Vakhtang III ( ka, ვახტანგ III; 1276–1308), of the dynasty of Bagrationi, was the king of

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 1302 to 1308. He ruled during the Mongol dominance of Georgia. A son of

Demetrius II of Georgia Demetrius II the Self-Sacrificer or the Devoted ( ka, დემეტრე II თავდადებული) (1259–12 March 1289) of the Bagrationi dynasty, was king of Georgia in 1270–1289. Life Son of King David VII and his wife Gv ...

by his Trapezuntine wife, Vakhtang was appointed, in 1302, by the

Ilkhan The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...

Ghazan Mahmud Ghazan (5 November 1271 – 11 May 1304) (, Ghazan Khan, sometimes archaically spelled as Casanus by the Westerners) was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of A ...

as a rival king to his brother

David VIII David VIII (Georgian language, Georgian: დავით VIII; 1273–1311), from the Bagrationi dynasty, was King of Georgia (country), Georgia in 1292–1302 and 1308-1311. Eldest son of Demetre II of Georgia, Demetre II the Self-sacrificing ...

, who had revolted against the Mongol rule. Vakhtang, however, controlled only the Georgian capital of

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

and parts of the southern and eastern provinces of the kingdom. After an unsuccessful offensive against David's

guerrillas Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics ...

, the brothers agreed to rule the kingdom jointly. However, Vakhtang was destined to spend most of his reign as a commander of the Georgian and

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

n auxiliaries in endless

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

campaigns, particularly against

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

(1303) and Gilan (1304).

Family

Vakhtang III married Ripsime. The 18th-century '' Georgian Chronicle'' mentions her as a niece of Shabur.Profile of Demetre II, his wives and children in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley
/ref> They had two known sons: *Demetre, ruler of Dmanisi. *Giorgi, ruler of Samshvilde.

Ancestry

References

Ivane Javakhishvili Ivane Alexandres dze Javakhishvili ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილი; 23 April 1876 – 18 November 1940) was a Georgian historian and linguist whose voluminous works heavily influenced the modern scholarship of the history ...

. ''History of the Georgian nation''. v. 3; Tbilisi, 1982: 147-150 (in Georgian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vakhtang 03 Of Georgia 1276 births 1308 deaths 13th-century people from Georgia (country) 14th-century people from Georgia (country) Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Georgia Kings of Georgia Eastern Orthodox monarchs