Vakhtang VI
Vakhtang VI (15 September 1675 – 26 March 1737, Astrakhan; buried there in the Kremlin’s Dormition Cathedral) was the regent of Kartli from 1703 to 1714 and king from 1716 to 1724. He was a poet, scholar, and lawmaker.
He received his education and military training at the court of his uncle, George XI. Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani played a major role in shaping the future king. From a young age, Vakhtang VI became deeply involved in the internal political struggle over the throne of Kartli, a conflict between factions supporting or resisting Iranian domination.
In 1703, when the Shah restored George XI to the throne of Kartli, Vakhtang—at George’s request—was appointed his deputy (janishin). Supported by influential Georgians at the Iranian court and backed by the Muslim king, Janishin joined the fight for “Georgian identity” in Kartli: he removed pro-Iranian officials loyal to Erekle I, replaced them with trusted supporters of the state and the crown, abolished Iranian–Qizilbash administrative customs, and reinstated Georgian national practices. In 1705 he convened an ecclesiastical council that elected his brother Domenti as Catholicos of Kartli.
In 1707 he campaigned successfully in Dvaleti and in 1711 in Ossetia, protecting the kingdom from northern nomadic tribes, strengthening its borders, and curbing the power of the duchies of Ksani and Aragvi. He replaced the Qizilbash commanders of the Tbilisi fortress with Georgians and banned the slave trade.
After the deaths of George XI and his successor Kaikhosro in Iran, the Shah had to choose a new king for Kartli, and his choice fell on Vakhtang—on the condition that he convert to Islam. In April 1712, accompanied by 300 men and with Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani at his side, Vakhtang set out for Isfahan. Iran was experiencing a deep internal crisis. The Ottoman Empire sought to conquer the Caucasus region and cut the Russia–Iran trade route (via the Volga and Astrakhan), while Russia aimed to take control of the Caspian coast and secure the Asian trade routes. Kartli, as Iran’s vassal state, found itself at the intersection of these major geopolitical and economic interests, and both rival empires were eager to secure Vakhtang’s allegiance.
At the same time, since the late 17th century, Catholic missionaries and Western political and commercial agents had become increasingly active in Georgia, and influential figures in France and the Vatican were discussing plans for a powerful Catholic state in the Caucasus. Vakhtang faced an extremely difficult geopolitical choice.
While in Iran, Vakhtang attempted to establish contacts with European monarchs and request their assistance. In the autumn of 1713, Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani traveled to Paris and Rome to meet Louis XIV and Pope Clement XI. The Shah, angered by Vakhtang’s “stubbornness,” exiled him to Kerman and in 1714 appointed his brother Iese (who converted to Islam) as king of Kartli. In 1716, Sulkhan-Saba returned from Europe without success. That same year, in Farahabad, Vakhtang converted to Islam and regained the throne of Kartli, but the Shah kept him in Iran and granted him the governorship of Barda and Tabriz, while giving the administration of Kartli to Vakhtang’s son, Bakar, who ruled in his father’s name. In 1719 Vakhtang returned to Kartli and began preparing to liberate the kingdom from Iranian control. Central to this plan was forming an alliance with Russia and supporting Peter I’s Near Eastern political program (campaign), which envisioned creating a strong Georgian-Armenian Christian buffer state under Vakhtang VI to block Ottoman expansion and protect Russian holdings along the Caspian coast.
In 1719–20, at Peter I’s instruction, the governor of Astrakhan, A. Volynsky, initiated negotiations with Vakhtang for a military-political alliance. In November 1721, Peter I and Vakhtang agreed to conduct joint military operations. In August 1722 Russian troops launched their Caspian campaign. Around the same time, the Ottomans, preparing their own invasion of Iran, offered Vakhtang a military alliance and promised him all of Georgia in return. The Shah, for his part, ordered Vakhtang to march into Shirvan to punish rebellious Leks. Vakhtang used the Shah’s command as a cover for the plan he had coordinated with Peter I and at the end of August marched toward Ganja with a Georgian army, where he joined a force of Armenians that had been organized through his efforts. Russian forces were supposed to join Vakhtang’s troops somewhere between Derbent and Baku. Vakhtang waited in Ganja for the Russians to appear, but the delay became prolonged; after reaching Derbent, Peter I turned back to Astrakhan. Vakhtang had now openly defied Iran, provoking the hostility of the entire Muslim world. The Shah dismissed Vakhtang and granted the throne of Kartli to Constantine II of Kakheti.
In 1724, by the Treaty of Constantinople, Russia recognized Turkey’s right to the whole of Transcaucasia, except for a narrow coastal strip along the Caspian Sea, which Russia retained. In July 1724, Vakhtang VI, accompanied by a large entourage of 1,214 people, left for Russia through Racha, hoping that he would soon return with Russian troops and liberate his homeland from Iranian and Ottoman domination.
The years of Vakhtang VI’s reign were marked by a revival of Georgian scholarship and culture. On Vakhtang VI’s initiative and with his active involvement, the original Georgian administrative-economic code Dasturlamali was compiled, which contributed significantly to strengthening the economic foundations of the state. Under his leadership a corpus of laws was also created, the main part of which — “The Law Code of Prince Vakhtang” — substantially regulated social relations in the country.
His contributions to the development of astronomy, chemistry, medicine, lexicography, historiography, geography, and other scientific disciplines in Georgia are significant. The major cultural activity of the circle of scholars — the “Commission of Learned Men” — is closely associated with Vakhtang’s name. Among many initiatives, especially important was the founding of the first Georgian printing press in Tbilisi in 1709. At this press, in 1712, Shota Rustaveli’s The Knight in the Panther Skin was printed for the first time in a scholarly-critical edition accompanied by extensive research. The publication is also significant from a lexicological standpoint. Vakhtang’s edition represents the first attempt at systematic study and restoration of the poem’s text, laying the foundation for academic Rustvelology.
Vakhtang VI also contributed to the development of Georgian didactic literature. He considered the renewal of education and upbringing to be the foremost task for a country plunged into hardship. He translated and adapted important examples of world didactic literature: he versified the shortened version of the Russian work Apophthegmata by E. Turkestanishvili (“Wisdom of the Melancholic Man”), translated Kalila and Demna, Amir-Nasarian, and others. A special place in Vakhtang VI’s creative work belongs to his lyric poetry, distinguished by thematic diversity and ideological depth. He was one of the first in old Georgian literature to create patriotic lyric poetry and further developed the motif characteristic of Renaissance-era poetry — “lamenting the world.”
Vakhtang VI’s love poems are largely allegorical-mystical in nature: the sole object of love is the supreme reality — the divine Truth — as understood in Christian theology. Through this concept of “sacred love,” he also attempted to interpret the theme of love in The Knight in the Panther Skin. This distinctive feature of Vakhtang VI’s lyric poetry later influenced Georgian literature (e.g., Davit Guramishvili, Nikoloz Baratashvili). Yet his poems are not devoid of vivid emotional imagery: his lyrical masterpieces depict deeply personal human feelings, express the beauty of nature (“What is better than Tbilisi in May...”), etc.
Literary works: ლექსები და პოემები, ალ. ბარამიძის რედ., თბ., 1975; ვახტანგ VI-ის წიგნი ზეთების შეზავებისა და ქიმიის ქმნისა, თ. ენუქიძისა და ვ. კოკოჩაშვილის რედ., თბ., 1981; სამართალი ვახტანგ მეექვსისა, ი. დოლიძის გამოც., თბ., 1981.
Sources: გურამიშვილი დ., დავითიანი, თბ., 1964; ვახუშტი, აღწერა სამეფოსა საქართველოსა, წგ.: ქართლის ცხოვრება, ს. ყაუხჩიშვილის გამოც., ტ. 4, თბ., 1973; თამარაშვილი მ., ისტორია კათოლიკობისა ქართველთა შორის..., ტფ., 1902; ჩხეიძე ს., ცხოვრება მეფეთა, წგ.: ქართლის ცხოვრება, ნაწ. 2, დ. ჩუბინაშვილის გამოც., სპბ., 1854; Переписка на иностранных языках грузинских царей с российскими государями, Спб., 1861.
Literature: ბ ე რ ძ ე ნ ი შ ვ ი ლ ი ნ., საქართველოს ისტორიის საკითხები, წგ. 2, თბ., 1965; გ ა წ ე რ ე ლ ი ა ა., მასალები ვახტანგ VI-ის ბიოგრაფიისათვის, «მნათობი», 1957, №12; დ ო ნ დ უ ა ვ., ვახტანგ VI-ის დროინდელი საქართველოს პოლიტიკური ისტორიიდან (1712–1745), «მიმომხილველი», 1953, ტ. 3; პ ა ი ჭ ა ძ ე გ., ვახტანგ VI, თბ., 1975; საქართველოს ისტორიის ნარკვევები, ტ. 4, თბ., 1973; ქ ი ქ ო ძ ე მ., ვახტანგ VI-ის სახელმწიფოებრივი მოღვაწეობა, თბ., 1988; ჯ ა ვ ა ხ ი შ ვ ი ლ ი ივ., დამოკიდებულება რუსეთსა და საქართველოს შორის XVIII ს-ში, ტფ., 1919; Л ы с ц о в В. П., Персидский поход Петра I (1722–23 гг.), М.,1951; М а р к о в а О. П., Россия, Закавказье и международные отношения в XVIII в., М., 1966.
G. Maisuradze
S. Tsaishvili
