George VIII of Georgia

George VIII გიორგი VIII
George VIII from 1460 royal charter
20th King of Georgia (more...)
Reign	1446–1465
Predecessor	Vakhtang IV
Successor	Bagrat VI
1st King of Kakheti
Reign	1465–1476
Successor	Alexander I
Born	1417
Died	1476 (aged 58–59)
Issue	Alexander I of Kakheti
Dynasty	Bagrationi
Father	Alexander I of Georgia
Mother	Tamar of Imereti
Religion	Georgian Orthodox Church
Khelrtva

George VIII (Georgian: გიორგი VIII, romanized: giorgi VIII; 1417–1476) of the Bagrationi dynasty, was de facto last king (mepe) of the formerly united Kingdom of Georgia from 1446 to 1465. He would later rule in the Kingdom of Kakheti as George I from 1465 until his death in 1476, founding a local branch of the Bagrationi dynasty.

He was the third son of Alexander I of Georgia, who appointed him co-ruler with his brothers Vakhtang IV, Demetrius and Zaal in 1433, when he was still very young, in order to consolidate his power against the powerful nobles. However, the future George VIII fell under the influence of this nobility, which caused his father's abdication in 1442, and he took over the administration of eastern Georgian territories under the leadership of his elder brother Vakhtang IV. On the latter's death in 1446, he seized the throne and disinherited his other elder brother, Demetrius.

George VIII is still known as the last monarch to rule the entire Kingdom of Georgia, although the division of the kingdom became official in 1490. He quickly lost control of Samtskhe in the 1460s when the Atabeg Qvarqvare II Jaqeli declared independence, and then of West Georgia during the Georgian civil war of 1463–1491. He was also dethroned after being captured and imprisoned by Qvarqvare II in 1465, which created a new power that allowed the great nobility to seize large semi-independent territories throughout Georgia. Released in 1466, he seized Kakheti and proclaimed the independence of the Kingdom of Kakheti, which he ruled peacefully until his death in 1476, endowing it with its first institutions.

Internationally, George VIII witnessed great geopolitical upheaval in the Middle East caused by the fall of Constantinople in 1453, followed by the fall of Trebizond in 1461, two conflicts in which he did not intervene against the Ottoman Empire despite Byzantine requests for help. His proposed crusade against the Ottomans, formed with Rome, failed because European states refused to participate in the conflict.