Kvirike II (died 976) was 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...

 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 929 to 976.

He succeeded upon the death of his father, Padla II

Padla II of Kakheti

P'adla II was a prince and chorepiscopus of Kakheti in eastern Georgia from 918 to 929.He succeeded upon the death of his father, Kvirike I. His rule was marked by the Arab raids into Kakheti and Padla’s involvement in the struggles and dynastic feuds in various Caucasian polities...

.

Long Reign

Most of his long reign was spent in a continuous struggle against the expansionism of the kings of Abkhazia who ruled over a significant portion of western and central Georgia and aimed at conquering Kakheti. Subversively aided by the rebellious Kakhetian nobles, George II of Abkhazia

George II of Abkhazia

George II was King of the Abkhazians from 916 AD until 960 AD. His lengthy reign is regarded as a zenith of cultural flowering and political power of his realm....

 even succeeded in dispossessing Kvirike of his principality in the 930s.

Leon III

Kvirike II soon recovered the crown in 957 and successfully resisted the attempts of George’s successor Leon III to gain a foothold in Kakheti. After Leon’s death during one of his incursions into Kakheti II (969), Kvirike capitalized on the dynastic feud in the Kingdom of Abkhazia to reassert his full authority and even expand his possessions to the west.

Bagrat III

In 976, Kvirike II invaded 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...

 (central Georgia), captured the city of Uplistsikhe

Uplistsikhe

Uplistsikhe is an ancient rock-hewn town in eastern Georgia, some 10 kilometers east of the town of Gori, Shida Kartli.Built on a high rocky left bank of the Mtkvari River, it contains various structures dating from the Early Iron Age to the Late Middle Ages, and is notable for the unique...

 and took captive the Georgian Bagratid

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...

 prince Bagrat

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...

 who was intended by his powerful foster-father David of Tao to seat on the thrones of Kartli and Abkhazia. In response, David marshaled an army to punish Kvirike and forced him to withdraw from Kartli and release Bagrat.