Vakhtang V (; died September 1676), also known as Shah-Navaz Khan (), was a king (mepe) of the Georgian Kingdom of Kartli, a Prince of Mukhrani under the names Vakhtang II and Bakhuta Beg, and a statesman in Safavid Iran. He belonged to the House of Mukhrani, a collateral branch of the royal Bagrationi dynasty. Vakhtang V was the first king of Kartli from the Mukhrani line, a dynasty that ruled Kartli until 1727.
Born into the princely house that had governed the region of Mukhrani in central Georgia since the early 16th century, Vakhtang was the eldest son of Prince Teimuraz I, Prince of Mukhrani. He did not immediately succeed his father upon the latter’s death in 1625 but came to power around 1634 during the Persian invasion. An ally of the pro-Persian government of Kartli, Vakhtang was named heir by the childless King Rostom Khan in 1653. Before assuming administrative authority over the Kingdom of Kartli, he was required to convert to Islam. During his five-year regency, Vakhtang sought unsuccessfully to reconcile with the powerful Georgian nobility, which had remained unified only under Rostom’s rule. Upon Vakhtang’s accession to the throne in 1658, these nobles rebelled against him.
Although Vakhtang V ruled Kartli as a Christian monarch, he was recognized internationally merely as a wali (governor) under the Safavid Empire. Persian influence strongly shaped both his domestic and foreign policies, culminating in the bloody Bakhtrioni uprising of 1660. Following this conflict, Vakhtang asserted full control over Kakheti. He also extended his authority into western Georgia, invading Imereti and Mingrelia, thereby becoming the first Georgian ruler since the 15th century to hold sway over nearly all Georgian territories. Nevertheless, he was compelled to abandon his ambitions of national unification to avoid provoking a conflict between Persia and the Ottoman Empire.
Throughout his reign, Vakhtang V faced numerous challenges, including revolts led by the dukes Zaal and Otar of Aragvi. He pursued efforts to centralize authority and curtail the autonomy of the nobility. Engaged in repeated conflicts with Prince Heraclius of Kakheti, Vakhtang eventually consolidated control over the province by appointing his son Archil II as its ruler. His reign was also marked by a program of cultural, economic, and demographic renewal. Vakhtang’s downfall came when his growing power aroused the suspicion of the new Persian shah, Suleiman I, who summoned him to Persia. It was during this journey that Vakhtang V died in 1676.
Early life
Vakhtang was the eldest son of Teimuraz I, Prince of Mukhrani, and his wife, Ana, daughter of Nugzar, Duke of Aragvi. He descended from a cadet branch of the Bagrationi dynasty, which had governed a province of Shida Kartli since the early 16th century. From an early age, Vakhtang was educated as the heir to a powerful principality, and by the age of five, his family had begun his training in the military arts.
His father, Teimuraz I, soon became one of the leaders of the Christian rebellion against Safavid Iran, which at that time occupied the kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti. In 1623, he was appointed regent of Kartli by the northern Georgian nobility. However, he was killed in battle in 1625. The domain of Mukhrani then passed to Teimuraz's brother, Kaikhosro. Kaikhosro was later defeated during King Teimuraz I of Kakheti’s invasion of Kartli in 1627 and fled into exile in the Ottoman Empire, while his wife and nephews, including young Vakhtang, sought refuge in Imereti at the court of King George III of Imereti.
After an unsuccessful attempt by the exiled family to reclaim their ancestral lands, the Principality of Mukhrani came under the control of Prince David of Kakheti. Meanwhile, the entire region was engulfed in civil conflict between pro-Safavid and Christian factions, with Mukhrani situated at the heart of the struggle and temporarily administered by the Duchy of Aragvi. Following the death of Shah Abbas I in 1629, divisions emerged among the pro-Persian party. King Simon II of Kartli confiscated Mukhrani from Zurab, Duke of Aragvi and invited Vakhtang to rule the principality as Vakhtang II of Mukhrani. A few months later, Simon II was killed by the Duke of Aragvi, Teimuraz of Kakheti retook control of Kartli, and the fate of both Mukhrani and Vakhtang once again became uncertain.
In 1634, Prince Vakhtang—whose exact status during this period remains unclear, though he continued to be regarded as one of the most influential nobles in central Georgia—was the first to pledge allegiance to the Persian-Georgian general Rostom Khan, who invaded Kartli with Safavid forces. Vakhtang met Rostom at Khunan in Persia, and his support encouraged the Baratashvili clan to join the general’s cause as well. In Tbilisi, Rostom was proclaimed King of Kartli as a vassal of Persia, and the rebels were defeated.
Prince of Mukhrani
The rise of Rostom Khan to power consolidated Vakhtang II’s authority over Mukhrani, which he governed under the Muslim name Bakhuta Beg. In 1635, Vakhtang acted as mediator in negotiations between the central government and the rebel Datuna, Duke of Aragvi, his maternal uncle, hosting both the king, his troops, and the duke in Mukhrani. The talks failed, and Datuna was assassinated in Vakhtang’s fortress by Rostom Khan’s guards. Rostom then used Mukhrani as a base for his campaign to invade the Aragvian province of Dusheti.
This episode altered Vakhtang’s relationship with the royal court in Tbilisi. That same year, Teimuraz I of Kakheti, then in exile in Imereti, returned to his former kingdom with the support of the Prince of Mukhrani. Accompanied by Prince Iotam Amilakhvari, Vakhtang visited Teimuraz in Kakheti to plan an invasion of Kartli. After Rostom Khan failed to obtain reinforcements from Persia, Teimuraz entered Kartli and formed an alliance with Vakhtang II and the Duchy of Ksani, laying siege to Gori with Mukhranian troops. The nocturnal assault was unsuccessful, forcing Vakhtang and Teimuraz to retreat to the villages of Ikorta and Artsevi within Ksani territory. They regrouped and attacked Gori again but were decisively defeated by Rostom Khan in a bloody battle. Rostom’s forces ravaged Mukhrani, and Vakhtang II was forced to flee to Saeristo.
Following this defeat, Vakhtang returned to Rostom Khan’s sphere of influence. In 1638, he warned the king of an impending invasion by Teimuraz, prompting Rostom to dispatch the Georgian catholicos Evdemon to persuade Teimuraz to withdraw to Kakheti. Two years later, another invasion plot emerged, this time supported by Zaal, Duke of Aragvi and Iotam Amilakhvari, who gathered their forces at Akhalgori. On 24 December 1640, Rostom Khan sent a message to Prince Vakhtang requesting the aid of Mukhranian troops. Later that night, he sent another letter stating:“We are arriving with many men; come and join us with your people in good order, so that, with God’s help, we may attack without waiting for dawn.”Rostom arrived in Mukhrani that very night, where he was received by Vakhtang II. On the morning of 25 December, their combined forces launched a surprise assault on Akhalgori, catching the rebels off guard as they attended the Christmas Mass. During the battle, Vakhtang distinguished himself as a formidable warrior, while the rebel nobles suffered a crushing defeat. Afterward, Rostom, Vakhtang, and their soldiers shared the Christmas feast that had been prepared for the vanquished.
In the spring of 1642, Rostom Khan led an invasion of Kakheti with Iranian troops. Vakhtang and his Mukhranian forces were tasked with capturing Teimuraz in Tianeti, confronting him in the Battle of Ughlisi. Vakhtang’s soldiers killed the Kakhetian general Revaz Cholokashvili, forcing Teimuraz to flee eastward into Kakheti, where he was pursued by Rostom.
Heir of Rostom
Appointment
As King Rostom had no legitimate sons, he adopted Prince Luarsab as his heir. However, Luarsab died under mysterious circumstances during hunting in 1652, an event widely regarded at the Persian court as a political assassination. These suspicions prompted Prince Vakhtang, Luarsab’s younger brother and lord of Qazvin, to decline the offer to become the king’s adopted son and successor, fearing a similar fate. Vakhtang himself died later that same year. Consequently, Rostom resolved to adopt the ambitious Bakhuta Beg (Vakhtang II of Mukhrani) as his son and heir to the throne.
Parsadan Gorgijanidze, a close adviser to King Rostom, was dispatched to the court of Shah Abbas II to seek the monarch’s approval for Vakhtang’s adoption. This mission is recorded in Henri Brenner’s Series regnum Iberiae. In response, the Shah requested a portrait of the Prince of Mukhrani, which he received two weeks later, reportedly influencing his favorable decision. After receiving the Shah’s confirmation, Vakhtang was officially adopted in 1653 and sent to Persia, where he was received with great honor by the Shah. During his stay, the Georgian diplomatic delegation led by Gorgijanidze informed the Shah of the death of Vakhtang Rostom Mirza and formally requested the recognition of Bakhuta Beg as heir to the throne. While in Isfahan, Vakhtang converted to Islam and adopted the name Shah Navaz Khan, meaning “monarch of delights” or “beloved of the Shah”.
In Persia, he was appointed governor of Isfahan and of Gilan before returning to Georgia. Upon his return, Vakhtang began referring to himself as Rostom’s son in official documents. Although royal decrees referred to him by his Muslim name, Shah Navaz Khan, he continued to use the name Vakhtang in order to maintain the support of the Christian population of Kartli. The retainers of both King Rostom and Queen Mariam were compelled to swear allegiance to the new crown prince, who was granted an apanage consisting of several villages in the district of Savakhtaago.
Intervention in Imereti
In Tbilisi, the aging king, then eighty-six years old, placed great trust in his newly adopted son—a distinction that Prince Luarsab had never fully enjoyed. Rostom appointed Shah Navaz Khan as administrator of Kartli, entrusting him with the day-to-day governance of the kingdom, as well as command of the Kartlian armed forces.
Since 1623, a destructive conflict had been waged between the Kingdom of Imereti and the Principality of Mingrelia in western Georgia, with King Rostom providing logistical support to the Mingrelians. In 1658, following the reversal of fortunes in the war and the emergence of a new strategic advantage for Imereti after the death of Levan II of Mingrelia, Rostom appointed Vakhtang as general, charging him with leading a military expedition into Imereti. Around the same time, the king fell ill, compelling Vakhtang to assume greater responsibility for the administration of Kartli.
Vakhtang was joined on this campaign by Zaal, Duke of Aragvi. Together, and with assistance from the forces of the Ottoman Eyalet of Childir, they confronted the army of King Alexander III of Imereti in a brief engagement. The battle ended in defeat for Vakhtang and Zaal, forcing them to retreat into the forests of Somaneti.
According to the testimony of the royal envoy Pharsadan, a strategic dispute then arose between Vakhtang and Zaal. Pharsadan had visited the military camp to obtain their signatures on a letter of submission to Shah Abbas II. During his visit, Vakhtang discussed state affairs with the envoy and argued that a military victory was still possible if Zaal’s troops remained at the front, while Zaal formally complained to the envoy about Vakhtang’s alleged recklessness in conducting the campaign.
The immediate withdrawal of the Aragvian forces forced Vakhtang to reconsider his strategy and withdraw to Kartli. Less than a year later, Imereti emerged victorious from the conflict.
Conflict with Zaal