Constantine II of Imereti

Constantine II
King of Western Georgia
Reign1396–1401
PredecessorGeorge I
SuccessorAnnexation by Georgia
Died1401
DynastyBagrationi
FatherBagrat I
ReligionGeorgian Orthodox Church

Constantine II (Georgian: კონსტანტინე II, Konstantine II) (died 1401), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was king of Western Georgia from 1396 until his death in 1401.

Constantine was born sometime after 1358 into the family of Bagrat I, then duke (and ex-king) of Imereti, and his wife, a Jaqeli noblewoman of Samtskhe. He was a younger brother of two successive kings of Imereti, Alexander I and George I, who had broken away from the Kingdom of Georgia during Timur's invasions of that country. After the death of George I in the battle with Vameq I Dadiani, Duke of Mingrelia, in 1392, Constantine and his nephew, Demetrius, son of Alexander, fled to the Caucasian mountains, while Imereti was reintegrated by George VII of Georgia.[1]

In 1396, Constantine took advantage of George VII's continuous war with Timur—in which a great number of Imeretians died—and the death of Vameq Dadiani and returned to Imereti. He conquered a number of fortresses in the country and proclaimed himself king. Subsequently, he attempted to win over the dukes of Mingrelia and Guria, and the Svans, but he was killed in 1401. As Constantine was childless, the crown of Imereti was to be passed on to his young and weak nephew, Demetrius, but Imereti was reconquered by George VII of Georgia.[1][2]

References

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  1. ^ a b Bagrationi, Vakhushti (1976). Nakashidze, N.T. (ed.). История Царства Грузинского [History of the Kingdom of Georgia] (PDF) (in Russian). Tbilisi: Metsniereba. pp. 41–42.
  2. ^ Toumanoff, Cyril (1949–51). "The Fifteenth-Century Bagratids and the Institution of Collegial Sovereignty in Georgia". Traditio. 7: 183.
Preceded by
Annexation by Georgia
King of Imereti
1396–1401
Succeeded by
Annexation by Georgia