Solomon II of Imereti

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Solomon II (1772-1815) was the last king of Imereti from 1789 to 1810 and the last Georgian ruler from the Bagrationi dynasty.

Solomon was a nephew and heir of Solomon I of Imereti and was enthroned with the help of Erekle II (King of Kartl-Kakheti) after the defeat of the usurper Prince David in the Battle of Matkhodji in 1789. Solomon II supported Erekle II with a small Imeretian force in the Battle of Krtsanisi in 1795. He was less successful as ruler than his predecessor. In particular, Solomon failed to restrict the powers of the pro-Russian Princes of Samegrelo and Guria and in 1804, he was forced to recognize the Russian protectorate over Imereti. However, the Russian government proclaimed the deposition of Solomon on February 20, 1810 and sent troops to take control of the kingdom. Despite initial success, Solomon was outnumbered and defeated by a strong Russian force and had to flee to Turkey. The Kingdom of Imereti was abolished and annexed to the Russian Empire the same year.

The body of this last Georgian king was moved from Trebizond, Turkey to Gelati Monastery, Georgia in 1991.

Preceded by:
Davit II
King of Imereti
1789-1810
Kingdom
dissolved
Annexed by
Russia
* NOT REIGNING *
King of Imereti
(1810-1815)
Succeeded by:
Konstantini