When is the Kingdom of Kakheti shown on the map?

The border data draws the Kingdom of Kakheti 1468–1578, 1706–1737, 1744–1762, in 3 separate periods. The source samples borders at fixed dates, so a span can begin late or run on past the end.

How large was the Kingdom of Kakheti?

At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Kingdom of Kakheti covered about 23,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.

Central Asia · Timur and the khanates

Kingdom of Kakheti

drawn on the map 1468–1578, 1706–1737, 1744–1762

The Kingdom of Kakheti (Georgian: k'akhetis samepo) was a late medieval and early modern monarchy in eastern Georgia, centered on the province of Kakheti in the river valleys of the Alazani and Iori, east of the Kartlian heartland. It emerged in 1466 during the tripartite dissolution of the medieval Kingdom of Georgia and lasted, with interruptions, until 1762, when it merged with the Kingdom of Kartli to form the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti.

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Shown on the map: 1468–1578, 1706–1737, 1744–1762 (3 periods)
Peak area: 23k km²
Region: Central Asia

Overview and identity

Origins and ethnolinguistic background

The population was overwhelmingly Georgian-speaking and Georgian Orthodox Christian, ruled by a branch of the Bagrationi dynasty. Kakheti's prosperity also rested on Jewish, Armenian, and Persian merchant colonies in its trading towns, and coinage was struck with both Georgian and Persian legends, reflecting its position within the Persianate world.

Chronology and major rulers

King George VIII of Georgia, after being captured by the rebel Duke of Samtskhe in 1465 and dethroned, set himself up in his appanage of Kakheti in 1466 as an anti-king, ruling until 1476. In 1490 Constantine II of Kartli formally recognized Alexander I (son of George VIII) as King of Kakheti, consummating the tripartite division of Georgia. Kakheti was briefly annexed by Kartli after the death of George II, but Levan (r. 1520–1574), smuggled into the mountains as a child and proclaimed king during Ismail I's invasion of Kartli, won recognition of independence after a two-year war and presided over the kingdom's most prosperous era. Alexander II (1574–1605) balanced between Ottomans and Safavids and pledged allegiance to Tsar Feodor I in 1589, an alliance never implemented; he was murdered in an Iranian-sponsored coup by his convert son Constantine I, whom the Kakhetians overthrew in favor of Teimuraz I (1605–1648), whose long reign was consumed by war with Shah Abbas I. The Kakhetian Bagrationi line was re-established in 1703 at the price of nominal conversion to Islam. Teimuraz II and his son Heraclius II (Erekle) were granted Kartli and Kakheti respectively by Nader Shah in 1744; on Teimuraz's death on 8 January 1762, Heraclius II united eastern Georgia.

Territory and cities

The capital was first Gremi (1466–1664), whose citadel and trading suburbs anchored the silk route, then Telavi after Gremi's ruin. Other important towns included Zagemi and Karagaji.

Government and structure

Kakheti was a feudal monarchy under the Bagrationi crown, supported by a nobility of princes (tavadi) and an Orthodox Church headed by a catholicos. For much of its existence it was a vassal: of Safavid Iran (1555–1578, 1612–1723, 1736–1747) and of the Ottomans (1578–1612, 1723–1736), per the treaty settlement of Amasya (1555) and its successors.

Economy, culture, and religion

The kingdom flanked the Gilan–Shemakha–Astrakhan silk route, which its government actively sponsored; fertile, intensively cultivated lands plus this transit trade made Kakheti markedly more prosperous than other Georgian polities in the 16th century. Orthodox Christianity remained the state identity, alongside Jewish communities and Shia Muslim minorities.

Military and major conflicts; decline and fall

Kakheti's strategic vulnerability became fatal under Shah Abbas I: invasions in 1614, 1615, and 1616 killed 60,000–70,000 people and deported over 100,000 Kakhetian peasants to Iran, reducing the population by two-thirds and shrinking Gremi and Zagemi to villages. Safavid policy attempted to settle Turkic nomads in Kakheti, triggering the 1659 uprising, while Dagestani mountaineers raided the marchlands. After Ottoman and Iranian occupations (1724–1744), service to Nader Shah earned the abolition of tribute in 1743 and royal crowns in 1744–1745. The kingdom ended not by conquest but by dynastic union with Kartli in 1762; its successor state was annexed by Russia in 1801.

Legacy

Kakheti's experience defined eastern Georgia's orientation: the turn toward Russia that produced the Treaty of Georgievsk (1783) was a direct consequence of the Safavid devastation. Kakheti remains a region of modern Georgia, famous for its wine culture and the monuments of Gremi and Telavi.

Common questions

What was the Kingdom of Kakheti?: The Kingdom of Kakheti (Georgian: k'akhetis samepo) was a late medieval and early modern monarchy in eastern Georgia, centered on the province of Kakheti in the river valleys of the Alazani and Iori, east of the Kartlian heartland. It emerged in 1466 during the tripartite dissolution of the medieval Kingdom of Georgia and lasted, with interruptions, until 1762, when it merged with the Kingdom of Kartli to form the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti.
When is the Kingdom of Kakheti shown on the map?: The border data draws the Kingdom of Kakheti 1468–1578, 1706–1737, 1744–1762, in 3 separate periods. The source samples borders at fixed dates, so a span can begin late or run on past the end.
How large was the Kingdom of Kakheti?: At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Kingdom of Kakheti covered about 23,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
Where was the Kingdom of Kakheti?: The capital was first Gremi (1466–1664), whose citadel and trading suburbs anchored the silk route, then Telavi after Gremi's ruin. Other important towns included Zagemi and Karagaji.
Who ruled the Kingdom of Kakheti?: King George VIII of Georgia, after being captured by the rebel Duke of Samtskhe in 1465 and dethroned, set himself up in his appanage of Kakheti in 1466 as an anti-king, ruling until 1476. In 1490 Constantine II of Kartli formally recognized Alexander I (son of George VIII) as King of Kakheti, consummating the tripartite division of Georgia.
How did the Kingdom of Kakheti end?: Kakheti's strategic vulnerability became fatal under Shah Abbas I: invasions in 1614, 1615, and 1616 killed 60,000–70,000 people and deported over 100,000 Kakhetian peasants to Iran, reducing the population by two-thirds and shrinking Gremi and Zagemi to villages. Safavid policy attempted to settle Turkic nomads in Kakheti, triggering the 1659 uprising, while Dagestani mountaineers raided the marchlands.
How was the Kingdom of Kakheti governed?: Kakheti was a feudal monarchy under the Bagrationi crown, supported by a nobility of princes (tavadi) and an Orthodox Church headed by a catholicos.
What did the economy and culture of the Kingdom of Kakheti rest on?: The kingdom flanked the Gilan–Shemakha–Astrakhan silk route, which its government actively sponsored; fertile, intensively cultivated lands plus this transit trade made Kakheti markedly more prosperous than other Georgian polities in the 16th century. Orthodox Christianity remained the state identity, alongside Jewish communities and Shia Muslim minorities.
Why does the Kingdom of Kakheti still matter?: Kakheti's experience defined eastern Georgia's orientation: the turn toward Russia that produced the Treaty of Georgievsk (1783) was a direct consequence of the Safavid devastation. Kakheti remains a region of modern Georgia, famous for its wine culture and the monuments of Gremi and Telavi.

Sources

Every source below was consulted while writing this entry.

Wikipedia: Kingdom of Kakheti en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Kakheti

This entry was written from the sources above and last updated 27 September 2026.

This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made

Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.

Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).

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