Levan of Kartli

Who was Levan of Kartli?

Levan, also known by his Muslim name Shah-Quli Khan was a Georgian royal prince and the fourth son of the king of Kartli Shahnawaz. He was a titular king of Kartli in 1709.

In 1675, Levan was confirmed as a janisin of Kartli during the absence of his reigning brother, George XI, at the Persian military service in Afghanistan. Summoned to Isfahan in 1677, he had to accept Islam and take the name Shah-Quli Khan. Thereafter he was appointed as naib of Kerman, Iran, and, as a commander of Georgian auxiliary forces, he secured the eastern provinces of the Persian empire from the rebellious Baluchi tribesmen from 1698 to 1701. For a short time in 1703, he was again a janisin for his absent brother in Kartli. As a reward for his military service the shah Husayn made Levan, in 1703, a divanbeg of Persia, and his son, Khusrau Khan, darugha of Isfahan.

During his governance in Kartli, he patronised Catholic missioners in the Caucasus. He also encouraged scholarly activities in Georgia, and helped his cousin, Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani, to create a Georgian dictionary, which is still widely used in Georgia. Although officially a convert to Islam, Levan covertly remained Christian and composed the prayers to St John the Baptist, St Peter, St Paul and other Christian saints.