The 12th-century documentThe Will of King Davidcontains a vague and controversial passage whereby David instructs the eldest son andheir apparentDemetrius Ito rear his younger brother Vakhtang and make him a successor to the throne if the latter proves to be "capable". Given the Georgianorder of successionbased onprimogenitureand indication that an attemptedcoupagainst Demetrius in the 1130s involved Vakhtang, many modern scholars in Georgia consider the passage to be a latter-day forgery by Vakhtang's sympathizers. A reference to the aristocratic plot against Demetrius on behalf of Vakhtang is found in the contemporaneousArmenianchronicle byVardanalthough the author does not directly names the rebellious prince. This plot, intended to assassinate Demetrius I, was directed by the influential nobleman IvaneAbuletisdzeand his son Kirkish. The king was timely warned by Ivane's father Abulet. Vakhtang was captured, blinded and cast in prison where he apparently died shortly afterwards.[1][2]
