George XI of Kartli

George XI
King of Kartli
Reign	1676–1688 1703–1709
Predecessor	Vakhtang V of Kartli Heraclius I of Kakheti
Successor	Heraclius I of Kakheti Kaikhosro of Kartli
Born	1651 Kartli,modern dayGeorgia
Died	21 April 1709(1709-04-21)(aged 57–58) Kandahar,modern dayAfghanistan
Spouse	TamarBagration-Davitishvili KhoreshanMikeladze
Issue	Prince Bagrat Princess Mariam Princess Rodam of Kartli
Dynasty	Bagrationi dynasty
Father	Vakhtang V of Kartli
Mother	Rodam Kaplanishvili-Orbeliani
Religion	Roman Catholic,Shia Islam prev.Georgian Orthodox Church
Khelrtva

George XI(Georgian:გიორგი XI,romanized:giorgi XI;1651 – 21 April 1709), known asGurgin KhaninIran,was aGeorgianmonarch (mepe) who ruled theKingdom of Kartlias aSafavid Persiansubject from 1676 to 1688 and again from 1703 to 1709. He is best known for his struggle against the Safavids which dominated his weakened kingdom and later as a Safavid commander-in-chief in what is nowAfghanistan.Being anEastern Orthodox Christian,he converted toShia Islamprior to his appointment as governor ofKandahar.

Life

George XI.

He was the son ofVakhtang V,whom he succeeded as the ruler of Kartli in 1676. As with many other Georgian rulers, he had to nominally acceptIslamand take the name of Shahnawaz II before being able to be confirmed as a viceroy byShahSolayman I.However, Georgians continued to consider him as their king under hisChristiannameGiorgi(George).

When nearly half-century-long peaceful relations between Kartli and its Persian suzerains significantly deteriorated, George attempted to centralise loose royal authority in Kartli and weaken the Persian influence. He patronisedCatholicmissionaries and had correspondence withInnocent XI.After theOttomandefeat in theBattle of Vienna,George XI hoped to exploit that Empire's new weakness. In a letter to Innocent XI dated April 29, 1687 he vowed to be aCatholic Kingand declared his readiness and willingness and that of his troops to obey any order of theRoman Pope.According to Catholic missionaries, George remained until his death a faithful Catholic.

In 1688, George headed an abortive coup against a Persian governor of the neighboring Georgian region ofKakheti,and attempted, though vainly, to gainOttomansupport against the Safavid overlordship. In response, Shah Solayman deposed George and gave his crown to the rival Kakhetian princeErekle I,who then embraced Islam and took the name Nazar-Ali Khan.Abbas Qoli-Khan,thebeglarbeg(governor general) ofGanja,was placed in charge of the government in Kakheti and commissioned to reinforce Erekle's positions in Kartli. George fled toRachain western Georgia, whence he made several attempts to reclaim his possession. In 1696, he managed to stage a temporary comeback and helped his brotherArchilto temporarily regain thecrown of Imeretiin western Georgia, but was eventually forced to withdraw from Kartli again. In 1694, following the death of Solayman, there was a change in the government in Georgia: Abbas-Quli Khan was accused by his rivals of supporting George XI. On the orders of the new shahSoltan Hosayn,he was promptly arrested by Erekle and sent toIsfahanunder guard, while his possessions were confiscated. Qalb-Ali Khan was appointed Abbas-Quli Khan's successor as Persian governor of Kakheti. However, the strife in Georgia as well as the Safavid empire in general forced Husayn to make peace with George who was summoned to Isfahan in 1696. The shah entrusted him with restoring order along the eastern frontiers of the empire and appointed himbeglarbegofKermanin 1699. It was the beginning of an illustrious but, ultimately, tragic career in the service of the Safavids.

Royal charter of George XI.

George, aided by his brotherLevan,by 1700 had reestablished the shah's sovereignty in Kerman. As a reward, George was restored to the throne of Kartli in 1703, but was not allowed to return to his country. Instead, he was soon assigned to suppress theAfghanrebellion in May 1704. He was granted the title of Gurgin Khan by the Shah and was appointed the viceroy ofKandahar provinceandsipah salar(commander-in-chief) of the Persian armies. While he was in the field, he entrusted the administration of his country ofKartlito a nephew, the future KingVakhtang VI.Gurgin managed to crush the revolts ofAfghan tribesand ruled Kandahar with uncompromising severity. He subdued many of the local leaders and sentMirwais Khan Hotak,a powerful chieftain of theGhiljiAfghans (Pashtuns), in chains to Isfahan. However, Mirwais Khan managed to gain the favour of the Shah and even to arouse his suspicion against the beglarbeg. Determined to bring about the overthrow of Gurgin, Mirwais Khan staged a carefully planned coup. On April 21, 1709, when the majority of the Georgian troops under Gurgin's nephew, Alexander, were away from Kandahar on a raid against the rebels, Mirwais invited Gurgin on a banquet at his country estate atKokaroninKandahar Cityand assassinated him. The assassin was supposedly an Afghan warrior,Younis Kakar,one of a tribal chiefs ofMirwais Khan Hotak.Gurgin's small escort was also massacred and Mirwais seized power in Kandahar.He sent to Isfahan thecrossandpsalms,found at the murdered Georgian general, as the proof of the latter's covert defection.

Apunitive expeditioninto the Afghan lands led by George's nephew,Kay Khusrau,ended in October 1711 disastrously with his death and the destruction of nearly his entire force of 30,000.

Family and children

George XI was married twice. He married first Tamar, daughter of Prince DavidDavitishviliin 1676. She died on 4 December 1683, having mothered two children:

• Prince Bagrat (died 1692/94), who was sent to the shah as a political hostage and died atHerat;
• Princess Mariam (died 1715), who married in 1687David Kvenipniveli, Duke of KsaniDuchy of Ksaniand had nine children.

George XI married his second wife Khoreshan (died 24 February 1695), daughter of PrinceGiorgi Mikeladze,atKojoriin 1687. They had a daughter.

• Princess Rodam of Kartli(d. 1730)

See also

• List of the Kings of Georgia
• Iranian Georgians
• History of Georgia

Further reading

• Lang, David Marshall(1957). "Political History of the Mukhranian Period, 1658–1703".The Last Years of the Georgian Monarchy, 1658–1832.New York:Columbia University Press.pp. 85–103.LCCN56-6814.
• Matthee, Rudi(2002)."Gorgin Khan".InYarshater, Ehsan(ed.).Encyclopædia Iranica, Online Edition.Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation.Retrieved3 July2024.
• Roemer, H. R. (1986). "The Safavid Period". In Jackson, Peter; Lockhart, Laurence (eds.).The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 6: The Timurid and Safavid Periods.Cambridge University Press. p. 315.ISBN0-521-20094-6.
• Sicker, Martin (2000).The Islamic World in Decline: From the Treaty of Karlowitz to the Disintegration of the Ottoman Empire.Praeger/Greenwood. p. 44.ISBN0-275-96891-X.
• Vogelsang, Willem (2001).The Afghans.Blackwell Publishing.ISBN0-631-19841-5.