The battle for the royal throne in Imereti in the 80s-90s of the 18th century and the policy of Erekle II, the king of Kartl – Kakheti

Abstract

In the presented paper, the struggle for the royal throne in Imereti in the 80s-90s of the 18th century and the policy of Erekle II is discussed and analyzed. It is noted that the death of Solomon I was followed by the activation of the influential feudal lords of Western Georgia. Individual groups of Imereti princes had a favourable situation to realize their political goals. They grouped around the two contenders for the throne - Davit Giorgi's son and Davit Archil's son. The latter was the grandson of Erekle II, which strengthened the position of his supporters. According to one part of the princes, the enthronement of Davit (Archil's son) in Imereti would result in the strengthening of the influence of the king of Kartl-Kakheti in Western Georgia, which would ultimately lead to the abolition of the kingdom of Imereti and its merger with the kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti. Therefore, the mentioned group supported Davit (Giorgi’s son), the cousin of Solomon I, to become king in Imereti, which was successfully achieved in the first stage of the political struggle.In 1784-1789, Imereti was ruled by Davit (Giorgi’s son). During his short reign, a very difficult situation arose in Imereti. Dissatisfiedwith his policy, the great feudal lords became active and started to fight against the king. They placed special hopes on Davit (Archil's son). With the active support of the influential feudal lords of Imereti and Erekle II, Davit (Archil's son) won the battle for the throne, who changed his name to Solomon II in honour of Solomon I. Davit (Giorgi’s son) never stopped thinking about returning the throne and always tried to Solomon.He would contact the opposing forces of Solomon II. The struggle for power in the kingdom of Imereti was accompanied by thestrengthening of the feudal reaction. Anarchy engulfed Imereti. At the end of the 18th century, Solomon II was able to strengthen the central government, and the kingdom of Imereti was once again in the hands of a strong ruler.