George XI (Georgian: გიორგი XI, George XI) (1651 – April 21, 1709) was a Georgian monarch who ruled Eastern Georgia from 1676 to 1688 and again from 1703 to 1709. He is best known for his struggle against the Safavid Persia which dominated his weakened kingdom and later as a Safavid commander-in-chief in Afghanistan. Being an Eastern Orthodox Christian, he converted to Islam prior to his appointment as governor of Qandahar. He later converted to ...
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George XI (Georgian: გიორგი XI, George XI) (1651 – April 21, 1709) was a Georgian monarch who ruled Eastern Georgia from 1676 to 1688 and again from 1703 to 1709. He is best known for his struggle against the Safavid Persia which dominated his weakened kingdom and later as a Safavid commander-in-chief in Afghanistan. Being an Eastern Orthodox Christian, he converted to Islam prior to his appointment as governor of Qandahar. He later converted to Roman Catholicism in an attempt to court Western support in the face of increasingly assertive Islamic forces.
He was the son of Vakhtang V, whom he succeeded as a ruler of Kartli in 1676. As with many other Georgian rulers, he had to nominally accept Islam and take the name of Shahnawaz II before being able to be confirmed as a viceroy by Shah Solayman I. However, Georgians continued to consider him as their king under his Christian name George (George).
When nearly half-century-long peaceful relations between Kartli and its Persian suzerains...
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