Irakli II (King of Georgia): biography. The meaning of Heraclius II in the biographies of monarchs King Heraclius 2

Irakli II (11/7/1720, Telavi - 1/11/1798, ibid.), Georgian king. Son of King Teimuraz II. From 1744 he ruled in the Kakheti kingdom, from 1762 - in the Kartli-Kakheti kingdom. He strove to unite the scattered Georgian possessions into a single state; abolished the large eristavs and khanates, appointed Mourav officials at their head; introduced civil and military ranks, using the Russian Table of Ranks as a basis, achieved a limitation of the power of large landowners (satavado); prohibited the sale of serfs without land and the separation of families. During the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774 he fought in Transcaucasia on the side of the Russian army. In 1773 he established a standing army; according to the “Regulations on the Moriga Army”, every man fit for military service had to serve military service annually for one month, purchasing weapons and equipment at his own expense; The son of Irakli II, Tsarevich Levan, was placed at the head of the army. Irakli II concluded Treaty of Georgievsk in 1783 about Russian patronage over Eastern Georgia. Contributed to Georgian-Armenian rapprochement. Established public schools and seminaries in Tiflis (1756), Telavi (1782). Not wanting to complicate Russian-Turkish relations, he refused to unite the Kartli-Kakheti and Imeretian kingdoms, but promoted the accession of his grandson and pupil David Archilovich (King Solomon II) to the Imeretian throne (1789). During the invasion of Georgia, Iranian troops were defeated in a battle with Agha Mohammed Khan on the Krtsanis field near Tiflis.

Book materials used: Sukhareva O.V. Who was who in Russia from Peter I to Paul I, Moscow, 2005.

Irakli II (1744-1798) - king of Kakheti. Irakli received his first baptism of fire at the age of 15. In 1737-1739, Nadir Shah marched on India. The grandson of Irakli I took part in this campaign. While here, he received good military training.

In 1744, Nadir Shah approved Teimuraz as the king of Kartli, and his son Irakli as the king of Kakheti.

Before his departure to Iran, Teimuraz handed over control of the country along with Irakli II to the son of Vakhtang VI’s brother Yesa Abdul Beg, trying to avoid a conflict between them, but Abdul Beg made his claims to sole reign in Kartli. Heraclius defeated Abdul Beg.

In 1749, Heraclius finally expelled the Qizilbash garrison from Tbilisi. The influence and authority of kings Teimuraz and Heraclius grew more and more. The Yerevan, Ganja and Nakhichevan khanates asked for protection from the Georgian kings and became their vassals.

In 1751, the 3,000-strong Georgian army of Heraclius defeated the 18,000-strong army of Azat Khan at Kirbulakhi (near Yerevan) and Azat Khan asked for peace.

In 1752, Heraclius inflicted a brutal defeat on Aji-Chalab, completely defeating his army. The influence of Irakli and Teimuraz increased again. However, Dagestani raids still posed a serious danger to the country. In 1754, at the Battle of Mchadijvari and in 1755 at the Battle of Kvareli, Irakli II defeated the Dagestanis, led by Nursal-beg, who invaded Georgia.

In 1758, Teimuraz II, Irakli II and Solomon I entered into an alliance with each other, according to which they were supposed to provide assistance to each other in the event of an enemy attack. When the Dagestanis again invaded Kakheti in 1759, Solomon I helped Heraclius in the fight.

Irakli II, after the death of Teimuraz, became the king of the united Kartli-Kakheti kingdom in 1762.

Tsar Irakli II pursued a rather tough internal policy and did not tolerate the arbitrariness of the feudal lords. Some of the Kartli princes began to prepare a conspiracy against the king. The purpose of the conspiracy was to place his chosen one on the throne - the illegitimate son of Vakhtang VI - Prince Paata. The conspiracy was accidentally discovered in 1765 and its participants were captured and put on trial.

In 1768, the Russian-Turkish War began. Empress Catherine II sent a Russian detachment to Georgia under the command of General Totleben. In 1769, Irakli II met Totleben and saw him off to Imereti. When the general returned to Kartli, the king offered him a plan for a campaign against Akhaltsikhe. The united army of Russians and Georgians moved towards Akhaltsikhe, but at the Aspindza fortress Totleben unexpectedly turned back and returned to Kartli, leaving Irakli II without support. Irakli II in the Battle of Aspindza on April 20, 1770 completely defeated the combined army of the Turks and Dagestanis, but was forced to return to Kartli due to the treacherous actions of General Totleben, who entered into an alliance with the king’s opponents and began to forcefully occupy the cities and fortresses of Kartli.

In 1774, an army was organized. Every man fit for military service in the Kartli-Kakheti kingdom, regardless of whether he was a prince, prince, aznaur, artisan or anyone else, was obliged to serve military service at his own expense for one month a year. This measure made it possible for the king to have 5 thousand soldiers in constant combat readiness. The army brought particularly good results in the fight against Dagestan bandit raids.

In 1776, Irakli II made peace with Turkey

In 1782, Irakli II made an important decision. He officially turned to Russia with a request to accept Kartli-Kakheti under its protection. The draft agreement was approved by both parties. On July 24, 1783, in the Russian military fortress in the North Caucasus Georgievsk, an agreement (treaty) was signed between Russia and Georgia. The treaty was signed by: from the Russian side - Pavel Potemkin and from the Georgian side - Ioane Mukhranbatoni and Garsevan Chavchavadze.

The first serious blow that the Georgian kingdom received after the Treaty of Georgievsk was the invasion of Omar Khan. Russia did not provide real assistance to Georgia in the fight against Omar Khan.

In 1786, Heraclius sent an ambassador to Egypt, where power at that time was in the hands of the Georgian Mamluks Begebi. The Mamluks warmly received the ambassador, but were unable to provide real assistance to Kartli-Kakheti. In 1786, the king concluded a peace treaty with the Akhaltsikhe Pasha.

In December 1786, a meeting was held in Sagarejo to discuss the issue of revising foreign policy orientation. But changing orientation in such a tense situation meant complicating relations with Russia, and besides, neither Iran nor Turkey no longer trusted Heraclius.

In 1790, the “Treatise of the Kings and Princes of Iberia” was concluded, which was signed by Irakli II, Solomon II, Giorgi Dadiani and Simon Gurieli.

In 1795, Agha Mohammed Khan Qajar moved to Tbilisi. On September 10, in the battle of Soganlug, the Iranians were defeated and were about to return back, when traitors to the homeland informed Aga Mohammed Khan about the small number of Heraclius’s army. On September 11, on the Krtsani field, 5 thousand Georgian soldiers fought in a mortal battle with 35 thousand Iranians. This was one of the most tragic battles in the history of the Georgian people. The numerical superiority of the Iranians decided the outcome of the battle - the Georgians were defeated. 75-year-old Heraclius was forcefully taken from the battlefield by his grandchildren. Aga Mohammed Khan terribly ruined Tbilisi. The defeat with the Iranians was a heavy blow for Heraclius. After the departure of Aga Mohammed Khan, he moved to Telavi and never returned to Tbilisi.

Historical portraits speak louder than words.

There are certain reasons to believe that the great Russian Emperor Peter the Great was a Georgian on his father’s side. According to this version, which subsequently finds some confirmation, Peter is the illegitimate son of the Georgian prince Erekle. From childhood, the Georgian prince was close to the Russian royal court, and in particular to Natalya Naryshkina. At the royal court of Alexei Mikhailovich, the Georgian prince Erekle was known as Nikolai Davidovich.

A. Tolstoy studied historical materials when writing the novel "Peter|"
Excerpt from the novel:
Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna thirsted for blood... Why would she? Or maybe she still can’t forget her artistry - she walked around with her father and mother in bast shoes...
Everyone knows when Matveev, out of pity, took her into his chambers, but she didn’t even have a change of shirt... But she never knew the towers, she drank wine with the men at the same table. - Sophia’s full neck, tightly encircled by the pearl collar of her shirt, filled with anger, her cheeks were covered with spots. -The queen lived a joyful life, and a lot of jokes were made with the late priest and with Nikon the Patriarch... We know, the towers... Brother Petrusha is literally a parablesome kind of miracle - he doesn’t look like his father in face or demeanor. - Sophia, clinking her rings, clenched and pressed her hands to her chest... - I’m a girl, I’m ashamed to talk to you about state affairs... But if Natalya Kirillovna wanted blood, there will be blood for her... Or for all of you head off, and I'll throw myself into the well...

Even a year before the birth of Peter, Emperor Alexei Mikhailovich was really seriously ill and was not in
able to conceive children. A representative of the royal blood, Erekle the First (Heraclius I Bagrationi), was allowed to approach the princess. Throughout its reign, Soviet history hid information about the Georgian origins of Peter I.

There is documentary evidence that Peter’s mother herself, Natalya Naryshkina, at first did not want to give her son power over the country, “He cannot be a king...”, she said. Peter seized power by rebellion. The same proof of the non-Russian origin of Peter the Great are the words of Princess Sophia, who wrote to Prince Golitsyn - “You cannot give power to an infidel.” One of the meanings of the word “infidel” is a foreigner. It seems that Princess Natalya Naryshkina shared Peter’s non-Russian roots with her daughter.

There is also a letter from the Georgian king Archil II, who wrote to Princess Naryshkina, in which there were the following words: “And how is our naughty little one doing?” To top it all off, when Peter was once offered to marry a Georgian princess, he refused with the words:“I won’t marry namesakes”. Which indicates that he himself was well aware of his origins.

Irakli Georgievich Bagration - Mukhrani (Mukhraneli), prince from the royal Bagration dynasty, contender for the throne of Georgia, Head of the Georgian Royal House.

Born on March 21, 1909 in Tbilisi. His parents are Prince George Bagration - Mukhrani and Elena Sigismundovna Zlotnitskaya, a Polish noblewoman of the coat of arms of Nowina. His sister is Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna, married to Romanova, mother of the current Head of the Russian Imperial House - Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna Romanova.

Leonida Georgievna in her youth.

In 1921, the Red Army invaded Georgia and the family of Prince Bagration-Mukhransky was forced to leave the country and go into exile.

Irakli was educated in Germany, then settled in Italy (in the 30s).

Was married four times.

The first marriage - with the Russian Maria Belyaeva (according to Vonsyatsky - Gurilyova), ended in divorce.

Countess Marie Antoinette in Georgian national costume.

Second marriage - Italian Countess Maria - Antoinette, née Pasquini dei Conti di Costafiorita (1911 - 1944). From this marriage was born Georgiy Iraklievich Bagrationi, Prince of Mukhrani, who after the death of his father became the head of the Georgian Royal House. The Countess died in childbirth.

Prince Irakli with his eldest son in front of a portrait of his deceased wife.

The third marriage of Prince Irakli was in 1946 in the castle of San Sebastian with the Spanish Infanta Doña Maria de las Mercedes de Bavaria y de Bourbon (October 3, 1911-September 11, 1953), the niece of King Alfonso XIII of Bourbon. Children from this marriage: Princess Mariam (Maria) (born June 27, 1947) and Prince Bagrat (born January 12, 1949).

Irakli’s fourth marriage was in 1961 with the Spanish aristocrat Doña Maria del Pilar Pascual and Ruig, Marquise de Carsani.

Tsarevich Irakli was one of the most active figures in the Georgian emigration (its monarchical part), took an irreconcilable position on the issue of the Soviet annexation of Georgia, advocated for his country to gain independence and establish a constitutional monarchy represented by the Bagration dynasty. Tsarevich Irakli restored in 1939 the Order of the "Georgian Eagle and the Sacred Tunic of Our Lord Jesus Christ" and was one of the founders of the "Union of Georgian Traditionalists" თაკავშირი). The organization was created in Berlin in the fall of 1942. It set as its program goals the revival of independent Georgia and the establishment of constitutional monarchical rule in the country. Among the founding fathers of the Union are such prominent figures of the Georgian emigration (part-time members of the patriotic organization “Tetri Giorgi”) - Shalva Maglakelidze, coordinator of the Georgian Legion as part of the Wehrmacht, scientist Mikhail Tsereteli, veteran of the struggle for Georgian independence General Leo Kereselidze and others. In 1989, the Union, which had sunk into oblivion after the defeat of Nazi Germany, was restored in Tbilisi. After the country gained independence, the Union of Georgian Traditionalists became an influential force in parliament and to this day plays a prominent role in the political life of the country.

Foreign Minister of the Third Reich Joachim von Ribbentrop nominated Prince Irakli Bagrationi to the post of the Nazi-created Georgian National Committee, a kind of Georgian government in exile.

The Minister for Eastern Territories Alfred Rosenberg strongly opposed the candidacy of Prince Irakli. One of the reasons was that Bagrationi’s views on the future state structure of the Soviet Union largely coincided with the views of his patron, Count von der Schulenburg, a famous Russophile in the leadership of the Third Reich, who believed that after the fall of the Bolshevik regime, the Russian Empire should be revived, and the territories of the USSR , inhabited by non-Russian peoples striving for independence, must be in confederal relations with the future Russia.

Back in December 1938, Irakli Bagrationi wrote that if the country’s independence was restored, “the revived Georgia, together with other peoples of the Caucasus and especially in alliance with Armenia, as was already the case in the brilliant era of the Bagrationi, will be a subject of great interest not only for France, Germany, England and Italy, but also for the coming Russia". Such views could not please Alfred Rosenberg, as a result of which the candidacy of Prince Bagrationi for the post of chairman of the Georgian National Committee was decisively rejected. As you know, Rosenberg’s position on the Eastern question was diametrically opposed. He considered it expedient to divide Russia into separate quasi-states - Reichskommissariats under a German protectorate in order to prevent the revival of “Moscow imperialism” in the future.

Of course, the position on the “Russian question” is far from the main reason for the disagreements between Prince Irakli and his supporters with the authorities of the Third Reich. The main stumbling block was his uncompromising position in connection with the need for Berlin to recognize the independence of Georgia and its foreign policy priorities.

Being married (as mentioned above) to the Italian princess Marie Antoinette Paschini, who had “good connections at the Savoy royal court,” and thus was included in the ruling circles of Italy, Irakli Bagrationi, to a certain extent, voicing the opinion of the latter, in foreign policy sphere considered it advisable to focus not only on Germany. In particular, he believed that, unlike Germany, which was striving to establish direct, strict control over the Caucasus, the orientation towards Italy, which also had certain political and economic interests in Georgia, and, due to a number of circumstances, was much more liberal regarding the issue of Georgian independence , may be more appropriate. In the spring of 1942, the desire of the Italian ruling circles to put forward their claims to influence in Georgia was sufficiently evident. The Italian military command seriously considered the possibility of forming its own Georgian Legion from among Georgian prisoners of war captured by units of the 8th Italian Army operating on the southern sector of the Eastern Front.

In parallel with this, Rome sought to attract the leadership of the Tetri Giorgi organization to this enterprise, promising the latter the opportunity to enter Georgia as part of the Georgian units formed by the Italian army.

Active attempts to implement this plan were made by Irakli Bagrationi himself, who visited Poland in the spring of 1942, where, by that time, battalions of the Georgian Legion were being formed. Prince Irakli made the following proposal to the Georgian emigrant officers in Poland. - To enter service not in the Georgian Legion of the Wehrmacht, which, at that time, the German command itself opposed, but in the Italian Army, which, according to him, was also preparing to form Georgian national units.

In addition, Prince Irakli Bagrationi had strong doubts that the Reich authorities would react favorably to the idea of ​​​​restoring the monarchy in the country. As is known from his personal correspondence, he tried to convince his most zealous supporters, at least at the first stage, not to voice these ideas out loud. thoughts that made his figure unacceptable in the eyes of the Germans. In a letter to the monarchist Prince Sh. Amirejibi dated June 14, 1942, he was forced to call on the latter to show restraint, pointedly recalling that at this stage, his mission “is limited to the political realities of our days.”

Attempts to nominate Prince Irakli Bagrationi as the leader of the Georgian emigration were made later. In 1942, in Berlin, as stated above, the Union of Georgian Traditionalists was founded, the head of which Bagrationi was elected. In April 1943, the Union called on all Georgian political groups to unite under the leadership of I. Bagrationi, “... who has the ability to take into his own hands and defend the holy cause of the revival of our fatherland.”

In 1957, after the death of his father, Irakli inherited the title of Head of the Princely House of Mukhrani and proclaimed himself Head of the Georgian Royal House. Other branches of the ruling Houses of Georgia, for example, the descendants of the Kakhetian king Irakli II and Teimuraz who lived in the USSR, did not protest.

Tsarevich Irakli died in Madrid on October 30, 1977. He was buried in the British Cemetery in Madrid.

After his death, Georgian monarchist emigrants proclaimed his son, George, as the Head of the Georgian Royal House in exile, under the name of George XIV. In 2004, George XIV received Georgian citizenship, since 2006 he lived in his homeland, where he died in 2008 as a result of a serious and long-term illness. Now the Head of the Georgian Royal House is his son and grandson of Prince Irakli -

Introduction
1 Biography
1.1 Georgia during the period of Nadir Shah. Heraclius's campaign in India

2 Authorities
2.1 The Tsar and his officials
2.2 Morige army
2.3 Changes in the political system of the Kartli-Kakheti kingdom

3 The struggle against feudal separatism and attempts to unify the country
4 Expulsion of the Persians and raising the authority of Georgia in Transcaucasia
5 Conspiracy against Heraclius II (1765)
6 Projects for changing the state structure
6.1 Government Reform Project
6.2 Project for the creation of a unified Georgian-Armenian state

7 Rapprochement of the Kartli-Kakheti kingdom with Russia
8 Treaty of Georgievsk 1783
8.1 Foreign policy of Erekle II in the 80s of the 18th century.
8.2 Treatise of 1783

9 From the treatise to the abolition of the Kartli-Kakheti kingdom
9.1 Internal and external relations after the treatise
9.2 Union between East and West Georgia led by Erekle II

10 Battle of Krtsanisi 1795 and the decline of the Kartli-Kakheti kingdom
11 Death
12 Family of Irakli II
13 Ancestors

Bibliography

Introduction

Irakli II (Georgian ერეკლე II, Erekle meore; November 7, 1720, Telavi - January 11, 1798, ibid.) - king of Kakheti (1744-1762), Kartli-Kakheti kingdom (1762-1798). From the Kakheti branch of the Bagrationi. Heraclius's goal was to unite the Georgian feudal principalities into a single state, liberate from Iranian-Turkish rule, and strengthen Georgia in Transcaucasia. In 1783 he concluded the Treaty of Georgievsk with the Russian Empire. He established a permanent Georgian army, settled empty regions of Georgia, and limited the rights of feudal lords to the norms of the law. Founded schools and seminaries in Tbilisi and Telavi. Contributed to Georgian-Armenian rapprochement. In 1790, he initiated the conclusion of the “Treatise of the Kings and Princes of Iberia,” which was signed by Heraclius II, Solomon II, Grigol Dadiani and Simon Gurieli. During the Battle of Krtsanisi, which was lost by 5 thousand Georgian troops to 35 thousand Iranians, the grandchildren forcibly took 75-year-old Heraclius from the battlefield. After the invasion of Agha Mohammed Khan, the extremely worried Heraclius retired to Telavi, where he died on January 11, 1798. He was buried in Svetitskhoveli.

1. Biography 1.1. Georgia during the period of Nadir Shah. Heraclius's campaign in India Nadir Shah Afshar
For more details, see the article Nadir Shah Afshar

Nadir Shah Afshar(Persian نادر شاه‎ - Nâdir Šâh), also known as Nadir Qoli Beg (Persian نادر قلی بیگ‎ - Nâdir Qoli Beg) and Tahmasp Qoli Khan (October 22, 1688 - June 19, 1747) - Shah of Iran (173 6-47) and founder of the Turkic Afsharid dynasty. Created an empire with borders from the Caucasus to the Indus River.

He killed his uncle, the commander of the Kelat fortress, annexed the Kelat army to his own, and within two years (1729-1730) put an end to the brutal seven-year Afghan yoke. Tahmasp, fearing Nadir's strengthening, ordered him to stop hostilities, but Nadir approached the Shah's residence and forced him to grant Nadir enormous power in the state.

Having barely given his army a rest, Nadir Shah moved to the northwest, against the Turks, in whose hands until that time were all of Azerbaijan and the best part of Iraq. Nadir victoriously reached Armenia, but Tahmasp himself intervened in the war and, through his inept actions, not only lost all of Nadir’s acquisitions, but was forced to cede an additional part of Persia to the Turks.

Nadir tried to arouse general indignation against the humiliating treaty with the “despicable heretics” (that is, Sunnis), overthrew Tahmasp (1732), placed the young Abbas III on the throne and declared himself regent.

The renewed war with the Turks was initially unsuccessful, but then Nadir gathered a new army (1733) and continued the war with the Turks in the Caucasus. In the peace of 1735, Persia acquired Armenia and Georgia. In 1733, with the permission of Turkey, Teimuraz II, the father of Irakli, became the king of Georgia. By order of Nadir Shah, a “manager” was appointed to Georgia - a certain Sefi Khan, who immediately created a new tax - 3,300 gold and 500 soldiers with families and in full uniform for camping in Tiflis. These actions were followed by an uprising of the Georgian princes - Ksani eristav Shanshe, Givi Amilakhori, Vakhushtia Abashidze and Tarkhan Luarsabi. In connection with this uprising, the Kizilbash garrison was withdrawn from Tbilisi and sent to the Ksani eristate, but all attacks were repulsed. After four defeats, Sefi Khan summoned the rebels to himself, promising immunity. The Kakhetian king Teimuraz, his business manager Givi Cholokashvili, the Aragvi eristav Bardzim, Givi Amilakhori, Tarkhan Luarsabi, Tamaz Andronikashvili and Kaikhosro Cherkezishvili came to Sefi Khan. The khan put everyone who appeared in chains and sent them to Iran. Only the Ksani eristav Shanshe remained free. The Persian army was again sent to the Ksani eristate, but in the battle of Ikorta Shanshe won. Finally, in 1737, Sefi Khan received a new military force and immediately sent it to the Ksani eristate. Shanshe, who lost the battle, retired first to Imereti and then to Russia, where he tried to get at least some military assistance and persuade King Vakhtang, who was in exile, to take the Kakheti throne. Both missions failed, since Russian diplomats did not listen to Shanshe, and Tsar Vakhtang died in Astrakhan..

Nadir warmly received the captives, as he hoped to enlist the support of the Georgians in his planned Kandahar campaign. After the occupation of the city of Kandahar by the Persian-Georgian army in 1737, Nadir gifted and sent most of the Georgian captives to Georgia, but retained King Teimuraz. The condition for the release was the sending of Teimuraz’s children, Irakli and his sister, Ketevan, to Persia. The wedding of Ketevan and Ali-Kuli Khan took place immediately upon the arrival of the bride and Irakli. On the same day, Nadir Khan demanded that Heraclius accept Islam, to which he received the answer:

from the book by prof. Levana Sanikidze, Mother History, p.319:

2. Authorities 2.1. The king and his officials

At the head of the Kartli-Kakheti state was the king, who himself, being the owner of the largest estates, naturally pursued foreign and domestic policies that served primarily the interests of the ruling class. Possessing unlimited power, the king, however, resolved the most important issues together with the state council - darbazi, whose members were: representatives of the highest clergy headed by the Catholicos, the king's sons, large feudal lords and senior officials. There were two councils - large and small. Depending on the nature and importance of the issue, the king, at his discretion, discussed it in a large or small council.

The orders of the tsar and the decisions of the state council were carried out by officials, who until the 70s of the 18th century were divided into two main groups: there were “court” officials, that is, representatives of the central government, and officials who exercised power locally.

The “court” officials included: sahltukhutses, who was in charge of the royal treasury, officials of the royal treasury, mdivans, mordals (keepers of the royal seal), mdivanbegi (members of the court), eshikagas-bashi (guardians of order at the royal court) and their subordinates, bokaultukhutses - representatives of the police authorities, etc.

The officials, who were called “sakveknod gamrige”, which means “rulers of the lands,” were the Mouravas of the regions, villages and cities, minbashi (tsikhistavs), mamasakhlis of royal villages and cities, natsvals, etc.

In the feudal state there was no clear delineation of job responsibilities. In addition, there were often cases when one person held several positions at the same time. Positions were inherited from father to son, as a result of which responsible positions in the state were often occupied by persons who were unable to carry out the duties assigned to them.

Officials did not receive salaries from the royal treasury. As a reward, they were given a certain part of the taxes collected from the population, called “sargo”. Some officials, along with “sargo,” were assigned an annual allowance in kind, that is, the right to collect a certain amount of wheat, wine, meat and other products from the population.

2.2. Morige army

The ruling circles of the Kartli-Kakheti kingdom, after directly familiarizing themselves with the Russian army during the campaign of 1769-1771, were clearly convinced of the advantage of the regular army over the Georgian feudal militia, poorly trained and poorly armed. The tsar and the state council faced the urgent question of creating a regular Georgian army. But in a small feudal state, the creation of a regular army was fraught with insurmountable difficulties. The royal treasury did not have the funds necessary to equip and maintain a regular army; moreover, recruiting recruits from among the serfs would have caused strong resistance from the tawads, who in this case would have lost their most able-bodied workers.

In 1773, the Darbazi developed the “Regulations on the Moriga Army.” According to this “regulation”, every man fit for military service was obliged to serve military service for one month annually, purchasing weapons and equipment at his own expense. If a serf was unable to purchase the necessary equipment, then his master was obliged to help him. No one had the right to avoid attending military training. The Morige army consisted of separate detachments, headed by commanders appointed by the king. At first, up to five thousand warriors per month entered the Moriga army. At the head of the Morige army was the son of Irakli II, Tsarevich Levan.

The benefits of the Morige army soon became obvious: the bandit raids stopped, the country found comparative peace, deserted villages came to life, the peasants left the fortresses in which they had taken refuge from the enemy and began restoring their devastated farms. Despite the obvious benefits of the Moriga army, the Tawads saw in it only a strengthening of royal power, and waged an irreconcilable struggle against the new army. Although the Morige army was not officially abolished, the Tawads gradually weakened it, and then completely stopped sending soldiers to perform the required service. The Morige army finally lost its importance after the death of Prince Levan, who was the soul and leader of this undertaking useful for the country.

Herakleion. Solid, gold.

Heraclius II (Herakleon, Heraklon, Constantine) - Byzantine emperor who ruled in 638-641. Born in Lazika in 626, date of death unknown. Emperor's son Irakli I and his second wife - Martins. At birth he was baptized with the name Constantine, but in his family he was called Irakleon. By the will of his father, he was proclaimed Caesar in 632, and then Augustus in 638. After the death of his father, he was considered co-ruler of his elder brother Constantine III, although he had no real power. After the sudden death of Constantine III in May 641, Heraclius became the sole emperor. He brought his mother into administration, and punished many nobles, whom he considered his brother’s friends and accomplices, with beatings and expulsion. However, the power of Martina and her son did not last long. Troops led by a commander Valentin, rebelled against them, captured Chalcedon and announced that they were taking the children of the deceased Constantine under their protection. Nevertheless, Emperor Irakli II retained the capital. To dispel the suspicions of ill-wishers, he often brought his nephews out to the people, and hugged the eldest of them, his namesake Irakli, like his own child. Patriarch Pyrrhus swore on Life-giving Cross that the children of Constantine III are out of danger. Heraclius wanted to sail to Chalcedon and persuade the rebels to peace, but Valentine did not allow him to his shore of the Bosphorus. Soon it was time to harvest the grapes, and the townspeople learned that the troops on Valentine's side were spoiling their vineyards and preventing them from crossing the strait to harvest. Then the residents of the capital came to the patriarch demanding that his son Constantine III be enthroned. The emperor became aware of the crowd's threats. He immediately called his nephew, entered the temple with him and, together with the patriarch, crowned him with a crown under the name Constant II. After this, Martina and Heraclius II made peace with Valentin, who received the title of comite of the Escubites. There was peace for a short time, but mutual intrigues continued. In the autumn of the same year, enemies of Emperor Heraclius II and his mother published a letter in which Martina allegedly gave orders to poison Constant II. This intrigue completely destroyed Heraclius: the Senate deprived him of power. Irakli's nose was cut off, and Martina's tongue was cut off. Another of the former emperor’s younger brothers was castrated and died of a wound, while his brother, deaf and dumb from birth, escaped similar punishment. Martina and her children were exiled to Fr. Rhodes, where they ended their lives in obscurity.

Byzantine dictionary: in 2 volumes / [comp. General Ed. K.A. Filatov]. SPb.: Amphora. TID Amphora: RKhGA: Oleg Abyshko Publishing House, 2011, vol. 1, p. 420-421.

Heraclius II - Byzantine emperor of the Irakleian dynasty, who reigned from 638-641. Genus. in 626. Son of Heraclius I.

Heraclius was proclaimed Caesar in 632, Augustus in 638. After the death of his father, he was considered a co-ruler of his elder brother Constantine III, although he had no real power (Dashkov: “Heracleon”). After Constantine died suddenly in May 641, Heraclius became the sole emperor. He brought his mother Martina into administration, and punished many nobles whom he considered friends and accomplices of his brother with beatings and expulsion. However, the power of Martina and her son did not last long. The troops led by Valentine rebelled against them, captured Chalcedon and announced that they were taking the children of the deceased Constantine under their protection. Nevertheless, Irakli II retained the capital. In order to dispel all suspicions, he often brought his nephews out to the people, and hugged the eldest of them, his namesake Irakli, like his own child. Patriarch Pyrrhus swore on the Life-Giving Cross that neither through him nor through anyone else would there be harm to the children of Constantine. In order to further win public opinion to his side, Heraclius wanted to sail to Chalcedon and persuade the rebels to peace, but Valentine did not allow him to his shore of the Bosphorus. After that everything is Constantinople They believed the patriarch and the emperor, and they began to scold Valentin.

Soon, however, the time came to harvest the grapes, and the townspeople learned that the troops standing on the side of Valentine were spoiling their vineyards and preventing them from crossing the strait. Then the Byzantines came to the patriarch demanding that his son Constantine be elevated to the throne. The emperor became aware of the crowd's threats. He immediately took his nephew, entered the temple with him and, together with the patriarch, crowned him under the name of Constant. After this, Martina and Heraclius II made peace with Valentinus, who received the title of comite of the Escubites ( Nikifor: 640). There was peace for a short time, but mutual intrigues continued. In the autumn of the same year, enemies of the emperor and his mother published a letter in which Martina allegedly gave orders to poison Constant ( Dashkov: “Herakleion”). This intrigue completely destroyed Heraclius: the Senate deprived him of power. In winter, Irakli's nose was cut off, and Martina's tongue was cut off. Both were exiled to the island of Rhodes ( Feofan: 633). Sebeos writes that they were killed by order of Valentine ( Sebeos: 42).

All the monarchs of the world. Ancient Greece. Ancient Rome. Byzantium. Konstantin Ryzhov. Moscow, 2001

Irakleion (Heraklon, Heraclius II) (626 - ?, imp. from 638, fact. in 641)

Among the capable sons of Heraclius and Martina (the first was born a freak with a motionless head, the second was deaf and mute), the eldest was Heraclius, born in 626 in Lazika (Martina was accompanied by his wife on the campaign). On January 1, 632, he, who went down in history under the diminutive name of Iraklon or Irakleona, became Caesar, and on July 4, 638 he was elevated to the rank of Augustus and turned out to be the next co-ruler of his father after his half-brother Constantine. Heraclius I, realizing that with his death Martina and her offspring could be in danger from opponents of the emperor’s unpopular marriage, tried to provide for her and her children as much as possible and, in case of their disgrace, even left Patriarch Pyrrhus a significant amount of money, which he hoped could would help them.

Troubles for Irakli's widow began almost immediately after her husband's death. When she, together with Constantine III and her sons, ascended the kathisma of the hippodrome during the celebrations, the people did not recognize her as a full-fledged Augusta, shouting: “You have honor as the mother of kings, they are our emperors and sovereigns. You cannot, lady, receive or negotiate with barbarians or foreigners coming into the state; God forbid that the Roman power should come to such a state!” (Nikifor, )

After the death of Constantine III, there was enmity between two parties, one of which supported his offspring (another Heraclius and Theodosius), and the second - Martina and her children (except Herakleon - Caesar David and Novelismo Martin, born respectively in November 630 and ca. 638). ), worsened to the extreme. The official Philagry, who revealed to Constantine the secret of the Empress-Widow's gold, reasonably fearing for his fate, incited the Armenian commander Valentin Arshakuni to create an armed opposition to Martina and demand the transfer of Constantine's children to the care of the army. Arshakuni outraged the troops stationed on the right bank of the Bosphorus, occupied Chalki-don and prepared to attack Constantinople. The people of the capital, excited to the extreme by the suspiciously sudden death of Constantine, were not far from revolt. To defuse the situation, Herakleon went out to the people at the hippodrome, accompanied by Heraclius and Theodosius, and, holding in his hand a sacred relic - a piece of the Tree of the Holy Cross, he vowed not to harm the young heirs. At the demand of the crowd, Heraclius the Younger was declared co-ruler Augustus (under the name Constant II). The mood of the citizens changed - Herakleon began to be supported and praised. Delighted by his luck, he headed to the troops settled in Chalcedon, with the intention of repeating the oath before the soldiers, but the prudent Arshakuni did not allow the emperor into the camp.

Sharp protests against Pyrrhus began in the capital, and the patriarch, the main support of Herakleon and his mother, fled. Martina, realizing the precariousness of her position, decided to come to an agreement with Arshakuni, promising him the high post of committee of the Excuvites and a bribe for agreeing to support her and crown the young David as king. Valentin rejected these proposals, since he knew that in the synclite the party opposing Augusta had a decisive advantage.

In the fall, Martina's enemies published a letter, allegedly written on her behalf, with an order to poison Heraclius-Constant and Theodosius. The letter caused a storm of indignation, Herakleon and Martina were removed.

In the winter of 641/42, the emperor's nose was cut off, Martina's tongue was cut off, David was castrated 1) (from which he soon died) and together with Martin were exiled to the island of Rhodes, where they ended their lives. The exact date and circumstances of their deaths are unknown, although Sebeos claims Martina was murdered.

Patriarchs of Constantinople(biographical reference book).