Erekle II
Encyclopedia
Erekle II (November 7, 1720, or October 7, 1721 [according to C. Toumanoff
] — January 11, 1798) was a Georgian
monarch of the Bagrationi Dynasty
, reigning as the king of Kakheti
from 1744 to 1762, and of Kartli and Kakheti from 1762 until 1798. In the contemporary Persian sources he is referred to as Erekli Khan, while Russians
knew him as Irakli (Irakly). His name is frequently transliterated in a Latinized form Heraclius because both names Erekle and Irakli are Georgian versions of this Greek
name.
The penultimate king of the united kingdoms of Kakheti and Kartli in eastern Georgia
, his reign is regarded as the swan-song of the Georgian monarchy. Aided by his personal abilities and the unrest in the Persian Empire
, Erekle established himself as a de facto
independent ruler and attempted to modernize the government, economics, and military. Overwhelmed by the internal and external menaces to Georgia’s precarious independence and its temporary hegemony in eastern Transcaucasia, he placed his kingdom under the formal Russian protection
in 1783, but the move did not prevent Georgia from being devastated by the Persian invasion in 1795
. Erekle died in 1798, leaving the throne to his moribund heir, George XII
.
Born in Telavi
, the center of Kakheti
region of Georgia, Erekle was a son Teimuraz II of Kakheti
and his wife Tamar, daughter of Vakhtang VI of Kartli
. His childhood and early teens coincided with the occupation of Kakheti
by the Ottomans
from 1732 until 1735 when they were ousted from Georgia by Nader
, Shah of Iran
, in his two successive campaigns of 1734 and 1735. Teimuraz sided with the Persians and was installed as a Persian wali
(governor) in neighboring Kartli
. However, many Georgian nobles refused to accept the new regime and rose in rebellion in response to heavy tribute levied by Nadir upon the Georgian provinces. Nonetheless, Teimuraz and Erekle remained loyal to the shah, partly in order to prevent the comeback of the rival Mukhrani
branch, whose fall early in the 1720s had opened the way to Teimuraz’s accession in Kartli. From 1737 to 1739, Erekle commanded a Georgian auxiliary force during Nadir’s expedition in India
and gained a reputation of an able military commander. He then served as a lieutenant to his father and assumed the regency when Teimuraz was briefly summoned for consultations in the Persian capital of Isfahan in 1744. In the meantime, Erekle defeated a coup attempt by the rival Georgian prince Abdullah Beg
of the Mukhrani dynasty, and helped Teimuraz suppress the aristocratic opposition to the Persian hegemony led by Givi Amilakhvari
. As a reward, Nadir granted the kingship of Kartli to Teimuraz and of Kakheti to Erekle, and also arranged the marriage of his nephew Ali-Qoli Khan, who eventually would succeed him as Adil Shah
, to Teimuraz’s daughter Kethevan.
Yet, both Georgian kingdoms remained under heavy Persian tribute until Nadir was assassinated in 1747. Teimuraz and Erekle took advantage of the ensuing political instability in Persia to assert their independence and expelled Persian garrisons from all key positions in Georgia, including Tbilisi. In close cooperation with each other, they managed to prevent a new revolt by the Mukhranian supporters fomented by Ebrahim Khan, brother of Adel Shah, in 1748. They concluded an anti-Persian alliance with the khans of Azerbaijan who were particularly vulnerable to the aggression from Persian warlords and agreed to recognize Erekle’s supremacy in eastern Transcaucasia. In 1752, the Georgian kings sent a mission to Russia to request 3,000 Russian troops or a subsidy to enable them to hire Circassian mercenaries in order to invade Persia and install a pro-Russian government there. The embassy failed to yield any results, however, for the Russian court was preoccupied with European affairs.
In 1762, Teimuraz II died while on a diplomatic mission to the court of St. Petersburg, and Erekle succeeded him as King of Kartli, thus uniting Georgia politically for the first time in three centuries.
While maintaining certain Persian-type pomp at his court, he launched an ambitious program of "Europeanization" which was supported by the Georgian intellectual élites, but was not overwhelmingly successful because Georgia remained physically isolated from Europe
and had to expend all available resources on defending its precarious independence. He strove to enlist the support of European powers, and to attract Western scientists and technicians to give his country the benefit of the latest military and industrial techniques. His style of governing resembled that of contemporary enlightened despots in Central Europe
. He exercised executive, legislative, and judicial authority and closely supervised the activities of government departments. Erekle’s primary objective in internal policy was to further centralize the government through reducing the powers of the aristocracy. For this purpose, he attempted to create a governing élite composed of his own agents to replace the self-minded aristocratic lords in local affairs. At the same time, he encouraged peasant-vassals to supply the military force necessary to overcome the aristocracy's resistance and protect the country from incessant marauding assaults from Dagestan
known to Georgians as Lekianoba
. In the words of the British
historian David Marshall Lang
, "his vigilance in the care of his people knew no bounds. On campaign, he would sit up at night watching for the enemy, while in time of peace, he spent his life in transacting business of state or in religious exercise, and devoted but a few hours to sleep."
treated the Caucasus front as merely a secondary theater of military operations. Still, Erekle continued to seek firmer alliance with Russia, his immediate motivation being the Persian ruler Karim Khan
’s attempts to bring Georgia back into the Persian sphere of influence. Karim Khan’s death in 1779 temporarily relieved Erekle of these dangers, as Persia again became engulfed into chaos.
In 1783, the Russian expansion southward into the Crimea
brought the Caucasus into Catherine II’s area of interest. In the Treaty of Georgievsk
of 1783, Erekle finally obtained the guarantees he had sought from Russia, transforming Georgia into a Russian protectorate, as Erekle formally repudiated all legal ties to Persia and placed his foreign policy under the Russian supervision. However, during the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792), a Tbilisi-based small Russian force evacuated Georgia, leaving Erekle to face new dangers from Persia alone. Mohammad Khan Qajar
, who had managed to bring most of central Iranian plateau under his firm control by 1794, was inclined to revive the Persian Empire with the Caucasus as its part. In 1795, he demanded that Erekle acknowledged Persian suzerainty, promising in return to confirm him as wali. Erekle refused, and in September 1795, the Persian army of 35,000 moved into Georgia. After the valiant defense of Tbilisi at the Battle of Krtsanisi
, in which the king participated personally in the advance guard, Erekle’s small army of 5000 men was almost completely annihilated. While becoming a witness of the fearful devastation of his capital and slaughter of its civilians, king Erekle, who did not want to leave the battlefield and the city was spirited away by the very last of his bodyguards and a few family members. The Persian invasion delivered a hard blow to Georgia from which it was not able to recover. Despite being abandoned at the critical moment, he still had to rely on belated Russian support and fought, in 1796, alongside the Russian expeditionary forces
sent by Catherine into the Persian territories. But her death that year brought an abrupt change of policy in the Caucasus, and her successor Paul I
withdrew all Russia troops from the region. Aga Mohammad launched his second campaign to punish the Georgians for their alliance with Russia. However, his assassination in 1797 spared Kartli-Kakheti more devastation.
Erekle died in 1798 still convinced that only Russian protection could ensure the continued existence of his country. He was succeeded by his weak and sickly son, George XII
, after whose death Tsar Paul I annexed, in 1801, Kartli-Kakheti to Russia, terminating both Georgia's independence and a millennium-long rule of the Bagrationi Dynasty
.
(died 1750), but divorced her in 1744. They had two children:
In 1745 Erekle remarried Princess Anna née Abashidze (b. 1730 - d. Tbilisi, 6 December 1749). They had two children:
In 1750, Erekle married thirdly Darejan née Dadiani
(Daria; b. 20 July 1734 - d. 8 November 1808). They had twenty children:
Cyril Toumanoff
Cyril Leo Heraclius, Prince Toumanoff was an United States-based historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armenia, the Byzantine Empire, and Iran...
] — January 11, 1798) was a Georgian
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
monarch of the Bagrationi Dynasty
Bagrationi Dynasty
The Bagrationi dynasty was the ruling family of Georgia. Their ascendency lasted from the early Middle Ages until the early 19th century. In modern usage, this royal line is frequently referred to as the Georgian Bagratids, a Hellenized form of their dynastic name.The origin of the Bagrationi...
, reigning as the king of Kakheti
Kingdom of Kakheti
The Kingdom of Kakheti was a late medieval/early modern monarchy in eastern Georgia, centered at the province of Kakheti, with its capital first at Gremi and then at Telavi...
from 1744 to 1762, and of Kartli and Kakheti from 1762 until 1798. In the contemporary Persian sources he is referred to as Erekli Khan, while Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
knew him as Irakli (Irakly). His name is frequently transliterated in a Latinized form Heraclius because both names Erekle and Irakli are Georgian versions of this Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
name.
The penultimate king of the united kingdoms of Kakheti and Kartli in eastern Georgia
Eastern Georgia
Eastern Georgia commonly refers to the eastern part of the nation of Georgia, which in historic times included the kingdom of Iberia in the Caucasus. The present-day term refers to the territory of Georgia which lies to the east and south of the Likhi and Meskheti Ranges, but excludes the region...
, his reign is regarded as the swan-song of the Georgian monarchy. Aided by his personal abilities and the unrest in the Persian Empire
Qajar dynasty
The Qajar dynasty was an Iranian royal family of Turkic descent who ruled Persia from 1785 to 1925....
, Erekle established himself as a de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
independent ruler and attempted to modernize the government, economics, and military. Overwhelmed by the internal and external menaces to Georgia’s precarious independence and its temporary hegemony in eastern Transcaucasia, he placed his kingdom under the formal Russian protection
Treaty of Georgievsk
The Treaty of Georgievsk was a bilateral treaty concluded between the Russian Empire and the east Georgian kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti on July 24, 1783. The treaty established Georgia as a protectorate of Russia, which guaranteed Georgia's territorial integrity and the continuation of its reigning...
in 1783, but the move did not prevent Georgia from being devastated by the Persian invasion in 1795
Battle of Krtsanisi
The Battle of Krtsanisi was fought between Persian and Georgian armies at the place of Krtsanisi near Tbilisi, Georgia, from September 8 to September 11, 1795, as part of the war intended by the Persian ruler Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar as a reprisal for King Heraclius II of Georgia’s alliance with...
. Erekle died in 1798, leaving the throne to his moribund heir, George XII
George XII of Georgia
George XII , sometimes known as George XIII , of the House of Bagrationi, was the last king of Georgia from 1798 until his death in 1800...
.
Early years and reign in Kakheti
Telavi
Telavi is the main city and administrative center of Georgia's eastern province of Kakheti. Its population consists of some 21,800 inhabitants . The city is located on foot-hills of Tsiv-Gombori Range at 500-800 meters above the sea level....
, the center of Kakheti
Kakheti
Kakheti is a historical province in Eastern Georgia inhabited by Kakhetians who speak a local dialect of Georgian. It is bordered by the small mountainous province of Tusheti and the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north, Russian Federation to the Northeast, Azerbaijan to the Southeast, and...
region of Georgia, Erekle was a son Teimuraz II of Kakheti
Teimuraz II
Teimuraz II , of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a king of Kakheti, eastern Georgia, from 1732 to 1744, then of Kartli from 1744 until his death.- Life :...
and his wife Tamar, daughter of Vakhtang VI of Kartli
Vakhtang VI of Kartli
Vakhtang VI , also known as Vakhtang the Scholar and Vakhtang the Lawgiver, was a Wāli of Kartli, eastern Georgia, as a nominal vassal to the Persian shah from 1716 to 1724. Traditionally, he has been still styled as king of Kartli...
. His childhood and early teens coincided with the occupation of Kakheti
Kakheti
Kakheti is a historical province in Eastern Georgia inhabited by Kakhetians who speak a local dialect of Georgian. It is bordered by the small mountainous province of Tusheti and the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north, Russian Federation to the Northeast, Azerbaijan to the Southeast, and...
by the Ottomans
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
from 1732 until 1735 when they were ousted from Georgia by Nader
Nader Shah
Nāder Shāh Afshār ruled as Shah of Iran and was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty. Because of his military genius, some historians have described him as the Napoleon of Persia or the Second Alexander...
, Shah of Iran
Afsharid dynasty
The Afsharids were members of an Iranian dynasty of Turkmen origin from Khorasan who ruled Persia in the 18th century. The dynasty was founded in 1736 by the military commander Nader Shah who deposed the last member of the Safavid dynasty and proclaimed himself King of Iran. During Nader's reign,...
, in his two successive campaigns of 1734 and 1735. Teimuraz sided with the Persians and was installed as a Persian wali
Wali
Walī , is an Arabic word meaning "custodian", "protector", "sponsor", or authority as denoted by its definition "crown". "Wali" is someone who has "Walayah" over somebody else. For example, in Fiqh the father is wali of his children. In Islam, the phrase ولي الله walīyu 'llāh...
(governor) in neighboring Kartli
Kartli
Kartli is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari , on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial role in ethnic and political consolidation of the Georgians in the Middle Ages...
. However, many Georgian nobles refused to accept the new regime and rose in rebellion in response to heavy tribute levied by Nadir upon the Georgian provinces. Nonetheless, Teimuraz and Erekle remained loyal to the shah, partly in order to prevent the comeback of the rival Mukhrani
House of Mukhrani
The house of Mukhrani is a Georgian princely family, a collateral branch of the former royal dynasty of Bagrationi of which it sprung early in the 16th century, and received in appanage the domain of Mukhrani located in Kartli, central Georgia...
branch, whose fall early in the 1720s had opened the way to Teimuraz’s accession in Kartli. From 1737 to 1739, Erekle commanded a Georgian auxiliary force during Nadir’s expedition in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and gained a reputation of an able military commander. He then served as a lieutenant to his father and assumed the regency when Teimuraz was briefly summoned for consultations in the Persian capital of Isfahan in 1744. In the meantime, Erekle defeated a coup attempt by the rival Georgian prince Abdullah Beg
Abdullah Beg of Kartli
Abdu'llah Beg , born Archil , was a Georgian prince of the House of Mukhrani of the Bagrationi dynasty and claimant to the kingship of Kartli in the 1740s....
of the Mukhrani dynasty, and helped Teimuraz suppress the aristocratic opposition to the Persian hegemony led by Givi Amilakhvari
Givi Amilakhvari
200px|thumb|[[Archil of Imereti|Archil II]] and Givi AmilakhvariGivi Amilakhvari was a Georgian nobleman with a prominent role in the politics of eastern Georgia in the first half of the 18th century...
. As a reward, Nadir granted the kingship of Kartli to Teimuraz and of Kakheti to Erekle, and also arranged the marriage of his nephew Ali-Qoli Khan, who eventually would succeed him as Adil Shah
Adil Shah
Adil or Adel Shah Afshar or Ali Qoli was Shah of Persia from 1747 until 1748.Subsequent to the assassination of Nader Shah in Fathabad , his nephew Ali Qoli declared himself Adil Shah , and shah of Persia...
, to Teimuraz’s daughter Kethevan.
Yet, both Georgian kingdoms remained under heavy Persian tribute until Nadir was assassinated in 1747. Teimuraz and Erekle took advantage of the ensuing political instability in Persia to assert their independence and expelled Persian garrisons from all key positions in Georgia, including Tbilisi. In close cooperation with each other, they managed to prevent a new revolt by the Mukhranian supporters fomented by Ebrahim Khan, brother of Adel Shah, in 1748. They concluded an anti-Persian alliance with the khans of Azerbaijan who were particularly vulnerable to the aggression from Persian warlords and agreed to recognize Erekle’s supremacy in eastern Transcaucasia. In 1752, the Georgian kings sent a mission to Russia to request 3,000 Russian troops or a subsidy to enable them to hire Circassian mercenaries in order to invade Persia and install a pro-Russian government there. The embassy failed to yield any results, however, for the Russian court was preoccupied with European affairs.
King of Kartli and Kakheti
While maintaining certain Persian-type pomp at his court, he launched an ambitious program of "Europeanization" which was supported by the Georgian intellectual élites, but was not overwhelmingly successful because Georgia remained physically isolated from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and had to expend all available resources on defending its precarious independence. He strove to enlist the support of European powers, and to attract Western scientists and technicians to give his country the benefit of the latest military and industrial techniques. His style of governing resembled that of contemporary enlightened despots in Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
. He exercised executive, legislative, and judicial authority and closely supervised the activities of government departments. Erekle’s primary objective in internal policy was to further centralize the government through reducing the powers of the aristocracy. For this purpose, he attempted to create a governing élite composed of his own agents to replace the self-minded aristocratic lords in local affairs. At the same time, he encouraged peasant-vassals to supply the military force necessary to overcome the aristocracy's resistance and protect the country from incessant marauding assaults from Dagestan
Dagestan
The Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...
known to Georgians as Lekianoba
Lekianoba
Lekianoba was the name given to sporadic forays and marauds by Dagestan clansmen into Georgia from 16th to 19th centuries. The term is derived from Leki, by which the Georgians knew Dagestani peoples, with the suffix –anoba which designates attribution.The attacks from Dagestan began with the...
. In the words of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
historian David Marshall Lang
David Marshall Lang
David Marshall Lang , was a Professor of Caucasian Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He was one of the most productive British scholars who specialized in Georgian, Armenian and ancient Bulgarian history.David M...
, "his vigilance in the care of his people knew no bounds. On campaign, he would sit up at night watching for the enemy, while in time of peace, he spent his life in transacting business of state or in religious exercise, and devoted but a few hours to sleep."
Alliance with Russia and last years
In foreign policy, Erekle was primarily focused on seeking a reliable protector that would guarantee Georgia’s survival. He chose Russia not only because it was Orthodox Christian, but also because it would serve as a link to Europe, which he thought a model for Georgia’s development as a modern nation. Yet, Erekle’s initial cooperation with Russia proved disappointing. His participation in the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) did not lead to an anticipated reconquest of the Ottoman-held southern Georgian lands, for the Russian commanders in Georgia behaved in a highly condescending, often treacherous way, and Empress Catherine IICatherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
treated the Caucasus front as merely a secondary theater of military operations. Still, Erekle continued to seek firmer alliance with Russia, his immediate motivation being the Persian ruler Karim Khan
Karim Khan
Karim Khan Zand, , , was a ruler of Iran, and the founder of the Zand Dynasty.He was born to a family of the Zand tribe of Lur or Lak deportees...
’s attempts to bring Georgia back into the Persian sphere of influence. Karim Khan’s death in 1779 temporarily relieved Erekle of these dangers, as Persia again became engulfed into chaos.
In 1783, the Russian expansion southward into the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
brought the Caucasus into Catherine II’s area of interest. In the Treaty of Georgievsk
Treaty of Georgievsk
The Treaty of Georgievsk was a bilateral treaty concluded between the Russian Empire and the east Georgian kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti on July 24, 1783. The treaty established Georgia as a protectorate of Russia, which guaranteed Georgia's territorial integrity and the continuation of its reigning...
of 1783, Erekle finally obtained the guarantees he had sought from Russia, transforming Georgia into a Russian protectorate, as Erekle formally repudiated all legal ties to Persia and placed his foreign policy under the Russian supervision. However, during the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792), a Tbilisi-based small Russian force evacuated Georgia, leaving Erekle to face new dangers from Persia alone. Mohammad Khan Qajar
Mohammad Khan Qajar
Agha Muḥammad Khān Qājār was the chief of the Qajar tribe, succeeding his father Mohammad Hassan Khan, who was killed on the orders of Adil Shah. He became the Emperor/Shah of Persia in 1794 and established the Qajar dynasty...
, who had managed to bring most of central Iranian plateau under his firm control by 1794, was inclined to revive the Persian Empire with the Caucasus as its part. In 1795, he demanded that Erekle acknowledged Persian suzerainty, promising in return to confirm him as wali. Erekle refused, and in September 1795, the Persian army of 35,000 moved into Georgia. After the valiant defense of Tbilisi at the Battle of Krtsanisi
Battle of Krtsanisi
The Battle of Krtsanisi was fought between Persian and Georgian armies at the place of Krtsanisi near Tbilisi, Georgia, from September 8 to September 11, 1795, as part of the war intended by the Persian ruler Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar as a reprisal for King Heraclius II of Georgia’s alliance with...
, in which the king participated personally in the advance guard, Erekle’s small army of 5000 men was almost completely annihilated. While becoming a witness of the fearful devastation of his capital and slaughter of its civilians, king Erekle, who did not want to leave the battlefield and the city was spirited away by the very last of his bodyguards and a few family members. The Persian invasion delivered a hard blow to Georgia from which it was not able to recover. Despite being abandoned at the critical moment, he still had to rely on belated Russian support and fought, in 1796, alongside the Russian expeditionary forces
Persian Expedition of 1796
The Persian Expedition of Catherine the Great, alongside the Persian Expedition of Peter the Great, was one of the Russo-Persian Wars of the 18th century which did not entail any lasting consequences for either belligerent....
sent by Catherine into the Persian territories. But her death that year brought an abrupt change of policy in the Caucasus, and her successor Paul I
Paul I of Russia
Paul I was the Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. He also was the 72nd Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta .-Childhood:...
withdrew all Russia troops from the region. Aga Mohammad launched his second campaign to punish the Georgians for their alliance with Russia. However, his assassination in 1797 spared Kartli-Kakheti more devastation.
Erekle died in 1798 still convinced that only Russian protection could ensure the continued existence of his country. He was succeeded by his weak and sickly son, George XII
George XII of Georgia
George XII , sometimes known as George XIII , of the House of Bagrationi, was the last king of Georgia from 1798 until his death in 1800...
, after whose death Tsar Paul I annexed, in 1801, Kartli-Kakheti to Russia, terminating both Georgia's independence and a millennium-long rule of the Bagrationi Dynasty
Bagrationi Dynasty
The Bagrationi dynasty was the ruling family of Georgia. Their ascendency lasted from the early Middle Ages until the early 19th century. In modern usage, this royal line is frequently referred to as the Georgian Bagratids, a Hellenized form of their dynastic name.The origin of the Bagrationi...
.
Family
He was married three times; first, he married in 1738 Princess Ketevan née OrbelianiHouse of Orbeliani
The Orbeliani was a Georgian noble family , which branched off the Baratashvili family in the 17th century and later produced several lines variously called Orbeliani, Orbelishvili , Qaplanishvili , and Jambakur-Orbeliani...
(died 1750), but divorced her in 1744. They had two children:
- Vakhtang (b. 1742 - d. Tbilisi, 1 February 1756), Duke of Aragvi (1747); married Princess Kethevan of Muchrani, no issue.
- Rusadan (b. before 1744; died young)
In 1745 Erekle remarried Princess Anna née Abashidze (b. 1730 - d. Tbilisi, 6 December 1749). They had two children:
- GeorgeGeorge XII of GeorgiaGeorge XII , sometimes known as George XIII , of the House of Bagrationi, was the last king of Georgia from 1798 until his death in 1800...
(b. 10 October 1746 - d. Tbilisi, 28 December 1800), the last King of Georgia. - Thamar (b. 11 July 1749 - d. Tbilisi, 4 August 1786), married in 1762 Prince David Orbeliani.
In 1750, Erekle married thirdly Darejan née Dadiani
Dadiani
Dadiani was a Georgian family of nobles, dukes and princes, and a ruling dynasty of the western Georgian province of Samegrelo.- The House of Dadiani :...
(Daria; b. 20 July 1734 - d. 8 November 1808). They had twenty children:
- Mariam (c. 1750—1829)
- Solomon (died 1765)
- Helene (1753—1786)
- Sophia (c. 1756; died young)
- Levan (1756—1781)
- Yolon (1760—1816)
- Vakhtang (1761—1814)
- Salome (c. 1761; died young)
- Teimuraz (1763—1827)
- Anastasia (1763—1838), married 1797 Prince Revaz Eristavi of Ksani
- Keteven Thamar (1764—5 July 1840), married 1stly 1781, Ioane Bagrationi, 18th Prince of Mukhrani (1755—1 October 1800), with living descendants; 2ndly Prince Abel AndronikashviliAndronikashviliThe Andronikashvili sometimes known as Endronikashvili was a princely family in Georgia which claimed their descent from the Byzantine Comnenid dynasty and played a prominent role in political, military and religious life of Georgia...
- Mirian (1767—1834)
- Soslan-David (died c. 1767)
- AlexanderAlexander of GeorgiaAlexander was a Georgian prince of the Bagrationi family who headed several insurrections against the Russian rule in Georgia between 1800 and 1832. He was known in Persia as Eskandar Mirza.- Early career :...
(1770—1844) who headed several insurrections against the Russian rule in Georgia between 1800 and 1832. - Archil (died c. 1771)
- Luarsab (born 1772; died young)
- Thekla (1775—1846)
- Ekaterine (1776—1818)
- Parnaoz (1777—1852)