Vakhtang IV of Georgia

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Vakhtang IV (Georgian: ვახტანგ IV) (c. 1413 – December 1446) was king of Georgia from 1442 until his death.

He was the eldest son of Alexander I of Georgia by his first wife Dulandukht. In the last years of his father’s reign, Vakhtang and his brothers – Demetre and George – were appointed co-rulers by Alexander. When the latter abdicated and became a monk in 1442, Vakhtang assumed the title of king of Georgia, and granted several provinces to his younger brothers, who governed them as his vassal co-kings. However, Vakhtang's power was rather weak and the kingdom was at the edge of the final fragmentation, torn apart by the rivalry among the nobles and suffering from the after-effects of Timur's eight devastative invasions.

Vakhtang's reign was marked by the second attack by the Turkoman prince Jahan Shah of the Kara Koyunlu. Vakhtang met him at Akhaltsikhe in southern Georgia, but a fierce fight did not reveal a victor. In the night, Jahan Shah left the battlefield and returned to Tabriz.

He died after a reign of four years, without issue, and was succeeded by his brother George VIII.

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Preceded by
Alexander I
King of Georgia
1442–1446
Succeeded by
George VIII
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