George XI of Kartli

George XI of Kartli spent his life between two masters: the Georgian kingdom of Kartli, which he ruled twice as a vassal of Safavid Persia, and the Persian court, which made him a provincial governor and finally commander of its armies in Afghanistan, where he died. Born in 1651, he was the son of King Vakhtang V, known to the Persians as Shahnavaz Khan, and of Rodam Qaplanishvili-Orbeliani. Confirmed as vali, or viceroy, of Kartli after his father's death in 1675, on the customary condition that he nominally accept Islam, he took the name Shahnavaz II, though Georgians continued to regard him as their Christian king. His first reign lasted from 1676 to 1688.

In 1688, after supporting a rising against Persian officials, he was deposed and driven into western Georgia, where he attempted a comeback until 1696. Shah Sultan Husayn then summoned him to Isfahan and in 1699 appointed him beglarbeg of Kerman. His success there brought his restoration as king of Kartli in 1703, though he never returned home: his brother Levan and then his nephew Vakhtang governed as regents, while George, under the Persian name Gurgin Khan, was made commander-in-chief and governor of Kandahar in 1704.

His rule in Kandahar was harsh and made a lasting enemy of Mir Wais, chief of the Hotaki Ghilzai, whom George arrested and sent to Isfahan, and whom the court later released. On 21 April 1709, while most of the Georgian troops were away on a raid, Mir Wais struck. Accounts differ on whether George was surprised in his tent or cut down at a banquet on Mir Wais's estate, but he and his escort were killed, Kandahar was lost, and the Hotaki revolt that followed helped bring down the Safavids. His nephew Kaikhosro, who succeeded him in Kartli, died in 1711 leading a failed expedition to recover the city.

George married Tamar Davitishvili, who died in 1683, and in 1687 Khoreshan Mikeladze, who died in 1695. His son Bagrat died young in 1694 or 1695; two daughters, Mariam and Rodam, are recorded. With no surviving son, the crown passed to his brother Levan's line, to Kaikhosro and then to Vakhtang VI, who had already governed Kartli as regent during George's Persian service.