European Kingdoms

Georgia

Georgians call themselves Kartvelebi, and their land Sakartvelo. These names are derived from a pagan god called Kartlos, said to be the father of all Georgians. The foreign name of Georgia, used throughout Western Europe, is mistakenly believed to come from the country's patron saint, St George. Actually it is derived from the names Kurj or Gurj, by which the Georgians are known to the Arabs and modern Iranians.

Another theory purports that the name comes from the Greek geo (earth); because when the Greeks came to Georgia they saw the Georgians working the land. The Classical world knew the inhabitants of eastern Georgia as Iberians, thus confusing the geographers of antiquity who thought this name applied only to the inhabitants of Spain. The Romans called it Iberi and the people Iberians; the Slavs preferred Iveria and Ivers respectively.

Kingdom of Kolkis (Colchis / Qulha)
13th Century BC

Geographically, ancient Kolkis comprised the land bounded by the Black Sea to the west, the Caucasus Mountains to the north, the Surami Range to the east and the Meskhetian Mountains to the south. In this fertile, sheltered area, this civilization flourished. Their Late Bronze Age (fifteenth to eighth century BC) saw the development of an expertise in the smelting and casting of metals that began long before this skill was mastered in Europe. Sophisticated farming implements were made and fertile, well-watered lowlands blessed with a mild climate promoted the growth of progressive agricultural techniques.

Ancient Greek legends told of a fabulously wealthy land where Jason (king of Mycenaean Iolkos) and the Argonauts stole the Golden Fleece from King Aeëtes with the help of his daughter Medea. It was a distant land that was reached by the Black Sea and then heading down the River Phasis. The actual site of this legendary kingdom has never been found but the Greeks must have been greatly impressed by the Kolkis region of Georgia, through which the River Phasis (now the River Rioni) runs, for such stories to have been born. Kolkis remained an important district bordering the kingdom of Iberia.

13th cent BC

The kingdom of Kolkis forms along the south-eastern Black Sea coast as part of a pattern of the increasing consolidation of regional tribes. The Kaskans on the western border soon participate in the collapse of the Hittite empire.

fl c.1220 BC

Aeëtes

Legendary opponent of Jason and the Argonauts.

c.750 BC

Kolkis, always an aggressive nation in a seemingly permanent state of warfare against its neighbours, seizes part of Diaokhi.

750 - 748 BC

Kolkis is at war with Urartu.

744 - 742 BC

In a second war, Kolkis loses several provinces, including the 'royal city' of Iidemusa, to Urartu.

730s - 720s BC

The kingdom is overrun by Cimmerians and Scythians, and it disintegrates. In the mid-sixth century the region is incorporated into Achaemenid Persia. The region remains weak and unorganised until the founding of the Iberian kingdom in the east at the end of the fourth century BC. The west of Georgia remains fractured until the third century AD with the creation of the kingdom of Egrisi.

Kingdom of Iberia (Kartli)
299 BC - AD 1008

Iberia was the sole main Georgian kingdom of late antiquity - occupying the east of Georgia - while the west was fractured and occupied by various tribes and kingdoms until the kingdom of Egrisi was forged in the third and fourth centuries. Along with Egrisi, Iberia was among the first nations in the region to adopt Christianity (in AD 317).

The first king of Iberia, Parnavaz, forged his Iberian state from several early Georgian tribal states, creating a single Eastern Georgian state. He set his capital at Mtskheta, with a residence of the kings on the high mountain opposite. Iberia was a rich, densely inhabited country which consisted of highland and lowland areas. The population of the highlands were mainly occupied with cattle-breeding, while the lowlands were predominantly concerned with agriculture. The highlanders were distinguished by being warriors and they played a big role in the military organisation of Iberia. The cities were filled with merchants and skilled artisans, with a large population of Jews and Syrians.

c.302 BC

The annexation of a significant part of Kolkis (Egrisi) signals the creation of the kingdom of Iberia.

Pharnabazids

299 - 234 BC

Parnavaz / Pharnabazus I of Iberia

Alternate dates are 284-219 BC.

234 - 159 BC

Saurmag / Sauromaces I

Son. These reigns are implausibly long for this period.

c.189 BC

In the South, the country loses several important districts when they are cut off by the newly-created Armenian kingdom.

Nimrodids / Second Pharnabazid Dynasty

159 -109 BC

Meribanes / Mirvan I

Son-in-law & adopted son.

109 - 90 BC

Parnajom

Son.

c.101 BC

Mithridates VI of Pontus annexes the neighbouring district of Kolkis.

Artaxiads

90 - 78 BC

Artaxias / Arsaces / Arshak I

Brother-in-law. Son-in-law of Meribanes.

Artaxias may have been the son of Artavasdes I of Armenia. He may have returned there to rule in 30 BC.

78 - 63 BC

Artoces / Artog

Son.

c.77 BC

Iberia is an ally of the kingdom of Pontus against Rome.

65 BC

Rome invades Iberia for its part in assisting Pontus. General Pompey defeats Artog but general hostility from the populace forces him to conclude peace terms with the king. Iberia becomes an unequal ally of Rome, after which Pompey enters and seizes Kolkis.

63 - 30 BC

Pharnabazus II / Bartom

Son.

Nimrodids

30 - 20 BC

Meribanes / Mirvan II

Son of Parnajom.

20 BC - AD 1

Artaxias II

Son.

Third Pharnabazid Dynasty

AD 1 - 58

Pharasmanes I / Parsman / Aderk

AD 35 - 54

Parsman uses the opposition between Rome and Parthia to possess Armenia, placing his brother Mitridates on the throne in 35-37 and 42-51, and his son Radamisto in 51-53 and 53-54.

58 - 106

Mithridates / Mihrdat

106 - 116

Amazaspus / Amazasp I

Son.

116 - 132

Pharasmanes II / Parsman the Good

Son.

132 - 135

Radamistus / Adam

Son.

135 - 185

Pharasmanes III / Parsman

185 - 189

Amazaspus / Amazasp II

Son.

Arsacids in Iberia

The Parthian Arsacids ruled in Persia and Armenia, but by this date they were fragmented and ripe for replacement.

189 - 216

Rev I the Just

Son of Vologases II of Armenia.

216 - 234

Vache

Son.

234 - 249

Bacurius / Bakur I

Son.

249 - 265

Mithridates / Mihrdat II

260 - 265

Amazaspus / Amazasp III

Anti-king.

265 - 284

Aspacures / Aspagur II

Son of Mithridates II.

Chosroids

284 - 361

Meribanes / Mirian III

Son of the 'Great King of Persia'.

317

Meribanes adopted Christianity as the state religion for Iberia.

345 - 361

Rev II

Son. Co-ruler.

361 - 363

Sauromaces II

Diarch 370-378.

363 - 365

Aspacures II (Varaz-Bakar I)

Son of Meribanes III.

365 - 380

Mithridates / Mihrdat III

Son. Diarch 370-378.

c.372

The Huns burst into Scythia and surrounding territories and defeat the Alans, who later re-emerged as the Ossetians, based in Georgia.

380 - 394

Aspacures III (Varaz-Bakar II)

Son.

394 - 406

Tiridates / Trdat

Son of Rev II.

406 - 409

Pharasmanes IV / Parsman

Son of Aspacures III.

409 - 411

Mithridates / Mihrdat IV

Son of Aspacures III.

411 - 435

Archil

Son.

435 - 447

Mithridates / Mihrdat V

Son.

447 - 522

Vakhtang I Gorgasil (Gurgenes)

Son.

c.450

The Georgian city of Tbilisi is founded at the site of a century-old village by Vakhtang.

522 - 534

Dachi

Son.

534 - 547

Bacurius / Bakur II

Son.

547 - 561

Pharasmanes / Parsman V

Son.

561 - ?

Pharasmanes / Parsman VI

Nephew.

? - 580

Bacurius / Bakur III

Son.

Presiding Princes of Iberia

The Byzantine emperors appointed curopalates to govern Georgia on their behalf.

588 - c.590

Guaram I the Guaramid

In the name of the Emperor.

c.590 - 627

Stephen I the Guaramid

627 - 637

Adarnase I the Chosroid

In the name of the Emperor.

637

Stephen II the Chosroid

In the name of the Emperor.

642

Adarnase I the Chosroid

In the name of the Emperor.

642 - 645

Stephen II the Chosroid

In the name of the Emperor.

645

The Islamic empire conquers Iberia, but Islamic Arab control is distant and only effective in central areas.

645 - c.650?

Stephen II the Chosroid

In the name of the Caliph.

c.650

Adarnase II the Chosroid

In the name of the Caliph.

c.662 - 684/5

Adarnase II the Chosroid

Patrician for the Emperor.

684/5 - 689

Guaram II the Guaramid

In the name of the Caliph.

689 - before 693

Guaram II the Guaramid

Curopalate for the Emperor.

before 693

Guaram III the Guaramid

Curopalate for the Emperor.

693 - c.748

Guaram III the Guaramid

In the name of the Caliph.

c.748 - 760

Adarnase III Nersiani

Curopalate for the Emperor.

c.760 - 772

Nerse Nersiani

In the name of the Emperor.

775 - 779/80

Nerse Nersiani

In the name of the Caliph.

813 - 830

Ashot I Bagrationi (Bagratuni)

Curopalate for the Emperor & the Caliph.

813

Ashot Bagrationi is the first of a dynasty that very quickly goes on to rule all of Georgia and its later splinter kingdoms.

842/3 - 876

Bagrat I Bagrationi

Son. Curopalate for the Emperor & the Caliph.

876 - 881

David I Bagrationi

Son. Curopalate for the Emperor & the Caliph.

881 - 891

Gurgen I Bagrationi

Curopalate for the Emperor.

Kings & Curopalates of Iberia (Bagratid Dynasty)

891 - 923

Adarnase IV

Son of David I. King 888-923, Curopalate 891-923.

912 - 975

Iberia is controlled by the kingdom of Abasgia.

David II

Son. Titular king 923-937.

923 - 954

Ashot II

Brother. Curopalate.

954 - 958

Sumbat I

Brother. Curopalate. Titular king 937-958.

Bagrat II the Simple

Son. Titular king 958-994.

958 - 961

Adarnase V

Son. Curopalate.

975

Abasgian control is ended.

975 - 994

Bagrat II the Simple

975

Gurgen I

Son. Co-ruler.

990 - 1000

David II the Great

Son. Curopalate.

994 - 1008

Gurgen I

King of kings.

1000

Bagrat III

Son. Curopalate.

1008

Bagrat III

King of kings.

1008

Bagrat unifies the Georgian states to form a single, united Kingdom of Georgia.

Kingdom of Egrisi (Kolkis / Lazica)
3rd Century - 7th Century AD

The advanced economy and favourable geographic and natural conditions of western Georgia attracted the Milesian Greeks who colonised the Black Seas coast in the sixth to fifth centuries BC. It was considered 'the farthest voyage' according to an ancient Greek proverbial expression, the easternmost location in the known world where the sun rose. It was situated just outside the lands conquered by the Macedonian Alexander the Great. After the fall of the Persian empire, a significant part of Kolkis (known locally as Egrisi) was annexed to the recently created kingdom of Iberia. However, soon Kolkis seceded and broke up into several small principalities which retained a degree of independence until conquered by Pontus and then subsumed within the Roman empire.

The lowlands and coastal area was frequently raided by the fierce mountainous tribes, with the Soanes and Heniochi being the most powerful of them. Paying a nominal homage to Rome, they created their own kingdoms and enjoyed significant independence. Christianity began to spread in the early first century. By the 130s, the petty kingdoms of Machelons, Heniochi, Lazica, Apsilia, Abasgia, and Sanigia had occupied the district north to south. By the third to fourth centuries, most of the local kingdoms and principalities had been subjugated by the Lazic kings, and thereafter the country was generally referred to as Lazica (Egrisi).

Egrisi often saw battles between rivals Persia and the Byzantine empire, both of which managed to conquer Western Georgia from time to time. As a result, that kingdom disintegrated into various feudal regions. Much of western Georgia was then conquered by Arabs in the seventh century. The regions were liberated and united into the Georgian kingdom at the beginning of the eleventh century.

c.302 BC

Significant parts of Kolkis are annexed by Iberia.

c.101 BC

Mithridates of Pontus conquers much of the area.

83 BC

Pontus quells an uprising in the region and gives it to his son, Mithradates Chrestus, who is soon executed for plotting against his father.

74 - 65 BC

During the Third Mithridatic War, Pontus places another son of the king, Macharis, on the throne of Kolkis.

65 - 63 BC

The Roman general, Pompey, installs a puppet ruler on the throne: Aristarchus. Upon Pompey's fall, Kolkis is re-taken by Pontus.

63 BC - AD 63

Ruled by Pontus.

63 - 4th century

Part of the Roman province of Galatia.

4th century

Egrisi begins to assert its independence.

fl c.523

Gubazes I

Accepted Christianity.

523

Egrisi adopts Christianity.

542 - 562

The Lazic War is fought between the Byzantine empire and the Sassanid Persians for control over Egrisi. The truce of 557 ends actual hostilities.

541 - 555

Gubazes II

Sided with Byzantines but was murdered by them.

555 - 561

Tzathes

Brother. Helped Byzantines finally expel Persians.

562

Peace terms are concluded, but Byzantium removes the freedom that the kingdom had previously enjoyed, as well as removing its king.

c.651

With the fall of the Sassanid Persians, much of the region is conquered by the Arab empire. The remnants eventually reform to create the kingdom of Abasgia.

Kingdom of Abasgia / Abkhazia (Anchabad Dynasty)
AD 767 - 1008

The name Abasgia initially referred to a distinct tribal grouping based north of the Kodori River which was made up of the Abkhaz-Adyghe tribes. By the time of the kingdom's creation the name had come to encompass all the western Georgia lands, including the former kingdom of Egrisi.

767/8 - 811/2

Leo II

Rose in rebellion against Byzantine rule.

811/2 - 837/8

Theodosius II

Son.

837/8 - 872/3

Demetrius II

Brother.

872/3 - 878/9

Giorgi I Aghtsepeli

Brother.

878/9 - c.880

John Shavliani

Non-dynastic.

c.880 - 887/8

Adarnase Shavliani

Son.

887/8 - 898/9

Bagrat I

Son of Demetrius II.

898/9 - 916/7

Constantine III

Son.

912 - 975

Abasgia controls the kingdom of Iberia.

1008

A single, unified Georgian kingdom is formed.

Kingdom of Georgia (Bagratid Dynasty)
AD 1008 - 1801

The rebellious western regions were liberated and united into the Georgian Kingdom at the beginning of the eleventh century. Starting in the twelfth century the rule of Georgia extended over the significant part of the Southern Caucasus, including north-eastern areas and almost the entire northern coast of what is now Turkey.

EXTERNAL LINK
Georgia - The Bagratid Dynasty

1008 - 1014

Bagrat III

King of a united Georgia.

1014 - 1027

Giorgi I

Son.

1027 - 1072

Bagrat IV

Son.

1068

The Seljuk Turks invade the region, destroying towns and farmland.

1080

The 'Great Turkish Conquests' of Georgia begin.

1072 - 1089

Giorgi II

Son.

1089 - 1125

David III (II) the Builder

Son.

1089 - 1125

David throws off allegiance to Byzantium, extinguishes the semi-independence of Kakheti, and unifies Georgia from the Black Sea to Daghestan. Between 1110-1124 he expels the Seljuk Turks, and re-conquers Tiflis after four hundred years of Islamic control and makes it his new capital.

1089 - 1112

Giorgi II

Co-ruler.

1125

Demetre I

Son of David III. Co-ruler.

1125 - 1155

Demetre I

1155

David IV (III)

Son. Ruled for six months.

1155 - 1156

Demetre I

Returned to throne.

1156 - 1184

Giorgi III

Brother of David IV.

1179

Thamar

Daughter of Giorgi III. Co-ruler. Sole rule in 1184.

1184 - 1213

Thamar the Great

c.1193 - 1207

David Soslan

Cousin and consort. Co-ruler.

1205

Giorgi IV

Son of David and Thamar. Co-ruler. Sole rule in 1213.

1213 - 1223

Giorgi IV Lasha (the Resplendant)

Killed by Mongols.

1223

Georgia is subordinated by the Mongols when its king is killed in battle against them. From this point different local Georgian rulers fight for independence from central Georgia rule until the kingdom collapses.

1223 - 1231

Georgia is conquered by a briefly resurgent emirate of Khwarazm.

1223 - 1245

Rusudan

Sister of Giorgi IV.

1230

David V Narin is crowned at Kutaisi, as joint sovereign by his mother, Rusudan.

1231

The Mongols renew their control of the region with a new invasion.

1234

David (V)

Co-ruler.

1242

Rusudan is forced to accept the sovereignty of the Great Khan of the Mongols and pay an annual tribute of 50,000 gold pieces. The following year her son David Narin is sent to the Great Khan. He is believed by the Georgian nobles to have disappeared two years later, so they proclaim David VI, son of Giorgi IV Lasha, as king of Georgia.

1245 - 1250

Interregnum when the newly crowned David VI Ulu is imprisoned by the Mongols at Karakorum for five years.

1249

David Narin is recognised as junior joint sovereign by the Mongol Great Khan. He is thereafter known as Davit Narin. The move is a deliberate one by the Great Khan, designed to weaken Georgia by stirring up internal feuding.

1250 - 1269

David VI (V) Ulu (the Big)

Son of Giorgi IV.

1250 - 1258

David V (IV) Narin (the Clever)

Son of Rusudan.

1258

David Narin establishes himself at Kutais, from where he holds a separate court as king of Imeratia. The division of the kingdoms is formalised in 1260 and the treasure of the Bagratides, hitherto hidden in the Khomli caves of Mingrelia, is divided equally between the two cousin kings.

1269 - 1273

Interregnum.

1273 - 1289

Demetre II the Devoted

Son.

1289 - 1292

Vakhtang II of Imeretia

Son of David V.

1291

David (VII)

Co-ruler.

1292 - 1301

David VII (VI)

Son of Demetre II. Anti-king until 1311.

1299

Giorgi VI

Co-ruler.

1301 - 1307

Vakhtang III

Brother of David VII.

David (VII)

Co-ruler.

Giorgi VI

Co-ruler.

1307 - 1314

Giorgi V the Minor / the Little

Son of David VII.

David (VII)

Co-ruler. Died 1310.

Giorgi VI

Regent.

1314 - 1346

Giorgi VI the Illustrious

Son of Demetre II

1330 - 1387

Imeretia is recovered by Giorgi VI.

1346 - 1360

David VIII (VII)

Son.

1355

Bagrat V

Co-ruler.

1360 - 1395

Bagrat V the Great

Son of David VIII.

1369

Giorgi VII

Co-ruler.

1387

Imeretia is lost.

1395 - 1405

Giorgi VII

Son.

1401

Imeretia is recovered when its king is killed at the Battle of Chalaghan.

1405 - 1412

Konstantine I

Brother.

c.1408

Alexandre I

Son. Co-ruler.

c.1408

Bagrat

Brother. Co-ruler.

c.1408

Giorgi

Brother. Co-ruler.

1412 - 1442

Alexandre I the Great

Son of Konstantine I. Died 1446.

Vaxtang IV

Son. Co-ruler in Kakhetia.

Demetre III

Brother. Co-ruler in Kakhetia.

Giorgi VIII

Brother. Co-ruler in Kakhetia.

Zaal

Brother. Co-ruler. Died c.1438.

1442 - 1446

Vaxtang IV

Demetre III

Co-ruler.

Giorgi VIII

Co-ruler.

1446 - 1453

Demetre III

de jure.

1446 - 1465

Giorgi VIII

de facto. Seceded in Kakhetia upon the kingdom's collapse.

c.1460

Alexandre

Son. Succeeded to the throne of Kakhetia.

1466 - 1490

The kingdom of Georgia disintegrates under the internal pressure of factions fighting for independence. Neighbouring kingdoms exploit the situation, and by the sixteenth century, the Safavid Persians annexe eastern Georgia and the Ottoman empire takes the west. The regions remain partly autonomous and retain their own leaders who organise rebellions on occasion. Subsequent Persian and Turkish invasions further weaken local kingdoms and regions.

1465 - 1478

Bagrat VI

Son of Giorgi VIII. His son seceded in Imeretia.

c.1465

Konstantine II

Son of Demetre III. Co-ruler.

1478 - 1493

Konstantine II

Son of Giorgi VIII.

1490 - 1493

Official partition of Georgia into several minor kingdoms. Konstantine recognises the independence of Kakhetia in 1490, and Imeretia in 1493. He is left with the dominant region of Kartli.

Kingdom of Kartli
AD 1493 - 1762

This regional kingdom was located in eastern Georgia, and was historically the dominant province in Georgia. It includes the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, and two other major cities, Gori and Rustavi. It was bordered by the mountain-range of the Greater Caucasus to the north, by the province of Kakheti to the east, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the south, by Ottoman Turkey and the Samtskhe-Javakheti region to the south-west, and by the province of Imeretia to the west. Before the unification of Georgia the region had also been known as Iberia.

The numbering of kings is continuous from the kingdom of Georgia.

1493 - 1505

Konstantine II

Son of Giorgi VIII of the Kingdom of Georgia.

1505 - 1524

David X

Son.

1513

With a claim on the throne of Kakheti, David captures its king but failed to take the crown prince. Nevertheless, he takes control of the kingdom until 1520.

1520

David is defeated by Kakheti at the battle of Kiziki, and is hereafter recognised solely as the king of Kartli. He goes on to defeat a large Persian occupying force at Tiflis, conquers Aghjakala and massacres all the Turkomans who had settled there.

1522

David X takes holy orders. Two years later he abdicates the throne in favour of his younger brother.

1524 - 1534

Giorgi IX

Brother. Abdicated and took holy orders. d.after 1540.

1534 - 1558

Luarsab I

Son of David X. Killed in battle.

1558 - 1569

Svimeon I

Son.

1569

Taken prisoner by the Qizilbashi at the battle of Partzkhisi in 1569. Sent to Persia where he refuses to convert to Islam despite repeated threats and blandishments. He is imprisoned at the fortress of Alamut for many years. Released from captivity in 1578, he is granted the title of Shah Nawaz Khan and sent with an army to fight against the Turks.

1569 - 1578

David XI

Son of Luarsab I. Deposed by Svimeon's return.

1578 - 1600

Svimeon I

Finally captured by Turks. d.1612.

1600 - 1605

Giorgi X

Son. Died from eating a cake with a bee in it.

1606 - 1615

Luarsab II

Son. Deposed by Shah Abbas of Persia.

1615 - 1619

Bagrat VII

Son of David XI.

1619 - 1630

Svimeon II

Son. Deposed by Taimurazi of Kakhetia.

1616 - 1634

Kartli rules Kakhetia.

1634 - 1658

Rustam

Son. Sent by the shah of Persia to regain his kingdom.

1648 - 1656

Kartli invades Kakhetia and re-captures the kingdom.

1658 - 1676

Vakhtang V (VI)

Cousin adopted by Rustam in 1653.

1661

Vakhtang deposes Bagrat V of Imeretia and places his own son, Archili, on the throne.

1676 - 1688

Giorgi XI

Son. Deposed for leading a revolt against Persia.

1688 - 1691

Kartli is united with Kakhetia under the rule of the latter kingdom, under the shah of Persia's direction.

1692 - 1695

Giorgi XI

Restored after submitting to Persia. Deposed again.

1695 - 1703

Kartli is united with Kakhetia under the rule of the latter kingdom, under the shah of Persia's direction.

1703 - 1709

Giorgi XI

Restored for a second time. Killed in battle.

1709

Governor of the Kandahar province of Afghanistan since 1704, Giorgi is killed by rebel Ghilzai Afghan tribes under Mirwais Khan Hotak, when the latter creates a kingdom of his own. As governor, Giorgi leads a Persian force against the Ghilzais but is defeated and killed.

1709

Levanti

Son of Vakhtang V. Ruled 23.04 to 13.05 or 13.07. Died.

1709 - 1711

Kaikhusru

Son. Never crowned. Reigned in absentia whilst serving Shah.

1711 - 1714

Interregnum.

1714 - 1716

Jesse

Son of Levanti. Deposed by the Shah.

1716 - 1723

Vakhtang VI (VII)

Brother. Deposed in favour of Jesse. Exiled in Moscow.

1723 - 1727

Jesse

Restored by the Shah.

1727 - 1744

The throne passes to the kings of Kakhetia upon Jesse's death.

1744 - 1762

Taimurazi II

King of Kakhetia.

1762

Upon the death of Taimurazi, his son unites the kingdoms of Kartli and Kakhetia to form Kartl-Kakheit.

Kingdom of Kakhetia
AD 1465 - 1762

This petty kingdom was located in eastern Georgia, and was ruled by the Bagrationi dynasty. It is now bordered by the small mountainous province of Tusheti and mountain-range of Greater Caucasus to the north, Azerbaijan to the east and the south, and the Georgian province of Kartli to the west. Kakhetia is geographically divided into the Inner Kakhetia to the east of Tsiv-Gombori mountain-range and the Outer Kakhetia to the west of it. The major river in the eastern section is Alazani, and in the western, Iori.

Kakhetia was an independent feudal principality from the end of the eighth century. It was incorporated into the united Georgian Kingdom at the beginning of the eleventh century, but for less than a decade. Only at the beginning of the twelfth century did Georgian king David the Builder annexe Kakhetia to his kingdom successfully. After the disintegration of the Georgian kingdom, Kakhetia became an independent kingdom in the 1460s.

1465 - 1476

Giorgi I

Formerly Giorgi VIII of the Kingdom of Georgia.

1476 - 1511

Alexandre I

Son.

1478 - 1483

Kakhetia is united with Imeretia under Alexandre I.

1490

Konstantine king of Georgia recognises the independence of Kakhetia.

1511 - 1513

Giorgi II Av-Giorgi (Bad George)

Son. Deposed by David VIII of Kartli.

1513 - 1520

Kartli is united with Kakhetia under David VIII's rule.

1520 - 1574

Levanti I

Son. Killed by his son.

1574 - 1603

Alexandre II

Son. Seized the throne through regicide.

1603 - 1604

David I

Son.

1604 - 1605

Giorgi III

Brother.

1605

Konstantine I

Brother.

1605 - 1616

Taimurazi I

Son of David I.

1616 - 1630

Kartli rules Kakheti, with waning influence towards the end, as Taimurazi restores his powerbase.

1626 - 1632

Taimurazi I

1632 - 1634

Taimurazi loses the kingdom to Rustam of Kartli, who throws off Taimurazi with a force sent by the shah of Persia.

1634 - 1648

Taimurazi I

1648 - 1656

Taimurazi is put to flight when Kartli invades captures and rules the kingdom.

1656 - 1664

Interregnum under Persian governors.

1664 - 1675

Archili

1675 - 1703

Erekle / Irakle I

1688 - 1691

Kartli is united with Kakhetia under Erekle's rule, under the shah of Persia's direction.

1695 - 1703

Kartli is again united with Kakhetia under Erekle's rule, under the shah of Persia's direction.

1703 - 1721

David II

Son.

1721 - 1732

Konstantine II

Bastard brother.

1732 - 1744

Taimurazi II

Brother.

1744

Taimurazi accedes to the throne of Kartli through his marriage, and gives the throne of Kakheti to his only son. Father and son make a firm alliance to fight Persian occupants and defend the borders from permanent raids by North Caucasians.

1744 - 1762

Erekle / Irakle II

Son. b.1720.

1762

Upon the death of his father, Erekle unites the kingdoms of Kartl and Kakheti to form Kartl-Kakheit.

Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti (Georgia)
AD 1762 - 1801

This regional kingdom was located in eastern Georgia, and was created by the unification of two minor Georgian states which had existed since the disintegration of the Georgian kingdom, with its capital in Tbilisi.

Historically, Kartli was the dominant province in Georgia, but at that time, it was weakened by Persian military invasions more than its neighbouring kingdom in the east. Therefore, kings of Kakheti were the rulers of the new kingdom and Telavi, the capital of Kakheti, was the capital of the new state. The unification did not deter the Persians from their aggression towards Georgia and by the end of the eighteenth century the frequently-attacked kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti was almost totally devastated. In 1801 it was annexed by the Russian empire, former ally and patron.

The kingdom was seen as a reunification of the heartland of Georgia so the numbering of kings was continuous from the kingdom of Georgia.

1762 - 1798

Erekle / Irakle II

1774

Following an invitation by Erekle for Russian troops to protect Georgia from Ottoman and Persian incursions, the Georgians join the Russian empire as a client kingdom.

1792

Erekle deposes the king of Imeretia but is then distracted when he is faced by an invasion by the Turks.

1795

Persia mounts a devastating attack on Georgia from which the kingdom never recovers.

1798 - 1801

Giorgi XII

Son.

1801

Giorgi is deposed as Russia annexes the state on 12 September.

Kingdom of Imeretia
AD 1258 - 1810

Imeretia seceded from the Kingdom of Georgia long before its eventual break-up. David Narin was crowned at Kutaisi, as joint sovereign by his mother in 1230. Sent to the Great Khan of the Mongols in 1243, he was believed by the Georgian nobles to have disappeared two years later so they proclaimed David, son of Giorgi IV Lasha, as king of Georgia. David Narin was recognised as junior joint sovereign by the Great Khan of the Mongols in 1249 and was thereafter known as Davit Narin (the clever). He established himself at Kutais in 1258, from where he held separate court as king of Imeretia. The division of the kingdoms was formalised in 1260.

All the western regions of Georgia managed to remain independent for a decade after the east fell to Russia. The kingdom of Imeretia had a key role in the diplomatic efforts to maintain Georgian sovereignty in the west of the country and to unite western Georgian regions. Even after conquering Imeretia, it took the Russian empire another 54 years to take full control of all of Western Georgia. The region of Guria was abolished in 1828, and the region of Samegrelo in 1857. The region of Svaneti was gradually annexed in 1857-1859 and the principality of Abkhazia in 1864.

1258 - 1293

David Narin (the Clever)

1293 - 1327

Konstantine I

Son.

1327 - 1329

Mikeli II

Brother.

1329 - 1330

Bagrat I Mtziré (the Small)

Son. Duke of Choropan 1330-1372.

1330

Bagrat I succeeds as a minor on the death of his father, but is deposed when Giorgi V of Georgia subjugates Imeretia. Bagrat is appointed duke of Choropan.

1330 - 1387

Imeretia is ruled by lords on behalf of the kings of Georgia.

1387

Alexandre son of Bagrat announces the independence of Imeretia and is crowned king.

1387 - 1389

Alexandre I

Son of Bagrat I. Duke of Choropan 1372-1387.

1389 - 1396

Giorgi I the Sacred

Brother.

1396 - 1401

Konstantine II

Brother. Killed at the Battle of Chalaghan.

1401 - 1445

On the death of its king Imeretia reverts to the kings of Georgia, who put Demetre, Duke of Imeretia in place to govern the region on their behalf.

1445 - 1455

Demetre

Son of Alexandre I the Great of Georgia. Killed by a horse.

1455 - 1478

Bagrat II

Son of Prince Giorgi. Bagrat VI of Georgia.

1478

Alexandre II

Son.

1478 - 1483

Imeretia is united with the kingdom of Kakheti. Alexandre II persists in his attempts to re-establish an independent kingdom and eventually succeeds. He is crowned at Kutais in 1483. He loses the capital to Konstantine II of Georgia in 1485, but recovers it again in 1489.

1483 - 1510

Alexandre II

Regained the kingdom.

1493

King Konstantine of Georgia officially recognises the independence of Imeretia.

1510 - 1565

Bagrat III

Son.

1565 - 1585

Giorgi II

Son.

1585 - 1586

Konstantine III

Brother. Deposed by his uncle.

1586 - 1589

Levanti I

Son of Giorgi II. Seized the throne.

1589 - 1590

Bagrat IV

Grandson of Alexandre II. Deposed by his cousin.

1590 - 1605

Rustam

Son of Konstantine III.

1605 - 1639

Giorgi III

Brother.

1639 - 1660

Alexandre III

Son.

1660

With Alexandre's death a period of political instability follows, with several factions vying for the throne, and the regionally dominant Ottomans often interfering.

1660

Bagrat V

Son. Seized, blinded and deposed.

1660 - 1661

Vakhtang Jujuniashvili

Usurper.

1660

An insignificant nobleman, Vakhtang is proclaimed king by his wife after she engineers the deposition of her stepson, Bagrat IV, in 1660 because he refuses to marry her. He is deposed by Vameq Dadiani and the great nobles with Turkish support, and exiled to Akhaltsikhe in 1661. He is restored by the Turkish Pasha of Akhaltsikhe in 1668.

1661

Prince Vameq III Dadiani

Duke of Mingrelia. Supporter of Bagrat V.

1661

Bagrat V

Restored.

1661

King Vakhtang V (VI) of Kartli deposes Bagrat V and places his own son on the throne.

1661 - 1663

Archili

Son of Vakhtang V (VI) of Kartli.

1663 - 1664

Demetre Gurieli

Duke of Mingrelia.

1664

Bagrat is restored through Ottoman intervention.

1664 - 1668

Bagrat V

Restored for the second time.

1668

Bagrat is deposed by the Turkish Pasha of Akhaltsikhe in favour of Vakhtang.

1668

Vakhtang Jujuniashvili

Killed.

1668 - 1678

Bagrat V

Restored for the third time.

1678

Bagrat is deposed by the Turkish Pasha of Akhaltsikhe in favour of Archili.

1678 - 1679

Archili

Restored.

1679

Bagrat is restored on the orders of the Ottoman Sultan.

1679 - 1681

Bagrat V

Restored for the fourth time.

1681

Alexandre IV

Son of Bagrat V.

1681 - 1683

Giorgi III Gurieli

Usurps the throne on the accession of Alexandre.

1683

Alexandre is proclaimed king on the deposition of Giorgi III.

1683 - 1689

Alexandre IV

Restored. Deposed by Archili.

1689 - 1691

Archili

Restored for the second time.

1689 - 1691

Archili's self-imposed restoration of his rule oversees a period of general instability and misrule. The Ottomans restore Alexandre as a result.

1691 - 1695

Alexandre IV

Restored for the second time.

1695

Alexandre is arrested by rebellious nobles led by the duke of Radsha, and delivered to the king of Kartli.

1695 - 1696

Archili

Restored for the third time. Deposed by nobles.

1696 - 1698

Giorgi IV Gotcha

Son of Bagrati Gotchashvili, of a cadet Bagration branch.

1698

Giorgi is expelled by the duke of Radsha.

1698

Archili

Restored for the fourth time.

1698

Archili seizes the vacant throne but is unable to hold onto it when an Ottoman army enters the region. He flees to Dwaleth. Settling in Moscow, he is responsible for setting up the first printing press in the Georgian language.

1698 - 1701

Svimeon I

Son of Alexandre IV.

1701

Svimeon is shot dead outside his own bedroom at night by Mamia Gurieli, who then seizes the throne.

1701 - 1702

Mamia III Gurieli

Usurper.

1702 - 1707

Giorgi V Abashidze

1707 - 1711

Giorgi VI

Son of Alexandre IV. Expelled by Mamia III.

1711 - 1712

Mamia III Gurieli

Restored. Defeated and expelled by Giorgi VI.

1712 - 1713

Giorgi VI

Restored. Deposed.

1713 - 1714

Mamia III Gurieli

Restored for the second time.

1714 - 1720

Giorgi VI

Restored for the second time.

1720

Giorgi IV Gurieli

1717 - 1720

Alexandre V, the rightful heir to the throne, goes into exile in 1717, at Constantinople, in order to seek aid from the Ottoman Sultan in expelling the Gurielis. He returns to Imeratia with a Turkish army in August 1719. He is proclaimed king on the deposition of Giorgi IV in June 1720. Crowned at Kutais in 1721.

1720 - 1741

Alexandre V

Son of Giorgi VI. Deposed by Turks in favour of his brother.

1741

Giorgi VII

Brother.

1741 - 1752

Alexandre V

Son. Restored after protests.

1752

Giorgi VII

Restored. d. after 1772.

1752 - 1766

Solomoni I the Great

Son of Alexandre V. Deposed by the Ottomans.

1766 - 1768

Taimurazi

Son of Prince Mumaka.

1768 - 1782

Solomoni I the Great

Restored.

1782 - 1792

David II

Son of Giorgi VIII.

1792

David is forced to relinquish the throne when attacked by Erekle II of Georgia. Erekle recommends the raising of Solomoni II to the throne, his maternal grandson, as a compromise candidate, in order to end the divisions that have hitherto plagued the kingdom.

1792 - 1810

Solomoni II

Deposed.

1804

Solomoni accepts a Russian protectorate on 21 April.

1810

The Russian empire conquers and abolishes the western Georgian kingdom in violation of their own protectorate treaty on 20 February. Later the same year the deposed king flees to Ottoman Akhaltsikhe when he learns of a Russian plot to kidnap him.

Modern Georgia
AD 1810 - Present Day

From 1810 until 1991, all of Georgia was occupied as a satellite state of the Soviet Russian empire. Independence in 1991 saw internal conflict resurrected, very much in the traditional format, as the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia refused to be part of a modern Georgian state. Supported by Russia, they maintained themselves as autonomous but internationally-unrecognised independent states.

1866

The twenty year-old Prince Giorgi Mikhailovitch, Prince of Abkhazia, is proclaimed at Sukhumi on 29 July 1866 by the people after an uprising against the Russians. He is arrested and deported to Orenburg.

1888

The last descendant of the Royal House of Georgia, Prince David, dies in Moscow on 24 September. He had had one son who had already died young in 1861.

1917 - 1921

Following the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, in November 1917 the Caucasus is permitted the right to form an independent state. The Federative Democratic Republic is proclaimed in April 1918, but it lasts all of a month as old tensions between Georgians, Armenians, and Turkic-speaking Azeris resurface. Following the conclusion of the Russian Civil War, Soviet Russia invades Georgia, incorporating it into the USSR.

1973

The last descendant of the royal house of Imeretia, Prince Constantine Imeretinski, dies in London at the age of eighty years and without issue.

1991 - 1992

As Communism collapses, the Georgians vote overwhelmingly for a restoration of full independence, although the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia declare their wish to be part of the new Russian Confederation of Independent States. The following year, The elected nationalist leader is overthrown by opposition militias and a former Soviet minister, Eduard Shevardnadze, is installed as the country's leader.

2003

Mass demonstrations force Shevardnadze from office, clearing the way in 2004 for free elections and the start of a long climb from its position as one of the poorest former Russian Soviet states.

2008

Partially fooled by Russia into commencing an attack on South Ossetia to recover the breakaway territory, Georgia is humiliated as a pre-prepared Russian taskforce crushes its forces and occupies South Ossetia under the pretence of protecting Russian passport holders there.

Hereditary Kings
AD 1801/1810 - Present

The line of descent of these hereditary kings is unknown.

? - Present

Georgi Bagragiogi

Lives in Marbella in Spain.