Alexander ( ka, ალექსანდრე), also known as Ishaq Beg (ისაკ-ბეგი) (c. 1705/8 – September 1773), was an illegitimate son of 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 ...

ruler

Jesse of Kartli Jesse (, Iese), also known by his Muslim names Ali-Quli Khan and Mustafa Pasha, (1680 or 1681–1727), of the Mukhranian Bagrationi dynasty, was a king of Kartli (Georgia), acting actually as a Safavid Persian and later Ottoman viceroy (wali) ...

, of the Bagrationi-Mukhraneli, politically active in Georgia in the 1740s. His progeny subsequently flourished in 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. ...

, producing a line of several notable figures of the 19th century, among them General

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 ...

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 ...

fame.

Career

Alexander 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. From 1743 to 1744, he 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. 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. Ishaq Beg joined the opposition faction led by his half-brother Abdullah Beg, but soon had to submit to the ascending power of the Kakhetian Bagrationi. In 1750, he 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 ...

, baptized with the name Alexander 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 and Alexander fled to Russia in 1759. 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

Family

Alexander fathered five sons (and probably three daughters): *Prince Ivane (Ivan Aleksandrovich Bagration; 1730–1795), Second Major of the Russian army. He was father of Pyotr,

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, and

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 ...

. *Solomon *

Kiril The male name Kiril (or Кирил or Кирилл) is a common first name in the Orthodox Slavic world, in particular in Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Russia. It is also well known in Greece but in different forms like Kyriakos. (Note that in m ...

(Kiril Aleksandrovich Bagration; 1750–1828), Major-General of the Russian army and a senator. *Tamaz (Thomas) (1743 – c. 1759) *Porphyry, who became an

archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") wh ...

of the Monastery of Exaltation of the Cross at Kizlyar

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Son Of Jesse Of Kartli 1700s births 1773 deaths Politicians from Georgia (country) House of Mukhrani (royal line) Iranian people of Georgian descent Afsharid generals Military personnel of the Russian Empire Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Shia Islam Former Muslims from Georgia (country) 18th-century military personnel from the Russian Empire 18th-century people from Georgia (country)