Alexander III (king of Imereti)

At the end of the reign of his father George III, Tsarevich Alexander was able to redeem him from captivity from Prince Levan Dadiani. In 1639, after the death of his father George III, Alexander took the Imeretian royal throne. Megrelian Prince Levan Dadiani continued to make devastating raids on the lands of Imereti . Alexander fortified the fortress wall of Kutaisi and settled in his capital all the main and wealthy Imereti nobles with their families so that they would not join Dadiani . In one of the battles, Tsarovich Mamuka, the younger brother of Tsar Alexander, was captured by Dadiani .

Tsar Alexander III of Imereti sent an embassy to Moscow , asking for military-political assistance from the Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich . Moscow and Kutaisi began to exchange embassies. Tsar Alexander of Imereti, having expelled his son Bagrat together with his mother and having no children from Darejan, adopted George, the grandson of the Kakheti king Teimuraz . After the death of Tsarevich George, the Imereti king Alexander reconciled with his son Bagrat and declared him heir to the throne.

In 1657, after the death of Prince Levan Dadiani, his brother Liparit Dadiani succeeded him. Tsar Alexander of Imereti gathered a large army and invaded Mengrelia . Alexander ravaged, devastated and destroyed Dadiani’s possessions, captured all the fortresses and captured local nobles, forcing them to pay a ransom for themselves. Tsar Alexander of Imereti put Vamik Dadiani , son of Mamia Dadiani, to reign in Odishi. The lands east of Unagir were annexed to Imereti . The new prince Vamik Dadiani was forced to recognize vassal dependence on Alexander. The exiled Liparit Dadiani fled to Akhaltsikhe , from where he asked for military assistance from the Atabeg Samtskhe Rostoma Pasha and the Kartlian king Rostom . They provided him with an army with which he arrived in Guria . Kaihosro Gurieli with his squad joined Liparit Dadiani. In 1658, in the fierce battle of Bandza, the Imereti king Alexander won a complete victory over his opponents. Princes Liparit Dadiani and Kaihosro Gurieli fled to Istanbul . Tsar Alexander of Imereti reapproved in Megrelia by Prince Vamik Dadiani, and in Guria - Demeter Gurieli , the son of Simon Gurieli . Liparit Dadiani died in Istanbul , and Kaihosro Gurieli returned from Porta in Samtskhe . The Turkish Sultan ordered the Atabeg to assist Kaihosro. With the army, Kaihosro Gurieli arrived in Guria and established himself in his possessions. Demeter Gurieli fled to Imereti . Soon, the Gurian prince Kaihosro Gurieli was killed by a traitor, instigated by the king of Imereti. Demeter Gurieli re-occupied Guria. The sons of Kayhosro Gurieli fled to Akhaltsikhe to Rostov Pasha.

In 1660, after the death of the Imereti king Alexander III, he was succeeded by the eldest son Bagrat V.

He was twice married. In 1618, he married Tamara Gurieli , the daughter of Prince Guria Mamia II Gurieli ( 1598 - 1627 ), but divorced her in 1620 . In 1629, he married Darejan a second time (d. 1668 ), the daughter of the king of Kakheti, Teymuraz I and Khoreshan Kartli.

• Vakhtang Guruli, Merab Vachnadze, Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakhtadze. "History of Georgia (from ancient times to the present day)."