Kaikhosro (also spelled Kay Khusrau, Kai Khusraw; ka, ქაიხოსრო) (January 1, 1674 – September 27, 1711), of the House of Bagrationi, was a titular king (a

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 ...

n-appointed

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 ...

) 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 role ...

, 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 1709 to 1711. He reigned in absentia since he served during the whole of this period as a Persian commander-in-chief in what is now Afghanistan.

Biography

Kaikhosro was the son of Prince Levan, and accompanied his father during the service in the

Safavid Empire Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

. Since 1703, Kaikhosro himself served on high posts in the Persian administration, including being a ''darougha'' (prefect) of the capital city of

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

and a

naib Nawab ( Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian, Punjabi , Sindhi, Urdu: ), also spelled Nawaab, Navaab, Navab, Nowab, Nabob, Nawaabshah, Nawabshah or Nobab, ...

(deputy) to the divanbeg (chief justice). On the death of his uncle,

Gurgin Khan George XI ( ka, გიორგი XI, ''Giorgi XI''; 1651 – 21 April 1709), known as Gurgin Khan in Iran, was a Georgians, Georgian monarch who ruled the Kingdom of Kartli as a Safavid, Safavid Persian subject from 1676 to 1688 and again from 1 ...

(George XI), in 1709, he was confirmed as a

/king of Kartli and a ''

sipah-salar ''Ispahsālār'' ( fa, اسپهسالار) or ''sipahsālār'' (; "army commander"), in Arabic rendered as ''isfahsalār'' () or ''iṣbahsalār'' (), was a title used in much of the Islamic world during the 10th–15th centuries, to denote the se ...

'' (commander-in-chief) of the Persian armies in what is now

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, and granted

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...

and Barda in possession. He spent the whole of this period in field, and Kartli was administered by his brother Vakhtang. In November 1709, Kaikhosro led a new Persian–Georgian army, supported by contingents from

Khorasan Khorasan may refer to: * Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan * Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safēd ...

, and

Kerman Kerman ( fa, كرمان, Kermân ; also romanization of Persian, romanized as Kermun and Karmana), known in ancient times as the satrapy of Carmania, is the capital city of Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 821,394, in ...

, against the Afghans after Gurgin Khan was exterminated by

Mir Wais Hotak Mir Ways ibn Shah 'Alam, also known as Mirwais Khan Hotak (Pashto/Dari: ) (1673–1715) was an Afghan ruler from the Ghilji tribe of Kandahar, Afghanistan, and the founder of the Hotak dynasty. In 1709, after overthrowing and assassinating Geor ...

, a rebel

chieftain A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categori ...

of the

Ghilzai The Ghiljī ( ps, غلجي, ; fa, خیلجی, Xelji) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai or Ghilzay (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also settle ...

. Kaikhosro's efforts to take

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...

, however, were in vain. A fragile truce ensued, but in the summer of 1711 the hostilities were resumed. Kaikhosro forced the rebels to withdraw within the walls of Kandahar city which was placed under siege. However, the position of the besiegers soon became precarious due to attacks by the

Balochs The Baloch or Baluch ( bal, بلۏچ, Balòc) are an Iranian people who live mainly in the Balochistan region, located at the southeasternmost edge of the Iranian plateau, encompassing the countries of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. There ar ...

. The fighting took life of the Georgian prince

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

. On October 26, 1711, Kaikhosro ordered a retreat from the city. The Afghans attacked the retreating army and won a crushing victory; Kaikhosro was killed when he fell off his horse and his entire army of 30,000 soldiers (of whom only some 700 escaped) was annihilated.Maeda, Hirotake (April 7, 2008).
Kay Kosrow 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 articles ...

''
Online edition
. Retrieved on 2008-06-15.

Family

Kaikhosro was married to Ketevan, the daughter of a man named Giorgi. Her surname is not known. In the 1720s, she followed the royal family of Kartli in their flight to the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, where she was known as the ''

tsaritsa Tsarina or tsaritsa (also spelled ''csarina'' or ''csaricsa'', ''tzarina'' or ''tzaritza'', or ''czarina'' or ''czaricza''; bg, царица, tsaritsa; sr, / ; russian: царица, tsaritsa) is the title of a female autocratic ruler (mona ...

'' Ekaterina Igoriyevna (russian: Екатерина Гиоргиевна). She died in Moscow on 3 May 1730 and was buried at the Greek Church of St. Nicholas in Kitaigorod. Kaikhosro had four children, three—David, Ana, and Khoreshan—by Ketevan, and one—Shahanavaz-Khan—by a concubine. * Prince David (1710—1738) was married to a certain Mariam, lived in Russia and died at Moscow, being buried at the

Donskoy Monastery Donskoy Monastery (russian: Донско́й монасты́рь) is a major monastery in Moscow, founded in 1591 in commemoration of Moscow's deliverance from the threat of an invasion by the Crimean Khan (title), Khan Ğazı II Giray, Kazy-G ...

. * Princess Ana (died 1786). * Princess Khoreshan (died 1732) married first to Shah

Sultan Husayn Soltan Hoseyn ( fa, شاه سلطان حسین, Soltān-Hoseyn; 1668 – 9 September 1727) was the Safavid shah of Iran from 1694 to 1722. He was the son and successor of Shah Solayman (). Born and raised in the royal harem, Soltan Hoseyn ascen ...

of Iran in 1710 and second, after the shah's death in 1727, the khan of Erivan. * Prince Shahnavaz (Shanaoz-Khan; 1742).

Notes and references

*Martin Sicker, ''The Islamic World in Decline: From the Treaty of Karlowitz to the Disintegration of the Ottoman Empire'' (Hardcover) (2000), Praeger/Greenwood, , page 44

External links

Nancy Hatch Dupree - Mir Wais Hotak (1709–1715)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaikhosro of Kartli House of Mukhrani Safavid appointed kings of Kartli 1674 births 1711 deaths Iranian people of Georgian descent Safavid prefects of Isfahan Qollar-aghasi Commanders-in-chief of Safavid Iran 17th-century people of Safavid Iran 18th-century people of Safavid Iran

Biography

Family

See also

Notes and references

External links