Teimuraz II ( ka, თეიმურაზ II) (1680/1700–1762) 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
Kakheti
Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region (mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises eigh ...
, 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 1732 to 1744, then 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 ...
from 1744 until his death. Teimuraz was also a
lyric poet
Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person.
It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...
.
Life
He was a son of
Erekle I
Heraclius I ( ka, ერეკლე I, Erekle I; ) or Nazar Alī Khān (; ) (1642–1709), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a Georgian monarch who ruled the kingdoms of Kakheti (1675–1676, 1703–1709) and Kartli (1688–1703) under the protectio ...
and his wife Anna. Together with his mother, Teimuraz ruled as regent for his absent brother
David II (Imam Quli-Khan) from 1709 to 1715. In 1732, the Turks killed the next king and Teimuraz’s other brother,
Constantine
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
* Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine given na ...
, and took control of his kingdom. His successor, Teimuraz, fled to the mountains of
Pshavi
Pshavi ( ka, ფშავი) is a small historic region of northern Georgia, nowadays part of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti ''mkhare'' ("region"), and lying chiefly among the southern foothills of the Greater Caucasus mountains along the Pshavis Aragvi ...
and fought the occupants from there. In July 1735, the resurgent
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 ruler
Nader Shah Afshar
Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian h ...
invaded
Kakheti
Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region (mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises eigh ...
and forced the Turks out of most of eastern Georgia. Nader summoned Teimuraz to his headquarters at
Erivan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and in ...
and, upon his refusal to convert to Islam, had him detained. Kakheti was placed under the nominal government of Teimuraz's Muslim nephew
Ali Mirza. In October 1735, Teimuraz escaped to the mountains of Kakheti and fomented unrest against the Persian rule, but he was captured by the close of 1736.
During these years, part of Georgian nobles staged a powerful rebellion against the Persian regime. In 1738, the shah had to release Teimuraz to counter the Georgian opposition, and made him governor of Kakheti, while his son
Erekle II
Heraclius II ( ka, ერეკლე II), also known as Erekle II and The Little Kakhetian ( ka, პატარა კახი ) (7 November 1720 or 7 October 1721 C. ToumanoffHitchins, KeithHeraclius II. ''Encyclopædia Iranica Online edit ...
campaigned with Nader
in India
IN, In or in may refer to:
Places
* India (country code IN)
* Indiana, United States (postal code IN)
* Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN)
* In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Businesses and organizations
* Independ ...
. The uprising now turned into a brutal civil war between pro- and anti-Persian factions. Teimuraz, aided by his son Erekle II, was able to crush the rebels led by
Givi Amilakhvari
Givi Amilakhvari ( ka, გივი ამილახვარი) (1689–1754) was a Georgia (country), Georgian nobleman (''tavadi'') with a prominent role in the politics of eastern Georgia in the first half of the 18th century. He waged a le ...
. As a reward, the shah abolished, in 1742, a heavy tribute laid upon Kakheti, and helped Teimuraz to subdue autonomous duchies of the
Aragvi
The Aragvi ( ka, არაგვი) and its basin are in Georgia on the southern slopes of the Caucasus Mountains. The river is long, and its basin covers an area of . The ground strata are mostly sandstone, slate, and limestone. The Zhinval ...
and the
Ksani
The Ksani (, , ''Ĉysandon'') is a river in central Georgia, which rises on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range in South Ossetia and flows into the Kura (''Mtkvari''). It is long, and has a drainage basin of . in 1743 and 1744 respectively. For his service against the
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 an anti-Persian revolt, in 1744, Teimuraz was confirmed by the shah as 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 role ...
, and his son Erekle was given a Kakhetian crown, thus laying the ground for the eventual reunification of these Georgian kingdoms. Most importantly, they were recognised as
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 ...
kings for the first time since 1632. Both monarchs were crowned at the Cathedral of the Living Pillar (
Svetitskhoveli
The Svetitskhoveli Cathedral ( ka, სვეტიცხოვლის საკათედრო ტაძარი, ''svet'icxovlis sak'atedro t'adzari''; literally the Cathedral of the Living Pillar) is an Orthodox Christian cathedral located ...
) 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 ...
on October 1, 1745.
With their power growing increasingly stronger, Teimuraz and Erekle soon repudiated their allegiance to the Persian suzerain. Nader Shah ordered 30,000 Persian troops to move into Georgia and entrusted a Georgian convert (and a former anti-Persian leader) Amilakhvari with the punitive operation. The shah was, however, murdered in 1747, and his empire became engulf into complete chaos. The rulers of Kartli and Kakheti took advantage of the situation and expelled all Persian garrisons from their kingdoms. From 1749 to 1750, they checked several attempts of Persian pretenders to create their powerbase in the eastern
Transcaucasia
The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...
, and made the neighbouring
khanates
A khaganate or khanate was a polity ruled by a khan, khagan, khatun, or khanum. That political territory was typically found on the Eurasian Steppe and could be equivalent in status to tribal chiefdom, principality, kingdom or empire.
Mongol ...
of
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
,
Ganja
Ganja (, ; ) is one of the oldest and most commonly used synonyms for marijuana. Its usage in English dates to before 1689.
Etymology
''Ganja'' is borrowed from Hindi/Urdu ( hi, गांजा, links=no, ur, , links=no, IPA: aːɲd ...
, and
Nakhichevan their tributaries. He fought then against the
Dagestan
Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...
i clansmen who frequently
raided the Georgian marchlands, but without complete success.
Like several previous Georgian rulers, he hoped that the expanding
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. ...
would be the only protector for the Christians of
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
against the Ottoman and Persian aggressions. He sent an embassy to
St Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
in 1752, but nothing came of this mission. In 1760, he visited the Russian court himself to gain a support for his project of a Georgian expedition to Persia to put a Russian candidate on the shah’s throne. The Russians were too preoccupied with the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
to seriously consider Teimuraz’s idea. He died suddenly in the Russian capital on January 8, 1762 (just a fortnight after
Elizabeth of Russia
Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian ...
incidentally), and was buried next to his father-in-law
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 m ...
in the Cathedral of the
Assumption
Assumption, in Christianity, refers to the Assumption of Mary, a belief in the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven.
Assumption may also refer to:
Places
* Assumption, Alberta, Canada
* Assumption, Illinois, United States
** Assumption Town ...
,
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 ...
. On his death, Erekle succeeded as king of Kartli, bringing both eastern Georgian kingdoms into a single state (
Kingdom of Kartli and Kakheti
The Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti ( ka, ქართლ-კახეთის სამეფო, tr) (1762–1801
) was created in 1762 by the unification of two eastern Georgian kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti. From the early 16th century, accord ...
)
Although he was constantly at war or on guard, Teimuraz found some time to translate from Persian and compose, virtually on horseback, his own poems and lyrics.
Reburial
In July 2013, Georgia raised the possibility to move Teimuraz's remains to Georgia for reburial.
Georgian patriarch to arrive in Moscow
Retrieved 2013-08-02.
Family
Teimuraz married three times. He divorced his first wife, a daughter of Duke Baadur of the Aragvi, probably called Tamar, in 1711. Two years later, on February 2, 1712, he remarried Vakhtang VI's daughter Tamar (born 1696), who died on April 12, 1746. The same year, on August 19, Teimuraz married his third wife, Ana-Khanum (1716 — March 1788), daughter of Prince Bejan Palavankhosroshvili-Baratashvili, and former wife of Prince Kaikhosro Tsitsishvili. He had two sons and four daughters by his second and third marriages.
Teimuraz's children of his marriage to Tamar of Kartli were:
* Heraclius II (November 7, 1720 – January 11, 1798), the future king of Kakheti and of Kartli and Kakheti.
* Princess Ketevan Ketevan ( ka, ქეთევანი) is a Georgian feminine given name. It is sometimes used as a Georgian form of Katherine but, in terms of their etymology, the two names aren't related as Katherine has origins in the Greek language while Ketev ...
, who married, in 1737 at Mashhad
Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of R ...
Adil Shah
Ali-qoli Khan ( fa, علیقلیخان), commonly known by his regnal title Adel Shah (also spelled Adil; , "the Just King") was the second shah of Afsharid Iran, ruling from 1747 to 1748. He was the nephew and successor of Nader Shah (), th ...
of Iran (1719–1749).
* Princess Elene (fl. 1743–1784), who married, c. 1743, Prince Zaza Tsitsishvili
The Tsitsishvili ( ka, ციციშვილი) is a Georgian noble family, with several notable members from the 15th century through the 20th.
The Tsitsishvili family was a continuation of the medieval house of Panaskerteli, known in the pr ...
.
* Princess Ana (1720 – December 4, 1788), who married firstly, in 1744, Prince Dimitri Orbeliani (died 1776) and secondly Prince Ioane Orbeliani (c. 1702 – 1781).
Teimuraz's union with Ana-Khanum Baratashvili produced:
* Prince Solomon (May 24, 1747 – July 28, 1749).
* Princess Elisabed (March 25, 1750 – May 8, 1770), who was betrothed to Prince Giorgi Amilakhvari
The Amilkhvari ( ka, ამილახვარი) was a noble house of Georgia which rose to prominence in the fifteenth century and held a large fiefdom in central Georgia until the Imperial Russian annexation of the country in 1801. They were ...
in 1762, but the marriage was disrupted for political reasons in 1765 and Elisabed was given in marriage, on November 16, 1765, to Katsia II Dadiani
Katsia II Dadiani ( ka, კაცია II დადიანი; died 1788), of the House of Dadiani, was Prince of Mingrelia from 1758 to 1788. His rule was dominated by complicated relations with the Kingdom of Imereti, which claimed suzerainty ...
, Prince of Mingrelia
Principalities Princes and dukes of Guria
* Kakhaber I Gurieli c. 1385–1410
*Mamia Gurieli c. 1450–1469
*Kakhaber II Gurieli 1469–1483
* Giorgi I Gurieli 1483–1512
*Mamia I Gurieli 1512–1534
*Rostom Gurieli 1534–1564
*Giorgi II Guriel ...
(died 1788).
References
Sources
*
*
Iranian-Georgian Relations in the 16th- 19th Centuries
in Encyclopædia Iranica
''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times.
Scope
The ''Encycl ...
*Donald Rayfield
Patrick Donald Rayfield OBE (born 12 February 1942, Oxford) is an English academic and Emeritus Professor of Russian and Georgian at Queen Mary University of London. He is an author of books about Russian and Georgian literature, and about Josep ...
, '' The Literature of Georgia: A History'' (August 16, 2000), Routledge, , page 126-7 (about Teimuraz’s poetry)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teimuraz 02
Former Muslims from Georgia (country)
Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Shia Islam
Eastern Orthodox monarchs
Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Kakheti
18th-century poets from Georgia (country)
Afsharid governors of Kakheti
1680 births
1762 deaths
Male poets from Georgia (country)
Afsharid governors of Kartli
Kings of Kartli
Regents of Georgia