Bagrat III (king of Imereti)

Bagrat III inherited the throne in Imereti after the death of his father Alexander II ( 1510 ).

In the early years of his reign, Bagrat intervened in the internal affairs of the neighboring kingdom of Kartli , where Luarsab I helped establish himself, for which he later married his daughter Tamar. In exchange for support, Bagrat received the western part of Kartli , which included Ali, Surami, Akhaldab.

One of the main problems during the reign of Bagrat was the attack of the Ottoman Turks, which was first encountered by his father. The Ottoman Empire bordered the territory of Imereti from the southwest and sought to expand its territory at the expense of Georgian kingdoms. Bagrat attracted the princes Mamia Dadiani and Mamia Gurieli to his side against the Ottomans, whom he persuaded to attack the territory of the Jik tribe, subordinate to the Ottomans. However, the campaign, despite the initial successes, ended in failure, with Mamia Dadiani killed and Mamia Gurieli captured by the Ottomans.

Later Bagrat tried to capture Samtskhe , through which the Ottomans penetrated into Imereti . In 1535, Bagrat took a trip to the principality and, after winning the Battle of Murjakheti, captured the Atabeg Quarkwar IV Dzhakeli , and was able to annex the principality of Samtskhe-Saatabago . Bagrat gave Adjara and Chaneti to Prince Gurieli , thereby drawing him to his side. However, the accession of Samtskhe to Imereti caused discontent of both local princes and Prince Dadiani, who considered himself circumvented. Dissatisfied turned to the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I for help, but he did not immediately have the opportunity to intervene.

Since Bagrat understood that a further clash with the Ottomans was inevitable, in 1541 he entered into an alliance with the Persian Shah Tahmasp I , who fought against the Ottoman Empire.

In 1543, the Ottoman Turks undertook a campaign in Imereti , but their 20,000th army was defeated by the combined army of Bagrat and Prince Guriel .

A new campaign of the Ottomans took place in 1545. Bagrat called for help from his son-in-law, King Kartli Luarsab I, but their army was defeated near Basiani. However, the Ottomans did not go further.

Bagrat tried to use a little respite in order to subdue the rebellious Megrelian prince Levan Dadiani , who refused to help him against the Ottomans. However, these attempts ended in failure, and the principality of Odisha actually withdrew from the Imereti kingdom. Soon the Principality of Gury became independent.

In 1555, the Ottoman Empire and Persia concluded the Amasian world among themselves, according to which zones of influence in Georgia were divided, while Western Georgia , including Imereti and Kartli , fell into the zone of influence of the Ottomans. To counter this, Bagrat began to make diplomatic efforts to thwart the partition of Georgia. To do this, he began to claim Surami , hoping to quarrel the Persians and Ottomans.

By the time of the reign of Bagrat III, the institution of the Rachinsky district was founded. In addition, the Catholicos of Abkhazia, who was in charge of Western Georgia, moved his residence from Bichvinta to Gelati .

Bagrat III died in 1565 , he was succeeded by the eldest son George II .

Wife: Elena (d. After 1565). Children:

• George II (d. 1585 ), king of Imereti from 1565
• Teimuraz
• Vakhtang
• Constantine (d. 1587 )
• Tamar (d. 1556); husband: Luarsab I (d. 1556 ), king of Kartli from 1527
• daughter husband Ramaz Davitishvili

• ხანთაძე შ., ქსე, ტ. 2, გვ. 128, თბ., 1977.
• Noble clans of the Russian Empire. Volume 3. Princes / Ed. S.V.Dumina. - M .: Linkominvest, 1996 .-- 278 p. - 10,000 copies.

• Bagrationi - the kings of Imereti (neopr.) . Historical and art history portal "Monsalvat". Date of treatment October 6, 2011. Archived August 27, 2012.