Alexander V of Imereti

Alexander V (Georgian: ალექსანდრე V) (c. 1703/4 – March 1752), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was king (mepe) of the Kingdom of Imereti from 1720 to 1741 and again from 1742 until his death in 1752.

Son of George VII of Imereti and Queen Rodam, he was raised at the court of Vakhtang VI of Kartli, where he received a Christian education, while his father struggled with a series of civil wars over control of the kingdom. In 1719, he accompanied his father to Constantinople in an effort to secure military assistance from the Ottoman Empire against the Prince of Guria, who had usurped the throne. With Ottoman support, he himself ascended the throne in 1720, at the age of seventeen. Bezhan Dadiani, Prince of Mingrelia, was appointed regent of the kingdom by İshak Pasha Jaqeli, the Pasha of Childir, who acted as the Ottoman governor overseeing the affairs of western Georgia.

The 32-year reign of Alexander V was marked by continuous internal strife between the central government and its many powerful vassals, continuing the civil conflict that had begun in the 17th century. Throughout his rule, he frequently shifted alliances: Duke Shoshita III of Racha became his principal adversary until 1731; Levan Abashidze opposed royal authority before later serving as Alexander V’s advisor; and Bezhan Dadiani, whose growing influence ultimately led to his downfall at the hands of the Turks in 1728. To maintain stability, Alexander V was compelled to appease numerous nobles by granting them lands and fortresses, thereby depleting the royal treasury, which was already severely diminished under Ottoman suzerainty.

Under Alexander V, the Ottomans gained significant influence in Imereti, stationing troops in around ten Imeretian cities, including the capital, Kutaisi, and annexing the Black Sea coast, thereby officially cutting the region off from all contact with the West. In 1733, he was forced to join the Ottoman campaign toward Azov, aimed at subduing the coastal tribes of Ciscaucasia, before withdrawing from the expedition after invading Abkhazia and compelling the Sharvashidze family, his vassals, to adopt Islam. The expulsion of Georgian peasant families to monopolize agricultural trade, the increase of tributes imposed on the central government, the expansion of the slave trade to Turkey, and the encouragement of noble revolts by Constantinople formed part of an Ottoman policy of divide et impera, which replaced the direct annexation of the Christian kingdom.

In an attempt to realign his kingdom geopolitically, he made several overtures toward Russia, including sending an embassy in 1738 to negotiate a military alliance against the Ottoman Empire. The Treaty of Niš of 1739, however, brought an end to these plans, and in 1741 Alexander V was deposed by a coalition of nobles supported by Ottomans in favor of his half-brother, George IX. He regained the throne a year later through the intervention of Nader Shah but continued to face numerous uprisings, including an attempted usurpation by his brother Mamuka between 1746 and 1749. Alexander is remembered both for his authoritarian measures against rebels and for his inability to maintain order during his reign. He died in 1752 and was succeeded by his son, Solomon I.