Jesse of Kakheti

Jesse (Georgian: იესე) or Isā Khān (ისა-ხანი) (died September 15, 1615), of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was a ruler of Kakheti in eastern Georgia from 1614 to 1615.

Jesse was a son of Prince George, son of King Alexander II of Kakheti. Held as a political hostage by Abbas I of Persia, he was converted to Islam^[1] and brought up at the shah’s court. In 1614, when Abbas I’s armies overrun Kakheti, the king Teimuraz I had to flee to western Georgia (Kingdom of Imereti). Abbas appointed his loyal vassal, Isā Khān, as a governor of the region, but he failed to gain a foothold there. He was killed during an uprising against his rule. He is not to be confused with his granduncle Prince Jesse of Kakheti, also known as Isā Khān.

References

• Suny, Ronald Grigor (1994), The Making of the Georgian Nation: 2nd edition. Indiana University Press, ISBN 0-253-20915-3.
• David Marshall Lang, The Last Years of the Georgian Monarchy, 1658-1832. New York: Columbia University Press, 1957.
• (Russian) Вахушти Багратиони (Vakhushti Bagrationi) (1745). История царства грузинского. Возникновение и жизнь Кахети и Эрети. Ч.1. Accessed on October 25, 2007.