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Concept
George XI of Kartli
Summary
George XI (გიორგი XI, Giorgi XI; 1651 – 21 April 1709), known as Gurgin Khan in Iran, was a Georgian monarch who ruled the Kingdom of Kartli as a Safavid Persian subject from 1676 to 1688 and again from 1703 to 1709. He is best known for his struggle against the Safavids which dominated his weakened kingdom and later as a Safavid commander-in-chief in what is now Afghanistan. Being an Eastern Orthodox Christian, he converted to Shia Islam prior to his appointment as governor of Kandahar.
He was the son of Vakhtang V, whom he succeeded as a ruler of Kartli in 1676. As with many other Georgian rulers, he had to nominally accept Islam and take the name of Shahnawaz II before being able to be confirmed as a viceroy by Shah Solayman I. However, Georgians continued to consider him as their king under his Christian name Giorgi (or "George" in English).
When nearly half-century-long peaceful relations between Kartli and its Persian suzerains significantly deteriorated. George attempted to centralise loose royal authority in Kartli and weaken the Persian influence. He patronised Catholic missioners and had correspondence with Innocent XI. After the Ottoman defeat in the Battle of Vienna George XI hoped to exploit that Empire's new weakness. In a letter to Innocent XI dated April 29, 1687 he vowed to be a Catholic King and declared his readiness and willingness and that of his troops to obey any order of the Roman Pope. According to Catholic missionaries George remained until his death a faithful Catholic.
In 1688, George headed an abortive coup against a Persian governor of the neighboring Georgian region of Kakheti, and attempted, though vainly, to gain an Ottoman support against the Safavid overlordship. In response, Shah Solayman deposed George and gave his crown to the rival Kakhetian prince Erekle I, who then embraced Islam and took the name Nazar-Ali Khan. Abbas Qoli-Khan, the beglarbeg (governor general) of Ganja, was placed in charge of the government in Kakheti and commissioned to reinforce Erekle's positions in Kartli.
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