George VII of Georgia

George VII (Georgian: გიორგი VII, romanized: giorgi VII; died 1405 or 1407) was king of Georgia from 1393 to 1407 (alternatively, from 1395 to 1405).[1]

George VII
გიორგი VII
King of Georgia
PredecessorBagrat V
SuccessorConstantine I
Died1407
Burial
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
SpouseNestan-Darejan
DynastyBagrationi dynasty
FatherBagrat V of Georgia
MotherHelena Megale Komnene
ReligionGeorgian Orthodox Church
KhelrtvaGeorge VII გიორგი VII's signature
Kingdom of Georgia at the start of reign of George VII

George was the son of the king Bagrat V and his first wife Elene of Trebizond (died of bubonic plague, 1366).[2] Bagrat appointed him co-ruler in 1369.

In November 1386, King Bagrat was defeated and taken prisoner by the Turco-Mongol warlord Timur (or Tamerlane). Prince George organized a successful resistance to the next incursion and released his father. In 1393, Bagrat died and George assumed full royal powers. He spent most of his reign fighting Timur who led seven more expeditions against the stubborn Georgian kingdom from 1387 to 1403, leaving the country in ruins. Finally, in 1403 George had to make peace with the fierce enemy, recognising Timur as a suzerain and paying him tribute, but retaining the right to be crowned as a Christian monarch. According to Vakhushti, He was killed in battle against the Turkmen nomads, apparently of the Kara Koyunlu clan. Today, some historians consider this information of Vakhushti doubtful and claim that George VII died of natural causes.[3]

George VII may have died childless, as his brother Constantine I became the next king.

References
  1. Kʻartʻuli diplomatiis istoriis narkvevebi (in Georgian). Tʻbilisis universitetis gamomcʻemloba. 1998. pp. 530–543. ISBN 978-5-511-00896-7.
  2. Ivane Javakhishvili, The History of the Georgian Nation, vol. 3, Tbilisi, 1982, p.180
  3. Tavadze, L. (2008) About the reasons of Georgian King George VII death, Studies in the Middle Ages History of Georgia, Vol. IX. p. 41–45 ISBN 978-9941-12-174-6
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