George III ( ka, გიორგი III) (died 1639), 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 sometim ...

, was a

king of Imereti The Kingdom of Imereti ( ka, იმერეთის სამეფო, tr) was a Georgian monarchy established in 1455 by a member of the house of Bagrationi when the Kingdom of Georgia was dissolved into rival kingdoms. Before that time, Im ...

from 1605 to 1639.

Biography

George was a natural half-brother of

Rostom of Imereti Rostom ( ka, როსტომი) (1571–1605), of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was a king of Imereti in the periods of 1588–1589 and 1590–1605. A son of Constantine, sometime claimant to the crown of Imereti, he was raised to the throne throug ...

on whose death he succeeded in 1605, but his authority was seriously challenged by the energetic prince of

Mingrelia Mingrelia ( ka, სამეგრელო, tr; xmf, სამარგალო, samargalo; ab, Агырны, Agirni) is a historic province in the western part of Georgia, formerly known as Odishi. It is primarily inhabited by the Mingrelian ...

Levan II Dadiani Levan II Dadiani (also Leon; ka, ლევან ��ეონII დადიანი; 1597-1657) was a member of the House of Dadiani and ruler of the Principality of Mingrelia in western Georgia. Levan grew up in Kakheti under his grandfathe ...

, whose increasing influence over the western Georgian polities George tried to restrict without any success. In 1623, Levan, with a combined Mingrelian- Abkhaziann army, inflicted a heavy defeat upon the royal troops. In his quest for allies, George established close ties with the influential eastern Georgian noble

Giorgi Saakadze Giorgi Saakadze the Grand Mouravi ( ka, გიორგი სააკაძე) (c. 1570 – October 3, 1629) was a Georgian politician and military commander who played an important but contradictory role in the politics of the early 17th-cent ...

who employed an Imeretian force in his struggle against King

Teimuraz I of Kakheti Teimuraz I ( ka, თეიმურაზ I) (1589–1663), of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was a Georgian monarch who ruled, with intermissions, as King of Kakheti from 1605 to 1648 and also of Kartli from 1625 to 1633. The eldest son of David I and ...

. After Saakadze's defeat in 1626, George made an alliance with Teimuraz and arranged a marriage between his son, Alexander (III), and Teimuraz's daughter

Darejan Nestan-Darejan ( ka, ნესტან-დარეჯანი) is a Georgian feminine given name, derived from the Persian ''nest andare jahan'', roughly translated as "the matchless". It occurs in the epic poem by the 12th-century Georgian poe ...

(1629). This, however, failed to bring the feudal anarchy in Imereti to an end and the unrest continued. Later in his reign, George III once again campaigned against Levan Dadiani, but was defeated and taken captive. He was

ransom Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice. When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''red ...

ed by his son Alexander, but George did not live long and died in 1639. George III of Imereti was married to the certain Tamar (died 1639). He had four sons and one daughter: * Alexander III (1609–1 March 1660), King of Imereti; * Rostom (); * Mamuka (died 1654), military commander; * Beri, Archbishop of Gelati as Svimeon Genateli ( fl. 1639); * Khvaramze (fl. 1619–1626), married to Avtandil Saakadze (died 1629), son of

References

* Вахушти Багратиони (Vakhushti Bagrationi) (1745)
История Царства Грузинского: Жизнь Имерети
1639 deaths Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Imereti Kings of Imereti 17th-century people from Georgia (country) Year of birth unknown Eastern Orthodox monarchs {{Georgia-royal-stub