Vakhtang VI of Kartli - His Reign

His Reign

Vakhtang remained seven years in Persia before he was permitted to return to his own country in 1719. His first care was to put an end to permanent marauding assaults from the North Caucasian mountaineers, particularly the Lezgin tribes of Dagestan. Vakhtang was just preparing to deal a final, crushing blow to the Lezgians when the Persian government intervened to prevent him. This terminated Vakhtang's short-lived loyalty to the shah. He made secret contacts with the Russian tsar Peter I and expressed his support for Russia’s future presence in the Caucasus. After several delays, Peter marched with a small force along the Caspian Sea in July 1722. It was when the Safavid Persia became involved in complete chaos, and the capital Isfahan was besieged by the rebel Afghans. As a Persian vassal and commander, Vakhtang’s brother, Rosotom, died during the siege and the shah charged Bakar, son of Vakhtang, with the defense of his capital. However, Vakhtang refused to come to the aid of Isfahan. At the same time, the Ottomans offered him an alliance against Persia, but Vakhtang preferred to await the arrival of the Russians. Peter’s promises to provide military support to the Caucasian Christians for final emancipation of the Persian yoke, created a great euphoria among the Georgians and Armenians. In September, Vakhtang VI encamped at Ganja with a combined Georgian-Armenian army of 40,000 to join the advancing Russian expedition. He hoped that Peter the Great would not only seek gains for Russia, but would also protect Georgia from both Persians and Turks. However, the tsar cut his campaign short so as not to confront the Ottomans who were already preparing to take the Safavid succession in the Caucasus. Vakhtang, abandoned by his Russian allies, returned to Tbilisi in November 1722. The shah revenged him by giving a sanction to the Muslim king Constantine II of Kakheti to take the kingdom of Kartli. In May 1723, Constantine and his Persians marched into Vakhtang's possessions. Vakhtang, after having defended himself for some time at Tbilisi, was finally expelled. Vakhtang fled to Inner Kartli whence he attempted to win the support from the advancing Ottoman forces and submitted to the authority of the Sultan; but the Turks, having occupied the country, gave the throne to his brother Jesse, who again became a Muslim.

In the invasions and wars between the Turks, Persians, Dagestanis and Afghans, thee-fourths of the population of Georgia were destroyed; and Vakhtang, after having wandered a long time with his most faithful adherents in the mountains, sought again protection from Peter the Great, who invited him to Russia. Accompanied by his family, his close comrades-in-arms and a retinue of 1,200, he had to make his way across the Caucasus to Russia in July 1724. Peter had just died, and his successor, Catherine I gave no real help but allowed Vakhtang to settle in Russia, granting him a pension and some estates.

Vakhtang resided in Russia till 1734, but in that year he resolved to make an attempt to recover his dominions by the co-operation of the Shah of Persia. The empress Anna consented to Vakhtang's project, but gave him instructions how to act in Persia, and in what manner he should induce the Georgians as well as the Caucasian highlanders to enter the Russian service, in order to bring about heir entire submission to the authority of Russia. Vakhtang started for his diplomatic journey, in company with a Russian general, but fell ill on his way, and died at Astrakhan on March 26, 1737. He was buried at the city’s Church of Assumption. Many of his followers remained in Russia later served in the Russian army. A descendant, Pyotr Bagration, was perhaps the most famous of them.