Prince Alexander of Kartli (died 1773)

For a prince of Kartli (died 1711), see Prince Alexander of Kartli (died 1711).

Alexander (Georgian: ალექსანდრე), born Ishaq Beg (ისაკ-ბეგი) (c. 1705/8 – September 1773), was an illegitimate son of the Georgian ruler Jesse of Kartli, of the Bagrationi-Mukhraneli, politically active in Georgia in the 1740s. His progeny subsequently flourished in the Russian Empire, producing a line of several notable figures of the 19th century, among them General Pyotr Bagration of the Napoleonic Wars fame.

Career

Alexander was born in Safavid Iran as a Muslim, named Ishaq Beg. From 1743 to 1744, he served as a lieutenant (janisin) of Kartli, then under the Iranian sway. He was soon removed from the office by his cousin Teimuraz II, of the rival Bagrationi branch from Kakheti, who became king of Kartli in 1744. Ishaq Beg joined the opposition faction led by his half-brother Abdullah Beg, but soon had to submit to the ascending power of the Kakhetian Bagrationi. In 1750, he converted to Christianity, baptized with the name Alexander and received a fief in Kvemo Kartli. Soon, his relations with Teimuraz again went downhill and Alexander fled to Russia in 1759. He entered the Russian military service and first joined a garrison at Astrakhan and then, in 1761, the Georgian squadron in Kizlyar in the ranks of podpolkovnik.

Family

Alexander fathered five sons (and probably three daughters):

• Prince Ivane (Ivan Aleksandrovich Bagration; 1730–1795), Second Major of the Russian army. He was father of Pyotr, Roman, and Alexander.
• Solomon
• Kiril (Kiril Aleksandrovich Bagration; 1750–1828), Major-General of the Russian army and a senator.
• Tamaz (Thomas) (1743 – c. 1759)
• Porphyry, who became an archimandrite of the Monastery of Exaltation of the Cross at Kizlyar