Qvarqvare III Jaqeli ( ka, ყვარყვარე III ჯაყელი) (1469–1535) was a Georgian ruling Prince and

Atabeg Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the title's use was wit ...

of Samtskhe-Saatabago during 1518–1535. Member of the Jaqeli family and son of Atabeg

Kaikhosro I Jaqeli Kaikhosro I Jaqeli ( ka, ქაიხოსრო I ჯაყელი; 1443–1500) was a Prince and Atabeg of Samtskhe-Saatabago, member of the Jaqeli family and son of Qvarqvare II. His reign lasted from 1498 to 1500. According to Kaikhosro's co ...

. His failure to capture the throne at the death of his father Kaikhosro may have been caused by the ambition of his uncle Mzetchabuki, who had seized Atabeg's title from him. Despite this Mzetchabuk Jaqeli declared Qvarqare as his successor. During his uncle's reign Qvarqvare actively involved in state affairs. In 1515 ill Mzetchabuk resigned from the throne and came to the Monastery as a monk. Qvarqvare couldn't ascend to the Meskhetian throne, because his second uncle Manuchar I had revolted. Qvarqvare went to

Safavid Persia 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 ...

, became vassal of Shah Ismail I and lived at his court in

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 ...

until his accession. In 1518 Qvarqvare commanded

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, the ...

army and invaded

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 the ...

. Persians dethroned Manuchar I and placed Qvarqvare on the throne. Manuchar invited Ottomans to fight against Safavids and overthrow his nephew, but Qvarqvare's forces defeated him at the battle near Erzurum, after which Manuchar escaped to the

Ottoman empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. During Qvarqvare's reign

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

influence on

was growing day by day. Because of that Turks greatly damaged the country and especially its southwestern region. Meskhetian lords had recognized that under Qvarqvare's rule

would finally turn to the Enemy's hands. They made an alliance with the

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

kings, Bagrat III of Imereti and Luarsab I of Kartli to end up Jaqelian rule and protect Samtskhe from dominant Muslim empires (

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

and Safavids). In 1535 King Bagrat III invaded

. He defeated and captured Qvarqvare III at the

Battle of Murjakheti A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

near

Akhalkalaki Akhalkalaki ( ka, ახალქალაქი, tr; hy, Ախալքալաք / Նոր-Քաղաք, translit=Axalk’alak’ / Nor-K’aġak’) is a town in Georgia's southern region of Samtskhe–Javakheti and the administrative centre of the Ak ...

, Georgians had annexed

Principality of Samtskhe The Samtskhe-Saatabago or Samtskhe Atabegate ( ka, სამცხე-საათაბაგო), also called the Principality of Samtskhe (სამცხის სამთავრო), was a Georgian feudal principality in Zemo Kartli, ru ...

. Qvarqvare died in prison. A few years later, his survived youngest son Kaikhosro II requested Ottomans to expel

Imereti Imereti (Georgian: იმერეთი) is a region of Georgia situated in the central-western part of the republic along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni River. Imereti is the most populous region in Georgia. It consists of 11 municip ...

an and Kartlian forces from Samtskhe. In 1545, at the

Battle of Sokhoista The Battle of Sokhoista ( ka, სოხოისტის ბრძოლა, tr, Sohoista Savaşı) was fought between the Ottoman and Georgian armies at the Sokhoista field in what is now northeastern Turkey in 1545. It was the last attempt of ...

, Kaikhosro defeated Bagrat III, after which he reinstated his legitimate throne. Samtskhe became vassal of the

. Georgian Soviet encyclopedia, volume 10, page 658, Tbilisi, 1986 Qvarqvare III's descendants ruled Samtskhe-Saatabago (until 1628) and then Childir Eyalet until 1820s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qvarqvare III Jaqeli Atabegs of Samtskhe Nobility of Georgia (country) 15th-century people from Georgia (country) 16th-century people from Georgia (country) 1469 births 1535 deaths Qvarqvare