Levan ( ka, ლევანი), also known by his Muslim name Shah-Qoli Khan () (born c. 1653 – 30 May 1709) was a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

royal prince (''

batonishvili ''Batonishvili'' ( ka, ბატონიშვილი) (literally "a child of batoni (lord or sovereign)" in Georgian) is a title for royal princes and princesses who descend from the kings of Georgia from the Bagrationi dynasty and is suffixe ...

'') and the fourth son of the king of

Kartli Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...

Shahnawaz (Vakhtang V). He was a titular king of Kartli in 1709. In 1675, Levan was confirmed as a ''janisin'' (regent) of Kartli during the absence of his reigning brother, George XI (Gurgin Khan), at the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

military service in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. Summoned to Isfahan in 1677, he had to accept Islam and take the name Shah-Quli Khan. Thereafter he was appointed as naib of Kerman,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, and, as a commander of Georgian auxiliary forces, he secured the eastern provinces of the Persian empire from the rebellious Baluchi tribesmen from 1698 to 1701. For a short time in 1703, he was again a janisin for his absent brother in Kartli. As a reward for his military service the

shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

Husayn Hussein, Hussain, Hossein, Hossain, Huseyn, Husayn, Husein or Husain (; ar, حُسَيْن ), coming from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-S-i-N ( ar, ح س ی ن, link=no), is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", " ...

made Levan, in 1703, a ''divanbeg'' (chief justice) of Persia, and his son,

Khusrau Khan Khusrau Khan was the Sultan of Delhi for around two months in 1320. Originally from the Gujarat region, he was captured by the Delhi army during Alauddin Khalji's conquest of Malwa in 1305. After being brought to Delhi as a slave, he was conv ...

, ''

darugha ''Darugha'' ( ba, даруга, tt-Cyrl, даруга, translit=daruğa, from Mongol: ''daru-'', 'to press, to seal') was a territorial subdivision in the Mongol Empire. A ''darugha'' was ruled by a ''darughachi''. Later, the term was used for th ...

'' (i.e., prefect) of Isfahan. During his governance in Kartli, he patronised

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

missioners in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

. He also encouraged scholarly activities in Georgia, and helped his cousin,

Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani Prince Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani ( ka, სულხან-საბა ორბელიანი ) (November 4, 1658 – January 26, 1725) was a Georgian writer and diplomat. Orbeliani is noted in part due to his important role as an emissary of ...

, to create a Georgian dictionary, which is still widely used in Georgia. Although officially a convert to Islam, Levan covertly remained Christian and composed the prayers to St

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

, St Peter, St Paul and other Christian saints.

Family and children

Levan was married twice. He married, in 1672, Tuta, daughter of Kaikhosro I Gurieli,

Prince of Guria The Principality of Guria ( ka, გურიის სამთავრო, tr) was a historical state in Georgia. Centered on modern-day Guria, a southwestern region in Georgia, it was located between the Black Sea and Lesser Caucasus, and was r ...

. She died on 11 October 1678. Their children were: *

Kaikhosro of Kartli Kaikhosro (also spelled Kay Khusrau, Kai Khusraw; ka, ქაიხოსრო) (January 1, 1674 – September 27, 1711), of the House of Bagrationi, was a titular king (a Persian-appointed wali) of Kartli, eastern Georgia, from 1709 to 1711. He ...

(1 January 1674 – 27 September 1711), king of Kartli; *

Vakhtang VI of Kartli Vakhtang VI ( ka, ვახტანგ VI), also known as Vakhtang the Scholar, Vakhtang the Lawgiver and Ḥosaynqolī Khan ( fa, حسین‌قلی خان, translit=Hoseyn-Qoli Xān) (September 15, 1675 – March 26, 1737), was a Georgian ...

(15 September 1675 – 26 March 1737), king of Kartli; * David (1676–1703); * Domentius IV (1677–1741),

Catholicos Patriarch of Georgia ''Catholicos-Patriarch'' has been the title of the heads of the Georgian Orthodox Church since 1010. The first Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia was Melkisedek I (1010–1033). In the 15th century the Georgian Orthodox Church was divided into th ...

* Princess Khvaramze (1678 – fl. 1710), wife of Prince Sadzverel Chijavadze (died 1708). Levan married Tinatin (c. 1655 – 1708), daughter of the Georgian nobleman Giorgi Avalishvili, in 1680, after the death of Tuta. She had previously been married to Prince Iotam Palavankhosroshvili (of

Baratashvili Baratashvili ( ka, ბარათაშვილი) is a Georgian noble family, appearing at the end of the 15th century as a continuation of the Kachibadze (ქაჩიბაძე), which were possibly related to the Liparitids-Orbeli. The ...

stock; fl. 1658–1709), with one son, Bezhan, whose daughter Ana-Khanum would marry King

Teimuraz II of Kakheti Teimuraz II ( ka, თეიმურაზ II) (1680/1700–1762) of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a king of Kakheti, eastern Georgia, from 1732 to 1744, then of Kartli from 1744 until his death. Teimuraz was also a lyric poet. Life He was a son ...

as his second wife in 1746. Tinatin bore to Levan several children: *

Jesse of Kartli Jesse (, Iese), also known by his Muslim names Ali-Quli Khan and Mustafa Pasha, (1680 or 1681–1727), of the Mukhranian Bagrationi dynasty, was a king of Kartli (Georgia), acting actually as a Safavid Persian and later Ottoman viceroy (wali) ...

(1680–1727), king of Kartli; * Svimon (1683–1740), regent of Kartli; * Teimuraz (died 1710). * ?

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

(died 1711), a general in the Safavid service, otherwise considered to have been a son of Levan's brother Luarsab . Levan also had several natural children by unknown concubines: * Rostom (Rustam Khan; died 8 March 1722), general in the Safavid army; * Toma (fl. 1688–1703); * Constantine (died 1756), who married in 1725 the certain Khvaramze; * Adarnase (Afanasy) (15 November 1707 – 31 March 1784), general in the Russian army; * Princess Khoreshan (fl. 1724).

External links and references

* ''History of Iranian-Georgian relations'', an article by

Keith Hitchins Keith Arnold Hitchins (April 2, 1931 – November 1, 2020) was an American historian and a professor of Eastern European history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, specializing in Romania and its history. He was born in Schenect ...

a
Iranica.com

excerpt from

David Marshall Lang David Marshall Lang (6 May 1924 – 20 March 1991), was a Professor of Caucasian Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He was one of the most productive British scholars who specialized in Georgian, Armenian and ...

, ''The Last years of the Georgian Monarchy'', 1658–1832 {{DEFAULTSORT:Levan House of Mukhrani 1653 births 1709 deaths 17th-century people from Georgia (country) 18th-century people from Georgia (country) Iranian people of Georgian descent Safavid governors of Kartli Safavid generals Government of Safavid Iran Kings of Kartli 17th-century people of Safavid Iran 18th-century people of Safavid Iran