George VIII (Georgian: გიორგი VIII, romanized:giorgi VIII; 1417–1476) of the Bagrationi dynasty, was de facto last king (mepe) of the formerly united Kingdom of Georgia from 1446 to 1465. He would later rule in the Kingdom of Kakheti as George I from 1465 until his death in 1476, founding a local branch of the Bagrationi dynasty.
He was the third son of Alexander I of Georgia, who appointed him co-ruler with his brothers Vakhtang IV, Demetrius and Zaal in 1433, when he was still very young, in order to consolidate his power against the powerful nobles. However, the future George VIII fell under the influence of this nobility, which caused his father's abdication in 1442, and he took over the administration of eastern Georgian territories under the leadership of his elder brother Vakhtang IV. On the latter's death in 1446, he seized the throne and disinherited his other elder brother, Demetrius.
George VIII is still known as the last monarch to rule the entire Kingdom of Georgia, although the division of the kingdom became official in 1490. He quickly lost control of Samtskhe in the 1460s when the Atabeg Qvarqvare II Jaqeli declared independence, and then of West Georgia during the Georgian civil war of 1463–1491. He was also dethroned after being captured and imprisoned by Qvarqvare II in 1465, which created a new power that allowed the great nobility to seize large semi-independent territories throughout Georgia. Released in 1466, he seized Kakheti and proclaimed the independence of the Kingdom of Kakheti, which he ruled peacefully until his death in 1476, endowing it with its first institutions.
Internationally, George VIII witnessed great geopolitical upheaval in the Middle East caused by the fall of Constantinople in 1453, followed by the fall of Trebizond in 1461, two conflicts in which he did not intervene against the Ottoman Empire despite Byzantine requests for help. His proposed crusade against the Ottomans, formed with Rome, failed because European states refused to participate in the conflict.
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the rebellious Georgian King David VIII. However, George's authority did not extend beyond the Mongol-protected capital Tbilisi, so George was referred...
The Battle of Chikhori was fought between the armies of King GeorgeVIIIofGeorgia and the rebellious nobles led by a royal kinsman Bagrat in 1463. It...
and by taking GeorgeVIII as a hostage. Imprisoned, GeorgeVIII remains the king ofGeorgia but is obliged to recognize the independence of Samtskhe and...
the Georgian kingdom was embroiled in a bitter civil war in the 1450s, the Sharvashidzes joined a major rebellion against King GeorgeVIIIofGeorgia, which...
Son of King David VIII, he was appointed as King ofGeorgia (actually, only the eastern part of the country) by the Il-khan Öljeitü upon the death of his...
became the second wife of David of Trebizond; and an unnamed daughter, who may have become queen ofGeorgia. Cantacuzino, a family of Phanariote and Romanian...
specifically, the Persian ambassador—Nicholas of Tbilisi—was the representative ofGeorgeVIIIofGeorgia, and the Georgian ambassador—recorded as "Custopa", "Custoda"...
the king GeorgeVIII was defeated and imprisoned by Qvarqvare of Samtskhe, Bagrat used the opportunity and crossed the borders of East Georgia (Inner Kartli)...
Despotess of Serbia Irene Kantakouzene, the Empress of Trebizond Helena, and the unnamed wife of King GeorgeVIIIofGeorgia. He was also a cousin of the last...
Kingdom of Georgia. This conflict, climaxing in the 1460s, pitted King GeorgeVIIIofGeorgia against the local rulers such as Bagrat II of Imereti and...
Liparit and other western Georgian dukes joined forces with the Georgian Bagratid prince Bagrat against GeorgeVIIIofGeorgia, winning a decisive battle...
authority of King GeorgeVIIIofGeorgia. In 1463, Bagrat and his allies met and defeated the king at the Battle of Chikhori. As a result, GeorgeVIII lost...
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ofGeorgia. A major confrontation took place in August 1463 at the Battle of Chikhori, during which the troops loyal to King GeorgeVIIIofGeorgia were...
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and Herzegovina, Georgia, Ukraine, Malta, Ethiopia, as well as Catalonia and Aragon in Spain, and Moscow in Russia, have claimed George as their patron...
George Papashvily (Georgian: გიორგი პაპაშვილი; August 23, 1898 – March 29, 1978) was a Georgian-American writer and sculptor. He was one of the most famous...
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