flanked by the
Levan died in 1574, being survived by five sons among whom a violent dispute over succession soon broke out. According to the 18th-century Georgian historian Prince
Family
Levan was married twice; first to Tinatin Gurieli (died 1591), daughter of Mamia I Gurieli, Prince of Guria. She gave birth to at least two sons:
- Alexander II of Kakheti (1527–1605)
- Jesse (Isa-Khan) (d. 1580)
Levan divorced Tinatin in 1529 and married a daughter of Kamal Kara-Musel, Shamkhal of Tarki. They were the parents of:
- Prince George (c. 1529 – 6 April 1561)
- Prince Nikoloz (died 1591), Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia (1584–89)
- Prince El-Mirza (c. 1532 – 1580)
- Prince Konstantine (c. 1532 – 1549)
- Prince Vakhtang (born before 1549)
- Prince Erekle (born before 1549)
- Prince Bagrat (before 1549 – 1568)
- Prince David (born before 1553)
- Prince Teimuraz (born before 1558 – 1568)
- Prince Khosro (fl. 1568)
- Princess Elene (died 1550), married, in 1544, to Erekle, son of Bagrat Mukhran-Batoni, 1st Prince of Mukhrani.
- Princess Nestan-Darejan (fl. 1556–1612), married King Simon I of Kartli.
- Princess Ketevan (fl. 1559–1597), married the nobleman Vakhushti Gogibashvili; retired to the Akura monasteryin 1597.
- Princess Tekle (fl. 1597–1603). She was a nun at a nunnery at the Alaverdi monastery and had an amorous affair with Prince Baram Cholokashvili, Bishop of Alaverdi. When the affair was revealed, the catholicos Domentius II excommunicated the couple, who sought refuge in Imereti. King Alexander II later allowed them to return to Kakheti and marry c. 1603.[5]
References
- ^ "King Levan of Kakheti tomb uncovered in Georgia's east". Agenda.ge. 2 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ Later, Jesse returned to Christianity and attempted to escape to his homeland, but was arrested and put in the Alamut prison. He died in 1580.
- ISBN 0-253-20915-3
- Вахушти Багратиони (Vakhushti Bagrationi) (1745). История царства грузинского. Возникновение и жизнь Кахети и Эрети. Ч.1 Archived 2010-09-05 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed October 5, 2007.
- ^ Kacharava, Eka (2010). "ალავერდელ მღვდელმთავართა ქრონოლოგია. XVII ს. (ნაწ. I)" [Chronology of the Prelates of Alaverdi. 17th century (Part 1)]. Analebi. 4: 121–152.