{{Short description|King of Georgia from 1442 to 1446}} {{Infobox royalty | name = Vakhtang IV | image = Vakhtang IV relief.jpg | caption = Relief of King Vakhtang IV | succession = [[List of monarchs of Georgia|King of Georgia]] | reign = 1442–1446 | predecessor = [[Alexander I of Georgia|Alexander I]] | successor = [[George VIII of Georgia|George VIII]] | regent = [[Demetrius, son of Alexander I of Georgia|Demetrius]] (1442–1446)<br />[[George VIII of Georgia|George VIII]] (1442–1446) | reg-type = Co-kings | birth_date = 1413 | death_date = December 1446 | burial_place = [[Bana Cathedral]] | spouse = Sitikhatun [[Tsitsishvili|Panaskerteli]] | dynasty = [[Bagrationi dynasty|Bagrationi]] | father = [[Alexander I of Georgia]] | mother = Dulandukht [[Orbelian dynasty|Orbelian]] | religion = [[Georgian Orthodox Church]] | signature_type = [[Khelrtva]] | signature = Vakhtang IV khelrtva (vect).svg }}
'''Vakhtang IV''' ([[Georgian language|Georgian]]: ვახტანგ IV) (c. 1413 – December 1446), of the [[Bagrationi dynasty]], was a [[List of monarchs of Georgia|king]] (''[[mepe]]'') of the [[Kingdom of Georgia]] who reigned from 1433 to his death, associated to the throne of his father [[Alexander I of Georgia|Alexander I]] from 1433 to the latter's abdication in 1442 and sharing the throne with his three brothers until his death in 1446.
As king, he only controlled parts of the kingdom and had to face a [[Turkoman invasions of Georgia|Turkoman invasion]]. His reign witnessed the beginning of the disintegration of Georgia into smaller states and the [[collapse of the Georgian realm]].
== Early life and co-king == Vakhtang was born around 1413, oldest son of King [[Alexander I of Georgia]] and his first wife, Dulandukht [[Orbelian dynasty|Orbelian]], a daughter of Beshken II Orbelian. Little information exists on his life prior to his association to the throne.
Imitating the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] system of governance and to avoid a potential crisis of succession, King Alexander I decided in 1433 to associate his four sons Vakhtang, [[Demetrius, son of Alexander I of Georgia|Demetrius]], [[George VIII of Georgia|George]], and [[Zaal (son of Alexander I of Georgia)|Zaal]] to the throne, with Vakhtang serving holding more powers as the oldest of the four.{{sfn|Toumanoff|1949|p=184-185}} He was assigned the central Georgian province of [[Kartli]] to govern.{{sfn|Brosset|1849|p=642}}
In 1439, he sent his own representative to the [[Council of Florence]] convened by [[Pope Eugene IV]] in his attempt to bring the weakened Eastern Churches under the dominion of the [[Catholic Church]].{{sfn|Rayfield|2012|p=157}} British historian [[Donald Rayfield]] believed that his emissary played a political role, as more representation from the [[Kingdom of Georgia]] meant a balance on the representatives of [[Samtskhe-Saatabago|Samtskhe]] and [[Principality of Mingrelia|Mingrelia]], two Georgian principalities seeking the recognition of their autonomy by [[Rome]].{{sfn|Rayfield|2012|p=157}}
== Main rule == Vakhtang's younger brother and co-king [[Zaal (son of Alexander I of Georgia)|Zaal]] died in 1442. The same year, King Alexander I abdicated the throne to become a monk. Vakhtang IV was forced to accept his brothers [[George VIII of Georgia|George]] and [[Demetrius, son of Alexander I of Georgia|Demetrius]] as co-monarchs, but was recognized as the main [[List of monarchs of Georgia|King of Georgia]],{{sfn|Brosset|1849|p=642}} being crowned by his fourth brother, [[David III, Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia|Catholicos David III]]. Vakhtang IV took the traditional titles of Georgian monarchs: "King of Rans, Kakhetians, Svans, Greeks, Armenians, Mingrelians, Kartvelians, Jiks and Alans, Shirvanshah and Shahanshah, King of Kings of Imereti and Amiereti, of the East, of the North, and of all Christendom."
The territory under his direct control is not clear. According to [[Vakhushti of Kartli]] and [[Marie-Félicité Brosset]], he kept control of Kartli and the kingdom's capital, [[Tbilisi]].{{sfn|Brosset|1849|p=642}} However, [[Anton II of Georgia|Catholicos Anton II]], who wrote in the 18th century, listed King Vakhtang IV's domains as mainly principalities of Western Georgia: [[Abkhazia]], [[Lesser Abkhazia|Jiketi]], [[Mingrelia|Samegrelo]], [[Guria]] and [[Imereti]]. [[Prince David of Georgia|Prince David Bagrationi]], who would write later in the 19th century, added [[Ossetia]] to his domains, even though Anton II listed the latter as part of Demetrius' territories. According to both, Kartli was under the governorship of Demetrius'.{{sfn|Brosset|1849|p=642}}
Upon acceding the throne, he married Princess Sitikhatun Panaskerteli in a union arranged by his father. She was a daughter of Prince Zaal [[Tsitsishvili|Panaskerteli-Tsitsishvili]], but died just two years later in 1444, childless. Vakhtang IV would never remarry.{{sfn|Brosset|1849|p=641}}
In 1444, [[Jahan Shah]], Sultan of [[Qara Qoyunlu]], attempted a new invasion of Georgia.{{sfn|Rayfield|2012|p=158}} King Vakhtang met him in [[Akhaltsikhe]], where the Georgians and Turkomans fought in a bloody battle that ended without a clear victor. At night, Jahan Shah and his troops left Georgia and returned to [[Tabriz]], putting an end to the Turkoman incursion.{{sfn|Brosset|1849|p=643}}
His short reign of four years was marked by a domestic failure to decrease the influence of the powerful nobility. He thus failed to reduce the powers of the great noble Taqa Panaskerteli and was forced to appoint him [[mouravi]].{{sfn|Rayfield|2012|p=158}} Following the death of Atabeg [[Ivane II Jaqeli|Ivane III of Samtskhe]] in 1444, he appointed the latter's son [[Qvarqvare II Jaqeli|Qvarqvare II]] as atabeg of the region, but this decision led to a civil war in Samtskhe between Qvarqvare II and his uncle [[Aghbugha II Jaqeli|Aghbugha]], the latter coming out victorious.{{sfn|Brosset|1849|p=644}}
In December 1446, Vakhtang IV died. He was buried at the [[Bana cathedral]], at the side of Queen Sitikhatun. Without an heir, the kingdom fell into a conflict of succession: Demetrius, the older of the remaining brothers, fell into civil strife in Imereti, while George VIII took over Kartli and [[Kakheti]], probably per the wish of King Vakhtang IV himself.{{sfn|Rayfield|2012|p=158}}
== Family == In 1442, King Vakhtang IV married Princess Sitikhatun [[List of Georgian princely families#T|Panaskerteli]], daughter of Prince Zaza [[Tsitsishvili|Panaskherteli-Tsitsishvili]], lord of [[Khevsureti]] and [[Kareli Municipality|Kareli]]. She would die in 1444 with no issue.
== Bibliography == * {{Cite book |title=Histoire de la Géorgie depuis l'Antiquité jusqu'au XIXe siècle. Volume I |last=Brosset |first=Marie-Félicité |publisher=Imperial Academy of Sciences |year=1849 |location=Saint-Petersburg |language=fr |trans-title=History of Georgia from Ancient Times to the 19th Century, Volume 1}} * {{Cite book |title=Edge of Empires, a History of Georgia |last=Rayfield |first=Donald |publisher=Reaktion Books |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-78023-070-2 |location=London}} * {{Cite book |title=The Fifteenth-Century Bagratids and the Institution of Collegial Sovereignty in Georgia |last=Toumanoff |first=Cyril |year=1949}}
== References == <references />
{{Kings of United Georgia}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vakhtang 04 Of Georgia}} [[Category:1410s births]] [[Category:1446 deaths]] [[Category:Kings of Georgia]] [[Category:Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Georgia]]