George V of Georgia

George V, the "Brilliant" (; also translated as the Illustrious, or Magnificent; 1286/1289–1346) was King of Georgia from 1299 to 1302 and again from 1314 until his death. A flexible and far-sighted politician, he recovered Georgia from a century-long Mongol domination, restoring the country’s previous strength and Christian culture.

Reign

George was born to King Demetrius II the Self-sacrificing and his wife Natela, daughter of Beka I Jakeli, prince and Atabeg of Samtskhe. Demetrius was executed by the Mongols in 1289, and the little prince George was carried to Samtskhe to be reared at the court of his maternal grandfather (Beka).

In 1299, the Ilkhanid khan Ghazan installed him as a rival ruler to George’s elder brother, the rebellious Georgian King David VIII. However, George’s authority did not extend beyond the Mongol-protected capital Tbilisi, so George was referred to during this period as "The Shadow King of Tbilisi". In 1302, he was replaced by his brother, Vakhtang III. After the death of both his elder brothers – David and Vakhtang – George became a regent for David’s son, George VI, who died underage in 1313, allowing George V to be crowned king for a second time. Having initially pledged his loyalty to the Il-khan Öljeitü, he began a program of reuniting the Georgian lands. In 1315, he led the Georgian auxiliaries to suppress an anti-Mongol revolt in Asia Minor, an expedition that would prove to be the last in which the...
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