George, ''Giorgi'', ( ka, გიორგი) (1250–1268) was the eldest son of David VII Ulu, a Bagratid king of Georgia, by whom he was designated as heir-apparent to the throne. In the early 1260s, he was held as a hostage at the Mongol Ilkhan court of Hulagu Khan and later served with his father in the Mongol military ranks. He died at the age of 18 in 1268, preceding his father by two years.

Biography

George was born in 1250 to King David VII and the

Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' *A ...

woman Altun, whom the king took as a temporary wife because he had no children by his queen

Jigda-Khatun Jigda-Khatun ( ka, ჯიგდა-ხათუნი) (died 1252) was a queen consort of Georgia as the first wife of King David VII Ulu. She served as regent during the absence of her spouse. Origin and marriage The medieval Georgian chronicles ...

and whom he agreed to dismiss after the birth of an heir. The marriage was, in fact, repudiated after the birth of the second child, a daughter, Tamar. George was adopted by Jigda-Khatun, who died shortly afterwards. George, along with his father, step-mother, and the uncle

David VI Narin David VI Narin ( ka, დავით VI ნარინი, tr) (also called ''the Clever'') (1225–1293), from the Bagrationi dynasty, was king of Georgia in 1245–1293. From 1259 to 1293, he ruled the kingdom of Imereti under the name David ...

, is mentioned in a church inscription from Abelia in the south of Georgia. In 1262, David's rebellion against the Ilkhan hegemony ended in failure and he had to agree to peace terms offered by Hulagu Khan, envisaging, among other things, sending George as a hostage to the Ilkhan court. David acceded and the boy-prince George, under protection of the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

man called Enuk Arkun, traveled to the khan's court in Iran, where he was treated with honor. At one point, when the peace between Hulagu and David was about to collapse, the khan contemplated to put George to death, but the prince's life was saved through the intervention of Hulagu's Christian wife Doquz Khatun. Within a year or so, George was allowed to return to Georgia, where he joined his father in the exhausting service along the defensive lines in Shirvan, which had been erected by Hulagu against the rival Mongol khan

Berke Berke Khan (died 1266) (also Birkai; , tt-Cyrl, Бәркә хан) was a grandson of Genghis Khan and a Mongol military commander and ruler of the Golden Horde ( division of the Mongol Empire) who effectively consolidated the power of the Blue ...

. It was where George contracted a severe bowel disease, which eventually took his life in 1268. His body was briefly rested at the

Sioni cathedral The Sioni Cathedral of the Dormition () is a Georgian Orthodox cathedral in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Following a medieval Georgian tradition of naming churches after particular places in the Holy Land, the Sioni Cathedral bears the name ...

in Tbilisi and then buried at

Mtskheta Mtskheta ( ka, მცხეთა, tr ) is a city in Mtskheta-Mtianeti province of Georgia. It is one of the oldest cities in Georgia as well as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the World. Itis located approximately north of T ...

. The sorrowful king David VII died within two years, leaving his troubled kingdom to Demetrius, a younger son of his third marriage to Queen Gvantsa.

Ancestry

Notes

References

* * {{authority control 1250 births 1268 deaths Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Georgia Georgian princes 13th-century people from Georgia (country) Heirs apparent who never acceded