George II of Imereti

Reign

George II was born to King Bagrat III and his wife Queen Elene. Modern historians accept 1565 as the year of George II's ascension to the throne.

At the beginning of George's reign, a fragile peace existed between the king and his vassals George II of Guria and Leon I of Mingrelia, who were de facto independent. This peace was quickly undermined when George Gurieli and Levan Dadiani went to war, a conflict soon eased by Gurieli’s marriage to Dadiani’s daughter in 1566.

When Gurieli later divorced his wife, the princes of western Georgia prepared for civil war: George of Guria allied himself with George II of Imereti, while Levan Dadiani formed an anti-royal coalition with the Chiladze and Lipartiani families, aiming to depose King George and place on the throne Prince Khosro, the monarch’s cousin. Dadiani’s forces invaded Guria, but King George inflicted a decisive defeat on them in 1568 at the Battle of Ianeti.

Feudal conflict intensifies

The victory at Ianeti was followed by an Imeretian–Gurian invasion of Mingrelia, and when King George captured Zugdidi, Levan Dadiani was forced to take refuge in Constantinople. However, George II of Imereti continued to face a defiant nobility. Encouraged by Sultan Selim II, Lavan Dadiani returned to Georgia in 1568 and, supported by nine Ottoman ships and troops from Erzurum and Trabzon, landed in Guria, threatening Prince Gurieli with a devastating invasion. George Gurieli was forced to pay him tribute and assisted in expelling the Georgia's forces from Mingrelia.

King George sought to consolidate his power by orchestrating the assassination of Duke Javakh Chiladze during a banquet held in his honor. The Chiladze domains, a powerful territory spanning Imereti, Guria, and Mingrelia, were then annexed to the royal lands as punishment for the duke’s support of Dadiani during the Battle of Ianeti. In response, George of Guria and Levan of Mingrelia declared war on George II, defeating him and divided the Chiladze estates between themselves.

These conflicts had severe consequences for the local population. The economy of western Georgia, laboriously established by Bagrat III, collapsed, while the Ottomans exploited the instability to extend their influence over the regional nobility.

To stabilize the situation, George II of Imereti engaged in a variety of diplomatic maneuvers and facilitated inter-dynastic marriages, which paved the way to an alliance between himself and his neighbors George II of Guria and George III of Mingrelia. This so called "alliance of three Georges" provided a period of peace for Western Georgia for much of the 1570s.

Success against the Ottoman invasions

In 1578, following the devastation of Tbilisi, the Ottoman general Lala Mustafa Pasha turned his ambitions toward Imereti with the intention of invading the kingdom and overthrowing the “rebel Christian” George. However, George fortified the perilous Likhi Range, the natural frontier between western and eastern Georgia, and inflicted a serious defeat on the Ottoman forces.

George II returned in triumph to Kutaisi, bringing with him treasures seized from the Ottomans. On 1 November, however, Lala Mustafa Pasha once again advanced toward Imereti. George II defeated him for the second time at the Likhi Range, effectively ending Ottoman attempts to conquer western Georgia by force.

Final years

In 1582, the fragile peace among the three Georges of western Georgia collapsed following the death of George III Dadiani, who was succeeded by his brother Mamia. Seeking revenge for being previously sidelined by the Georges, Mamia invaded Guria and forced George II of Guria into exile.

In 1583, the aging and weakened George II sought to secure the throne of Imereti for his son, Levan—his third designated heir following the deaths of his two elder sons—who was then only ten years old. Fearing the ambitions of his brother Constantine, George II had both Constantine and his nephew Rostom imprisoned.

George II died in 1585 after a reign of at least twenty years. He was succeeded by the young Levan, who was vulnerable to the powerful nobility and witnessed the royal authority disintegrate under the influence of Mamia Dadiani. The disorder following George II’s succession resulted in internal turmoil and the rise of Mingrelian power, culminating in the Battle of Gochouri. Simon of Kartli also exploited the instability, launching three invasions of Imereti in the years following the death of George II.

Family

George II was married three times. The identity of his first wife is unknown; she may have been an anonymous daughter of Mamia I Gurieli. He married secondly to Rusudan Shervashidze (died 1578) and thirdly to Tamar (died 1586), daughter of Prince Shermazan Diasamidze. He had six sons:

• Prince Alexander (died 1558), born of George's first marriage.
• Bagrat (1565 – 22 May 1578), born of George's second marriage.
• Levan (1573–1590), born of George's second marriage, King of Imereti (1585–1588).
• Prince Alexander (fl. 1584), born of George's third marriage.
• Prince Mamia (fl. 1584), born of George's third marriage.
• Prince Rostom (fl. 1584), born of George's third marriage.

Bibliography

• Marie-Félicité Brosset, Histoire de la Géorgie depuis l'Antiquité jusqu'au XIXe siècle, Histoire moderne, St-Pétersbourg, Imprimerie de l'Académie impériale des sciences, 1856 (ISBN 978-0543944801), II
• Donald Rayfield, Edge of Empires, a History of Georgia, London, Reaktion Books, 2012, p. 482 (ISBN 9781780230702)
• Avtandil Tsotskolaouri, საქართველოს ისტორია [« Histoire de la Géorgie »], Tbilissi, SAUNJE Publishing House, 2017, 593 p. (ISBN 978-9941-451-79-9)
• Nodar Assatiani, საქართველოს ისტორია II [« History of Georgia, volume II »], Tbilisi, Tbilisi University Press, 2007 (ISBN 9789941130045)
• W.E.D. Allen, A History of the Georgian People, London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1932

References

• Вахушти Багратиони (Vakhushti Bagrationi) (1745). История Царства Грузинского: Жизнь Имерети.

References

1. [[Donald Rayfield]]. ''Edge of Empires, a History of Georgia'', London, [[Reaktion Books]], 2012, p. 175
2. [[Donald Rayfield]]. ''Edge of Empires, a History of Georgia'', London, [[Reaktion Books]], 2012, p. 175