In the Search of the Lost Kingdom: Activities of Georgian Princes During 1804-1813 Russo-Persian War

After the incorporation of the Eastern Georgia into the Russian Empire, in 1801 Eastern Georgian Kingdom of Kartli and Kakheti was abolished. Following the annexation of the Eastern Georgian kingdom, Russia became a direct neighbor of Persia. A new phase had started in the Georgian- Iranian relations. The Georgian political elite, first of all princes from the Bagrationi royal family, were divided. Some supported accession to the Russian empire, while others hoped to regain the country’s independence by using the connections with Persia. Persia, for its part, envisaged regaining control over east Georgia. If this were to happen, Kartli and Kakheti would be granted much greater independence than within the Russian empire, based on the realpolitik of the time.
In the paper are studied activities of Georgian princes who supported Persia during this war – Iulon, Teimuraz, Parnaoz and especially, Alexander.
Fath-ʿAli Shah assisted the Georgian princes in every possible way. He even granted a title of king to Georgian prince Iulon. Georgian princes tried to organize the resistance of Muslim Khans of Caucasian regions, highlanders and the Georgian nobility against the Russian authority. Parnaoz and Iulon, were captured at the beginning of war and sent to Russia. Teimuraz fled to Persia. He remained in Persia from 1803 to 1810. Teimuraz was in direct contact with representatives of the French military mission, and was appointed commander of the artillery branch of the Azeri regular army. However, he later fled from Persia and defected to Russia. He settled in St. Petersburg and attained great success in scientific activities. Alexander became a leader of Georgia’s pro-independence resistance and didn’t give up fighting until his death. Shah gave him the title of the “Vāli of Gorjestān”. Alexander died in Iran in 1844.
Under the Golestān Treaty signed after the 1804-1813 Russo-Persian war, Persia surrendered its claims to Kartli and Kakheti, and this signaled an end of Persia’s interference with political affairs of Georgia. After the next war, 1826-28, Persia conceded Russia’s sovereignty over Georgia yet again under the Turkmenchai Treaty. It is worth noting that during the second Russo-Persian absolute majority of the Georgian nobility already supported Russia and participated in the war on the Russian side.