George II of Imereti

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George II (Georgian: გიორგი II) (died in 1585), of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was a king of Imereti from 1565 to 1585. He succeeded on the death of his father, Bagrat III. With his ascend to the throne, George found himself involved in the civil war among the princes of western Georgia. He sided with his nominal vassal, Prince George II Gurieli of Guria, against Levan II Dadiani, the energetic ruler of Mingrelia. The latter allied himself with Prince Varaz Chiladze, and attempted, in 1568, to oust George II in favor of the royal cousin, Khosro. The king emerged victorious and, together with the prince of Guria, took control of Mingrelia. Levan fled to Istanbul and, with an Ottoman support, resumed the throne, forcing Gurieli to plea for peace. Later, the two princes forged an alliance and revolted against the king. The western Georgian princes became engulfed into havoc of feudal warfare, mounting and disbanding alliances, and raiding the rival fiefdoms. In addition to the civil strife, the Ottomans also increased their pressure upon the Kingdom of Imereti. Although George II was able to block the advance of the Turkish commander Lala Mustafa Pasha from eastern Georgia in 1578, he had to submit to the sultan’s order and, in 1581, at the head of a combined Imeretian-Mingrelian-Gurian army, raided the eastern Georgian kingdom of Kartli whose ruler, Simon I, waged a relentless guerrilla warfare against the Ottoman invaders.