Kvirike III the Great (died 1029) was a ruler 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...

 in eastern Georgia

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...

 from 1010 (effectively from 1014) to 1029.

He succeeded upon the death of his father David

David of Kakheti

David was a prince and chorepiscopus of Kakheti in eastern Georgia from 976 to 1010; son and successor of Kvirike II. A major menace to his rule came from the Georgian Bagratid king Bagrat III who had unified the core Georgian polities under his crown and sought to incorporate Kakheti into his...

 as a prince and chorepiscopus 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...

, but King Bagrat III of Georgia

Bagrat III of Georgia

Bagrat III , of the Georgian Bagrationi dynasty, was King of the Abkhazians from 978 on and King of Georgia from 1008 on. He united these two titles by dynastic inheritance and, through conquest and diplomacy, added some more lands to his realm, effectively becoming the first king of what is...

 captured him and conquered Kakheti. Following Bagrat’s death in 1014, Kvirike was able to recover the crown, took control of the neighboring region of Hereti

Hereti

Hereti was a historic province in the medieval Caucasus on the Georgian-Albanian frontier. It roughly corresponds to the southeastern corner of Georgia's Kakheti region and a portion of Azerbaijan's northwestern districts.-History:...

 and declared himself King of Kakheti and Hereti. Under Kvirike III, the kingdom experienced a period of political power and prosperity. In 1027, Kvirike joined the combined armies of Bagrat IV of Georgia

Bagrat IV of Georgia

Bagrat IV , of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the King of Georgia from 1027 to 1072. During his long and eventful reign, Bagrat sought to repress the great nobility and to secure Georgia's sovereignty from the Byzantine and Seljuqid empires...

 led by Liparit Orbeliani

Liparit IV, Duke of Kldekari

Liparit IV, sometimes known as Liparit III , was an 11th-century Georgian general and political figure who was at times the most valuable support of King Bagrat IV of Georgia and his most dangerous rival...

 and Ivane Abazasdze

Ivane Abazasdze

Ivane Abazasdze was a 11th-century Georgian feudal lord who functioned as an eristavi of Kartli under King Bagrat IV of Georgia . During the king’s minority, he assumed an important place in the country’s aristocratic regency government...

, Emir Jaffar of Tiflis

Emirate of Tbilisi

The Emirs of Tbilisi ruled over the parts of today’s eastern Georgia from their base in the city of Tbilisi, from 736 to 1080 . Established by the Arabs during their invasions of Georgian lands, the emirate was an important outpost of the Muslim rule in the Caucasus until recaptured by the...

, and the Armenia

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

n King David I of Lorri

David I Anhoghin

David I Anhoghin succeeded his father to the throne of the Kingdom of Lori. His nickname Anhoghin refers to a temporary loss of his lands he suffered after a defeat at the hands of the king of Ani.-References:...

 against the Shaddadid

Shaddadid

The Shaddadids were a Kurdish dynasty who ruled in various parts of Armenia and Arran from 951-1174 AD. They were established in Dvin. Through their long tenure in Armenia, they often intermarried with the Bagratuni royal family of Armenia....

 emir of Arran, Fadhl II

Al-Fadhl ibn Muhammad

Al-Fadhl ibn Muhammad al-Shaddadi Al-Fadhl ibn Muhammad al-Shaddadi Al-Fadhl ibn Muhammad al-Shaddadi (also al-Fadl ibn Muhammad, Fadl ibn Muhammad, Fadlun ibn Muhammad, Fadhlun ibn Muhammad, or Fadl I was the Shaddadid emir of Arran from 985-1031. Of Kurdish origin , al-Fadhl was called "Fadhlun...

, who was decisively defeated at the Eklez River. Around the same time, Kvirike III annihilated an invasion force led by the Alan

Alania

Alania may refer to:*Alania, the medieval state of the Alans or Alani people in the North Caucasus*The short name of the modern North Ossetia-Alania, one of the Caucasian republics in the Russian Federation...

 king Urdure who had crossed the Caucasus Mountains into Kakheti only to be killed in a pitched battle. At the zenith of his power and prestige, Kvirike was assassinated while hunting in 1029. According to the Georgian historian Vakhushti

Vakhushti

Vakhushti was a Georgian prince , geographer, historian and cartographer.- Life :A son of King Vakhtang VI of Kartli , he was born in Tbilisi, 1696...

, this was done by Kvirike's Alan slave who sought to avenge for the death of King Urdure. On Kvirike’s death, Kakheti was temporarily annexed to the Kingdom of Georgia

Kingdom of Georgia

The Kingdom of Georgia was a medieval monarchy established in AD 978 by Bagrat III.It flourished during the 11th and 12th centuries, the so-called "golden age" of the history of Georgia. It fell to the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, but managed to re-assert sovereignty by 1327...

.