David II of Kakheti
Encyclopedia
David II also known as Imām Qulī Khān (იმამყულ-ხანი) (1678 — November 2, 1722), of the Bagrationi Dynasty
, was a king of Kakheti
in eastern Georgia
from 1709 to 1722. Although a Muslim
convert and a loyal vassal of the Safavid dynasty
of Iran, he failed to ensure his kingdom’s security and most of his reign was marked by Lekianoba
- incessant inroads by the Dagestan
i mountainous clansmen.
and Queen Anna née Cholokashvili
. He was brought up at the shah
’s court at Isfahan and installed as wali
(viceroy) of Kakheti upon his father’s retirement to Iran in 1703. David resided at Qara Aghach or Qaraghaji in eastern Kakheti, on the borders of Shirvan
, but had to move his residence to Telavi
after he failed to recover Balakan
from the Dagestani warlords and lost Qakh
to them in 1706. After the death of his father in 1709, Erekle was ordered to Isfahan to receive investiture from Shah Husayn
, leaving his younger brother Teimuraz
and mother Anna in charge of the government. The years of his absence at the Shah’s court (1711-15) were troubled by the Dagestan attacks and peasant revolts. Returning to Kakheti, David attempted to bring the situation under control. He made an alliance with Jesse
, ruler of the neighboring Georgian kingdom of Kartli
, and marched against Dagestan, but suffered defeat and failed to prevent large migrations of Lezgins
in the Kakhetian borderlands. In December 1719, he met Vakhtang VI of Kartli
and negotiated a new alliance against the Dagestani clans. Early in 1720, reinforcements sent by Vakhtang arrived in Kakheti, but David refrained from another expedition and sent the Kartlian army back home.
He died at his summer residence at Magharo in 1722 and was buried at Qum, Iran
.
Jahan-Begum. They had three sons:
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...
, was a 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...
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 1709 to 1722. Although a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
convert and a loyal vassal of the Safavid dynasty
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...
of Iran, he failed to ensure his kingdom’s security and most of his reign was marked by 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...
- incessant inroads by the 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...
i mountainous clansmen.
Biography
David was a son of King Erekle I of KakhetiErekle I of Kakheti
Heraclius I or Nazar Alī Khān , of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was a Georgian monarch who ruled the kingdoms of Kakheti and Kartli under the protection of the Safavid dynasty of Iran....
and Queen Anna née Cholokashvili
Cholokashvili
Cholokashvili is a former noble family in Georgia. It claimed an exotic foreign lineage and first appeared in the eastern Georgian province, and later kingdom, of Kakheti in 1320...
. He was brought up at the shah
Shah
Shāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...
’s court at Isfahan and installed as 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...
(viceroy) of Kakheti upon his father’s retirement to Iran in 1703. David resided at Qara Aghach or Qaraghaji in eastern Kakheti, on the borders of Shirvan
Shirvan
Shirvan , also spelled as Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both Islamic and modern times...
, but had to move his residence to Telavi
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....
after he failed to recover Balakan
Balakan
Balakan is a rayon of northwestern Azerbaijan, located between Georgia and Russia. It borders Georgia to south and Dagestan of Russia to east and north...
from the Dagestani warlords and lost Qakh
Qakh
Qakh , also Kakh or sometimes Gakh , is a raion in the north of Azerbaijan, on the border with Georgia.-Geography:The area of the region occupies and borders Russia on the north, Georgia on the west...
to them in 1706. After the death of his father in 1709, Erekle was ordered to Isfahan to receive investiture from Shah Husayn
Husayn (Safavid)
Sultan Husayn was a Safavid king of Iran . He ruled from 1694 until he was overthrown in 1722 by Shah Mahmud Hotaki, an Afghan warrior of Pashtun ethnic background...
, leaving his younger brother Teimuraz
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 mother Anna in charge of the government. The years of his absence at the Shah’s court (1711-15) were troubled by the Dagestan attacks and peasant revolts. Returning to Kakheti, David attempted to bring the situation under control. He made an alliance with Jesse
Jesse of Kartli
Jesse , also known by his Muslim names Ali-Quli Khan and Mustafa Pasha, , of the Mukhranian Bagrationi dynasty, was a king of Kartli , acting actually as a Safavid Persian and later Ottoman viceroy from 1714 to 1716 and from 1724 until his death, respectively.He was a son of Prince Levan by his...
, ruler of the neighboring Georgian kingdom of 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...
, and marched against Dagestan, but suffered defeat and failed to prevent large migrations of Lezgins
Lezgins
The Lezgians are an ethnic group living predominantly in southern Dagestan and northeastern Azerbaijan and who speak the Lezgian language.- Historical concept :While ancient Greek historians, including Herodotus, Strabo, and Pliny the Elder, referred...
in the Kakhetian borderlands. In December 1719, he met 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...
and negotiated a new alliance against the Dagestani clans. Early in 1720, reinforcements sent by Vakhtang arrived in Kakheti, but David refrained from another expedition and sent the Kartlian army back home.
He died at his summer residence at Magharo in 1722 and was buried at Qum, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
.
Family
David was married to Yatar, daughter of the shamkhalShamkhal
Shamkhal is the title for the rulers of Kumukh in Dagestan during the 8th-17th centuries. In 1642 the Shamkhalate of Kazi-Kumukh broke up into several independent states. Afterwards Shamkhal moved his capital from Kazi-Kumukh to Tarki, where he formed Shamkhalate of Tarki....
Jahan-Begum. They had three sons:
- Levan (Mahmud Reza Mirza) (died 1734), governor of GanjaGanja, AzerbaijanGanja is Azerbaijan's second-largest city with a population of around 313,300. It was named Yelizavetpol in the Russian Empire period. The city regained its original name—Ganja—from 1920–1935 during the first part of its incorporation into the Soviet Union. However, its name was changed again and...
for the Shah of Iran. - AlexanderAli Mirza of KakhetiAli-Mirza , born Alexander , was a prince of the Georgian Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Kakheti who ruled in eastern Georgian provinces – Kartli and Kakheti – for the shah of Iran in the late 1730s. Like his father, King David II , and brothers, Ali-Mirza was a convert to Islam...
(Nazar 'Ali Mirza) (died 1737), governor of Tiflis during the absence of King Teimuraz IITeimuraz IITeimuraz 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 :...
from 1736 to 1738. - Hasan-Mirza (died 1750), Georgian envoy to Nader ShahNader ShahNāder 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...
in 1734.