Vakhtang VI

Vakhtang VI
Vakhtang VI from kontakion, printed by Mihai Iștvanovici in 1709 in Tiflis
King of Kartli
Reign1716 - July 1724
Coronation1716
PredecessorHeraclius I
SuccessorJesse
Born(1675-09-15)15 September 1675
Died26 March 1737(1737-03-26) (aged 61)
Governorate of Astrakhan, Russian Empire
Burial
Church of Assumption of the Astrakhan Kremlin
ConsortRusudan of Circassia
Issuelegitimate
Tamar of Kartli
Princess Ana of Kartli
Princess Tuta of Kartli
Prince Bakar of Kartli
Prince George of Kartli
illegitimate
Rostom di Kartli
Vakhushti of Kartli
Paata of Kartli
Elene of Kartli
Mariam of Kartli
DynastyBagrationi
FatherLevan of Kartli
MotherTuta Gurieli
ReligionGeorgian Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic, Islam
KhelrtvaVakhtang VI's signature

Vakhtang VI (Georgian: ვახტანგ VI), also known as Vakhtang the Scholar, Vakhtang the Lawgiver and Ḥosaynqolī Khan (Persian: حسین‌قلی خان, romanizedHoseyn-Qoli Xān; 15 September 1675 – 26 March 1737), was a Georgian monarch (mepe) of the royal Bagrationi dynasty. He ruled the East Georgian Kingdom of Kartli as a vassal of Safavid Persia from 1716 to 1724. One of the most important and extraordinary statesman of early 18th-century Georgia, he is known as a notable legislator, scholar, critic, translator and poet. His reign was eventually terminated by the Ottoman invasion following the disintegration of Safavid Persia, which forced Vakhtang into exile in the Russian Empire. Vakhtang was unable to get the tsar's support for his kingdom and instead had to permanently stay with his northern neighbors for his own safety. On his way to a diplomatic mission sanctioned by Empress Anna, he fell ill and died in southern Russia in 1737, never reaching Georgia.