Kingdom of Kartli ქართლის სამეფო kartlis samepo | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1478–1762 | |||||||||
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 Kingdom of Georgia after dissolution as a unified state, 1490 AD | |||||||||
| Capital | Tbilisi 41°43′21″N44°47′33″E / 41.72250°N 44.79250°E /41.72250; 44.79250 | ||||||||
| Common languages | Georgian(numismatics)[1](chancery)[2] Persian(numismatics)[a][1](chancery)[2] | ||||||||
| Religion | Georgian Orthodox Church | ||||||||
| Government | Kingdom | ||||||||
| King | |||||||||
• 1478–1505 | Constantine II(first) | ||||||||
• 1744–1762 | Teimuraz II(last) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Early modern period | ||||||||
• Established | 1478 | ||||||||
• Vassal state ofPersia | 1555–1578;[b] 1612[c]–1723;[d] 1736–1747[6] | ||||||||
• Vassal state ofOttoman Empire | 1578–1612; 1723–1736[e][4] | ||||||||
• Union of Kartli andKakheti | 1762 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Armenia Georgia Russia Azerbaijan | ||||||||
TheKingdom of Kartli (Georgian:ქართლის სამეფო,romanized:kartlis samepo) was alate medieval andearly modernmonarchy ineasternGeorgia, centred on theprovince ofKartli, with its capital atTbilisi. It emerged in the process of atripartite division of theKingdom of Georgia in 1478 and existed, with several brief intervals, until 1762 when Kartli and the neighbouring Georgian kingdom ofKakheti weremerged through dynastic succession under the Kakhetian branch of theBagrationi dynasty. Through much of this period, the kingdom was a vassal of the successive dynasties ofIran, and to a much shorter periodOttoman Empire, but enjoyed intermittent periods of greater independence, especially after 1747.
From circa 1450, in theKingdom of Georgia rival movements arose among competing feudal factions within the royal house and nobility. These caused a high degree of instability across the entire territory of the kingdom. This period was characterised by feudal competition, separatism, and civil war.
Major disintegration of the Georgian kingdom dates from 1463 with the defeat ofGeorge VIII at theBattle of Chikhori by the rebellious noblemanBagrat.[7] The latter destroyed any outward vestige of Georgian national unity by proclaiming himself theKing of Imereti.[7] This move led to the beginning of the wholesale disintegration of the former united Georgian monarchy and state. This devolution was to be repeated in various forms for rest of the collective history of this region.
In the aftermath of his 1465 defeat, George VIII was captured byQvarqvare II Jaqeli, Prince ofSamtskhe (Meskheti).[8] Sensing an opportunity, Bagrat VI crossed the borders of East Georgia (innerKartli) and proclaimed himselfKing of all Georgia in 1466.
Qvarqvare, fearing that Bagrat was gaining too much power, released George VIII from captivity, but the deposed king was unable to reclaim his former crown. He only managed to proclaim himselfKing of Kakheti, a rump state. This leftLower Kartli to his nephew,Constantine, another pretender to the throne. Constantine established himself as a de facto ruler over part of Kartli in 1469, challenging Bagrat's hegemony.
Bagrat VI continued to rule Kartli until 1478, when he was again challenged by Constantine.
Alexander son of Bagrat VI retired to the mountainous western provinces ofRacha andLechkhumi, from which he tried to ascend the throne of Imereti. He summoned "Dadiani, Gurieli, Sharvashidze and Gelovani" to attend his coronation, but headed byVameq II Dadiani, the latter refused to support him and instead invited Constantine to Western Georgia.
With the help of the local dukes, Constantine took Kutaisi and briefly restored the integrity of Kartli with Western Georgia. In 1481, Constantine managed to subordinate Samtskhe and thus proclaimed himself King of All Georgia.
Rival factions, however, continued to struggle to gain the upper hand.
In 1483, Qvarqvare II declared war on Constantine anddefeated the royal forces at Ardeti. In 1484, the demoted former heir, Alexander, proclaimed himself king of Imereti (Western Georgia). Meanwhile, the new feudal overlord ofOdishi -Liparit II Dadiani invited Constantine II to West Georgia for a second time.
In 1487, Constantine went to Imereti, but had to abandon the campaign when in 1486 [date problem] a Turkmen chieftain,Yaqub b. Uzun Hasan invaded Kartli and the king was forced to deal with the threat his incursion posed.
Alexander took advantage of this and captured Kutaisi and restored his authority in Imereti. Next, the king of Kartli effected a temporary reconciliation with the kings of Kakheti and Imereti, and the prince of Samtskhe, thereby forming the outright long-term division of Georgia into petty kingdoms and principalities.
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These new realms were not long at peace. Soon after coming into power,George II of Kakheti launched an expedition against Kartli, intending to depose KingDavid X and conquer his kingdom. David's brother Bagrat successfully defended the kingdom and managed to capture George II in an ambush.
Peace did not survive long in the west either, as David X faced incursions from Alexander II of Imereti, who was somewhat less successful than his Kakhetian counterpart.
In 1513, the Kingdom of Kartli managed a short conquest of neighbouring Kakheti. In 1520, the Kingdom of Kakheti was restored with the support of local nobles byLevan of Kakheti, son and heir of George II.[9] In 1522/24, Safavid Shah Ismail invaded Kartli occupying Tbilisi to suppress David X's revolt.[10] It is believed the Iranians built a mosque in Tbilisi during this time.[10] Georgian-Persian bilingual documents were one outcome of the policy of compromises.[2] The 1540s saw the appearance of the first Persian documents in Georgia.[2] The Persian text was frequently appended to Georgian deeds of gift pertaining to estates and other matters, dating toKing Simon's reign.[2]
ThePeace of Amasya (1555) recognized Kartli, Kakheti, and eastern Samtskhe as Persian possessions, while everything to the west of it (i.e.Imereti, western Samtskhe) fell into Ottoman hands.[11] During the next 150 years, Kartli was under vassalage of successive dynasties of Persia,[11] while more than 40 years this Georgian Kingdom was under suzerainty of Ottoman Empire.[12] It regularly paid tribute and sent gifts (pīškeš) to the shah and sultan[f] in the form of boys and girls for use as slaves; horses; and wines, thereby losing its true sovereignty.[14]
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In 1632, Rostom Khan, the illegitimate son ofDavid XI (Daud Khan), was appointed as king/wali of Kartli.[g] Rostom, who had converted to Islam and previously had taken the name Khosrow Mirza, imported Persian language and culture into Kartlian administration and daily life.[16] During his reign, Kartli experienced a growth in prosperity and trade, along with restoring damaged regions. Under Rostom, Kartli had a policy of religious tolerance, which included subsidized repairs to churches and monasteries, and the building of new mosques.[16] Rostom died 17 November 1658 and was buried inQom, Safavid Empire.[16]
In 1747, theShah of Persia,Nader Shah was assassinated. Capitalizing on this instabilityTeimuraz II and his sonHeraclius II, who had been given the kingship of Kartli and Kakheti respectively by Nader Shah himself as a reward for their loyalty, declared theirde facto independence from Persia.
After Teimuraz II's death in 1762, Irakli II assumed control over Kartli, thus unifying the two into the short-livedKingdom of Kartli-Kakheti.
Following theTreaty of Georgievsk (1783) andAgha Mohammad Khan Qajar'sbrief re-occupation of eastern Georgia, the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti was annexed by theRussian Empire in 1800. The former warring royal houses of the various Georgian kingdom were mostly incorporated into the Russian nobility, thereby losing their quasi-royal status, and becoming subsumed into the Russian empire's service nobility.
Russian control over Kartli-Kakheti was finalized withQajar Iran by theTreaty of Gulistan of 1813.[17]
In Kartli, by contrast, in order to rein in the non-compliant vassal David X, in 1522 (or 1524) the shah sent in troops, who brought Tbilisi under control. Perhaps it was at this time that the Iranians built a mosque in Tbilisi.
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