Vakhtang V

Vakhtang V (born 1618 – died September 1676 in Khoskaro; Georgian: ვახტანგ V), also known as Shah Navaz Khan (Persian: شاه نواز خان), was a king (mepe) of the Georgian Kingdom of Kartli, a Prince of Mukhrani under the names Vakhtang II and Bakhuta Beg, and a statesman in Safavid Iran. He belonged to the Bagrationi dynasty of Mukhrani, a collateral branch of the royal House of Bagrationi. Vakhtang V was the first king of Kartli from the Mukhrani line, a dynasty that ruled Kartli until 1746. He was also a paternal ancestor of some monarchs of Kakheti and Imereti, as well as of several Russo-Georgian princes, including Pyotr Bagration.

Born into the princely house that had governed the region of Mukhrani in central Georgia since the early 16th century, Vakhtang was the eldest son of Prince Teimuraz I. He did not immediately succeed his father upon the latter’s death in 1625 but came to power around 1634 during the Persian invasion. An ally of the pro-Persian government of Kartli, Vakhtang was named heir by the childless King Rostom Khan in 1653. Before assuming administrative authority over the Kingdom of Kartli, he was required to convert to Islam. During his five-year regency, Vakhtang sought unsuccessfully to reconcile with the powerful Georgian nobility, which had remained unified only under Rostom’s rule. Upon Vakhtang’s accession to the throne in 1659, these nobles rebelled against him.

Although Vakhtang V ruled Kartli as a Christian monarch, he was recognized internationally merely as a wali (governor) under the Safavid Empire. Persian influence strongly shaped both his domestic and foreign policies, culminating in the bloody Bakhtrioni uprising of 1660. Following this conflict, Vakhtang asserted full control over Kakheti. He also extended his authority into western Georgia, invading Imereti and Mingrelia, thereby becoming the first Georgian ruler since the 15th century to hold sway over nearly all Georgian territories. Nevertheless, he was compelled to abandon his ambitions of national unification to avoid provoking a conflict between Persia and the Ottoman Empire.

Throughout his reign, Vakhtang V faced numerous challenges, including revolts led by the dukes Zaal and Otar of Aragvi. He pursued efforts to centralize authority and curtail the autonomy of the nobility. Engaged in repeated conflicts with Prince Heraclius of Kakheti, Vakhtang eventually consolidated control over the province by appointing his son Archil as its ruler. His reign was also marked by a program of cultural, economic, and demographic renewal. Vakhtang’s downfall came when his growing power aroused the suspicion of the new Persian shah, Suleiman I, who summoned him to Persia. It was during this journey that Vakhtang V died in 1676.