Constantine I ( ka, კონსტანტინე I), also known as Constantine Khan ( fa, کنستانتین خان; კონსტანტინე ხანი), Constantin(e) Mirza, or Konstandil / Kustandil Mirza (1567 – October 22, 1605), of the

Bagrationi Dynasty The Bagrationi dynasty (; ) is a royal dynasty which reigned in Georgia from the Middle Ages until the early 19th century, being among the oldest extant Christian ruling dynasties in the world. In modern usage, the name of the dynasty is som ...

, was a

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

of Kakheti in eastern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

from March to October 1605.

Biography

A son of King

Alexander II of Kakheti Alexander II ( ka, ალექსანდრე II) (1527 – March 12, 1605) of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was a king of Kakheti in eastern Georgia from 1574 to 1605. In spite of a precarious international situation, he managed to retain relative ...

by his wife Tinatin née

Amilakhvari The Amilkhvari ( ka, ამილახვარი) was a noble house of Georgia which rose to prominence in the fifteenth century and held a large fiefdom in central Georgia until the Imperial Russian annexation of the country in 1801. They were ...

, Constantine was taken in his childhood to

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

where he was converted to Islam, brought up at the court, and lived for many years. When envoys from his father Alexander II,

Simon I of Kartli Simon I the Great ( ka, სიმონ I დიდი), also known as Svimon ( ka, სვიმონი) (1537–1611), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a Georgian king of Kartli from 1556 to 1569 and again from 1578 to 1599. His first tenure w ...

, and Manuchir II of

Samtskhe Meskheti ( ka, მესხეთი) or Samtskhe ( ka, სამცხე) ( Moschia in ancient sources), is a mountainous area in southwestern Georgia. History Ancient tribes known as the Mushki (or Moschi) and Mosiniks (or Mossynoeci) were t ...

arrived at the Safavid court between 1596 and 1597 with many gifts, including slave boys and girls, Constantine entertained them. He served as a

darugha ''Darugha'' ( ba, даруга, tt-Cyrl, даруга, translit=daruğa, from Mongol: ''daru-'', 'to press, to seal') was a territorial subdivision in the Mongol Empire. A ''darugha'' was ruled by a ''darughachi''. Later, the term was used for th ...

(prefect) of the royal city of

Qazvin Qazvin (; fa, قزوین, , also Romanization, Romanized as ''Qazvīn'', ''Qazwin'', ''Kazvin'', ''Kasvin'', ''Caspin'', ''Casbin'', ''Casbeen'', or ''Ghazvin'') is the largest city and capital of the Qazvin Province, Province of Qazvin in Iran. ...

and then of Isfahan (1602–1603). In 1604,

Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

Abbas I of Persia Abbas I ( fa, ; 27 January 157119 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the 5th Safavid Shah (king) of Iran, and is generally considered one of the greatest rulers of Iranian history and the Safavid dynasty. He was the third s ...

appointed him as the governor and commander of

Shirvan Shirvan (from fa, شروان, translit=Shirvān; az, Şirvan; Tat: ''Şirvan''), also spelled as Sharvān, Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical Iranian region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both pre-Islam ...

to fight the Ottoman forces there, and ordered him to secure the Kakhetian participation in the campaign. As Alexander II was reluctant to engage in this conflict, Constantine, accompanied by a sizable Persian entourage, arrived in Kakheti, being honorably met by his father and elder brother

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

at a camp near the town of

Zagem Zagem or Bazari ( ka, ბაზარი) was a town in the southeast Caucasus, in the eastern Georgian kingdom of Kakheti. It flourished from the 15th to the 17th century as a vibrant commercial and artisanal centre. In the 1550s, it became a dep ...

(Bazari). On March 12, 1605, during the negotiations, Constantine murdered Alexander and George, and declared himself King of Kakheti. However, his subjects refused to recognize a patricide and revolted. The rebellion was led by

Ketevan Ketevan ( ka, ქეთევანი) is a Georgian feminine given name. It is sometimes used as a Georgian form of Katherine but, in terms of their etymology, the two names aren't related as Katherine has origins in the Greek language while Ketev ...

, widow of Constantine’s brother

David I David I may refer to: * David I, Caucasian Albanian Catholicos c. 399 * David I of Armenia, Catholicos of Armenia (728–741) * David I Kuropalates of Georgia (died 881) * David I Anhoghin, king of Lori (ruled 989–1048) * David I of Scotland ...

, who requested aid from his relative King

George X of Kartli George X ( Georgian: გიორგი X, ''Giorgi X'') (c. 1561 – 7 September 1606), of the Bagrationi royal dynasty, was a king of the eastern Georgian kingdom of Kartli from 1599 until his death. Life George was the eldest son of Simon I ...

. Constantine succeeded in bribing some of the rebel nobles, and, on the shah’s order, led a combined Kakhetian-

Qizilbash Qizilbash or Kizilbash ( az, Qızılbaş; ota, قزيل باش; fa, قزلباش, Qezelbāš; tr, Kızılbaş, lit=Red head ) were a diverse array of mainly Turkoman Shia militant groups that flourished in Iranian Azerbaijan, Anatolia, t ...

army against Shirvan. During the protracted siege of

Shemakha Shamakhi ( az, Şamaxı, ) is a city in Azerbaijan and the administrative centre of the Shamakhi District. The city's estimated population was 31,704. It is famous for its traditional dancers, the Shamakhi Dancers, and also for perhaps giving it ...

, the Kakhetian auxiliaries revolted and made Constantine flee. The rebels sent emissaries to Shah Abbas and pledged loyalty provided that Abbas confirmed their candidate, Ketevan’s son Teimuraz, as a Christian king of Kakheti. Meanwhile, the Kartlian forces under Prince Papuna Amilakhvari intervened and inflicted a decisive defeat on Constantine’s army on October 22, 1605. Constantine was killed in battle, and Abbas was forced to acknowledge Teimuraz as a king. Вахушти Багратиони (Vakhushti Bagrationi) (1745). . Accessed October 5, 2007.

Suny, Ronald Grigor Ronald Grigor Suny (born September 25, 1940) is an American historian and political scientist. Suny is the William H. Sewell Jr. Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Michigan and served as director of the Eisenberg In ...

(1994), ''The Making of the Georgian Nation: 2nd edition'', p. 50. Indiana University Press, According to the recently discovered chronicle by Fażli Ḵuzāni, a contemporary Persian official and historian, Constantine married, c. 1604, his own niece, a daughter of Mohammed Khan, an influential Qizilbash chieftain, who was married to a daughter of Alexander II. Mohammed Khan's son, Bektash (who was therefore Constantine's brother-in-law and cousin at the same time), accompanied Constantine to Kakheti and later became the province's ruler until being overthrown in a rebellion led by Davit Jandieri in 1615.

Ancestry

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Constantine 01 Of Kakheti 1567 births 1605 deaths Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Kakheti Safavid appointed kings of Kakheti Safavid governors of Shirvan Converts to Shia Islam from Eastern Orthodoxy Former Georgian Orthodox Christians Iranian people of Georgian descent People from Qazvin Safavid prefects of Qazvin Safavid prefects of Isfahan Safavid generals Patricides Regicides 16th-century people of Safavid Iran 17th-century people of Safavid Iran

Biography

See also

Ancestry

References

Sources