Jesse (, Iese), also known by his
Muslim names Ali-Quli Khan and Mustafa Pasha, (1680 or 1681–1727), of the
Mukhranian 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 of
Kartli
Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...
(
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 ...
), acting actually as a
Safavid Persian and later
Ottoman viceroy (
wali
A wali (''wali'' ar, وَلِيّ, '; plural , '), the Arabic word which has been variously translated "master", "authority", "custodian", "protector", is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an Islamic saint, otherwise referred to by the ...
) from 1714 to 1716 and from 1724 until his death, respectively.
Background
He was a son of Prince
Levan by his second wife, Tinatin Avalishvili. Jesse accompanied his father during his service in Persia where he was raised at the
Safavid court,
convert
Conversion or convert may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman''
* "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series
* "The Conversion" ...
ed to
Islam and took the name of Ali-Quli Khan. He held several high positions along the eastern frontiers of the empire and fought, from 1705 to 1714, under his uncle
Gurgin Khan and later his brother
Kai Khosraw against the
Afghan rebels. He was appointed a
naib of
Kerman (1708–1709),
beylerbey of Kerman (170j9–1711), and finally a ''
tupchi-bashi
The Tupchi-bashi ("head of the tupchis") was the commander of the Safavid Empire's artillery corps. He was responsible for the artillery battery (''tup-khaneh'') and needed materials in relation to the artillery pieces as well. The ''tupchi-bash ...
'' (general in charge of
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
) of the Persian armies (1711–1714).
First reign
In March 1714, he was confirmed a
wali
A wali (''wali'' ar, وَلِيّ, '; plural , '), the Arabic word which has been variously translated "master", "authority", "custodian", "protector", is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an Islamic saint, otherwise referred to by the ...
/king of
Kartli
Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...
in place of his brother
Vakhtang VI
Vakhtang VI ( ka, ვახტანგ VI), also known as Vakhtang the Scholar, Vakhtang the Lawgiver and Ḥosaynqolī Khan ( fa, حسینقلی خان, translit=Hoseyn-Qoli Xān) (September 15, 1675 – March 26, 1737), was a Georgian ...
, who had refused to accept Islam. On ascending to the throne, Ali Quli-Khan allied with another Georgian ruler,
David II of Kakheti
David II ( ka, დავით II, ''Davit' II'') also known as Imām Qulī Khān (; ka, იმამყული-ხანი) (1678 – November 2, 1722), of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was a king of Kakheti in eastern Georgia from 1709 to 1722. Al ...
(Imamquli-Khan), to repel the
attacks from the marauding Dagestani clans but his own position was shattered by a noble opposition. He proved to be incompetent and addicted to alcohol. Unable to maintain order in his possessions, he was replaced, in June 1716, by
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 ...
Husayn
Hussein, Hussain, Hossein, Hossain, Huseyn, Husayn, Husein or Husain (; ar, حُسَيْن ), coming from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-S-i-N ( ar, ح س ی ن, link=no), is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", " ...
with his brother Vakhtang, who had finally agreed to renounce Christianity.
Prison and conversions
Ali fled to
Telavi
Telavi ( ka, თელავი ) is the main city and administrative center of Georgia's eastern province of Kakheti. Its population consists of some 19,629 inhabitants (as of the year 2014). The city is located on the foothills of the Tsiv-Gombo ...
,
Kakheti, but was surrendered to Vakhtang's son
Bakar
Bakar ( it, Buccari; hu, Szádrév) is a town in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in western Croatia. The population of the town was 8,279 according to the 2011 Croatian census, including 1,473 in the titular settlement. Ninety percent of the ...
, regent of Kartli. He was put under arrest at
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...
, where he reconverted to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
. Released in 1721 by Vakhtang VI, he was granted
Mukhrani
Mukhrani ( ka, მუხრანი, originally Mukhnari უხნარი i.e., " oak-grove") is a historical lowland district in eastern Georgia, currently within the borders of Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, north of the town of Mtskheta. It l ...
in possession and appointed ''mdivanbeg'' (chief justice) of Kartli. When
Constantine II of Kakheti
Constantine II ( ka, კონსტანტინე II) (died December 28, 1732) also known as Mahmād Qulī Khān (მაჰმად ყული-ხანი) in Iran, was a king of Kakheti in eastern Georgia of the Bagrationi Dynasty from 1 ...
(Mahmad Quli-Khan) moved with a Persian army to remove Vakhtang from the position in 1723, Jesse defected to the approaching
Ottoman army, became
Sunni Muslim and was restored as king of Kartli under the name of Mustapha Pasha. His power, however, was largely nominal and the government was actually run by a Turkish commander. Mustapha remained loyal to the
Sublime Porte
The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire.
History
The name ...
when the Georgians staged an abortive uprising in 1724. However, the Ottomans abolished the kingdom of Kartli on his death in 1727, imposing their direct administration.
Family
Jesse was married twice, also keeping more than one concubine. He first married, in 1712, Princess Mariam (fl. 1692–1767), daughter of Prince Erasti
Qaplanishvili-Orbeliani, whom he forcibly took from her first husband, his relative Prince Kaikhosro
Amirejibi. The seasoned ex-queen Mariam, with her grandson Dimitri, followed the wave of emigration of the Georgian nobility to the Russian Empire and arrived in
Astrakhan
Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...
in 1765, but she was ordered to stay in that provincial city on account of her being a Roman Catholic and allegedly not a lawful wife of Jesse until
Afanasy Bagration, Jesse's brother and a general in the Russian service, was able to secure for her the right to join her relatives in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
.
In 1715, Jesse married his second wife, Princess Elene-Begum (1687 – 27 April 1750), a daughter of King
Erekle I of Kakheti, who eventually retired to a monastery under the name of Elizabeth.
Jesse fathered eleven children:
* Prince
Aleksandre (Ishaq Beg) (c. 1705–1773) was born in
Safavid Iran
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 ...
as a
Muslim, and was called Ishaq Beg.
* Prince Alexander, as the firstborn son of his father King Jesse of Kartli, was selected as crown prince and heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Kartli by his father and by the Persians. Because of this, from 1743 to 1744, Prince Alexander worked as the governor of Kartli (1743–1744) and he also served as a lieutenant (janisin) of
Kartli
Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...
, then under the Iranian sway, all as part of his training to become King of the Kingdom of Kartli. After his father's death, he was threatened with death by the Kakhetian branch of the Bagrationi from the Kingdom of Kakheti. He was soon removed from the office by his cousin
Teimuraz II, of the rival Bagrationi branch from
Kakheti, who became king of Kartli in 1744. Prince Alexander Ishaq Beg joined the opposition faction led by his jealous half-brother
Abdullah Beg who was also a pretender to the throne, yet despite their differences, they united their forces to try to save the kingdom together, but soon they both had to submit to the ascending power of the Kakhetian Bagrationi. The Bagrationi of Kakheti and the Bagrationi of Mukhrani waged a twenty year war over the right to rule the Kingdom of Kartli. The Bagrationi of Mukhrani, who were trying to save Prince Alexander and have him inherit his rightful place as King of the Kingdom of Kartli, took the title of regents but never took that of king in honour of his father King Jesse of Kartli, the last true King of Kartli. Ultimately, the Kakhetian branch won and overthrew both Prince Alexander and all of the members of the Royal House of Mukhrani, taking the Kingdom of Kartli and turning it into the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti. In 1750, Prince Ishag Beg converted to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
, was baptized with the name Alexander by which he will be remembered throughout the centuries, and received a fief in
Kvemo Kartli
Kvemo Kartli ( ka, ქვემო ქართლი, az, Aşağı Kartli) or "Lower Kartli", is a historic province and current administrative region ( mkhare) in southeastern Georgia. The city of Rustavi is the regional capital.
Location
K ...
. Soon, his relations with Teimuraz again went downhill even further and under constant death threats from the Kakhetian branch, Alexander was forced to escape to Russia in 1759 as a form of exile. He entered the Russian military service and first joined a garrison at
Astrakhan
Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...
and then, in 1761, the Georgian squadron in
Kizlyar
Kizlyar (russian: Кизля́р; av, Гъизляр; kum, Къызлар, ''Qızlar'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located on the border with the Chechen Republic in the river delta ...
in the ranks of
podpolkovnik
''Podpolkovnik'' (russian: подполко́вник, lit=sub –, junior – , or lower regimentary) is a military rank in Slavic and nearby countries which corresponds to the lieutenant colonel in the English-speaking states and military.
...
.
[ Grebelsky, P. Kh., Dumin, S. V., Lapin, V. V. (1993), Дворянские роды Российской империи (''Noble families of Russian Empire''), vol. 3, p. 50. IPK Vesti] Prince Alexander escaped to Russia, where he spent the rest of his days. He was a grandfather of
Pyotr Bagration
Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration (10 July 1765 – 24 September 1812) was a Georgian general and prince serving in the Russian Empire, prominent during the Napoleonic Wars.
Bagration, a member of the Bagrationi dynasty, was born in Tbilisi. Hi ...
, a Russian general of the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
, and heir to the lost throne of the Kingdom of Kartli, later granted the title of
Knyaz by the Imperial Royal House of Russia, and recognised by
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
as one of the best Russian generals of his time with the phrase "Russia has no good generals. The only exception is Bagration".
* Prince
Archil (Abdullah Beg) (1713–1762), born of a concubine, and jealous of his older brother Prince Alexander, he competed against him as a claimant to the kingship of Kartli in the 1740s, but ultimately lost.
* Prince David (fl. 1716–1738), born of Elene.
* Prince Nikoloz, born of Elene.
* Prince Ioane (died 1717), born of Elene.
* Princess Khoreshan (died 1754), born of Elene.
* Princess Anastasia (died 1731), born of Elene.
* Prince
Teimuraz (1720–1788), born of Elene, Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia as Anton I (1744–1755, 1764–1788).
* Prince Levan (Husayn Beg) (fl. 1748–1758), born of a concubine.
* An anonymous daughter, born of a concubine.
References
Sources
*
D.M. Lang'
biographyof Ali-Quli Khan in ''
Encyclopaedia Iranica
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article ...
.''
*
[Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia, Vol. 10 Tb., 1986]
{{Triarchy in Georgia
1680s births
1727 deaths
House of Mukhrani
Safavid appointed kings of Kartli
Muslims from Georgia (country)
Converts to Islam from Eastern Orthodoxy
Former Georgian Orthodox Christians
Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Shia Islam
Safavid generals
Safavid governors of Kerman
Ottoman governors of Georgia
Iranian people of Georgian descent
Georgians from the Ottoman Empire
Tupchi-bashi
17th-century people of Safavid Iran
18th-century people of Safavid Iran