Ishaq ibn Isma'il

Who is Ishaq ibn Isma'il?

Ishaq ibn Isma'il, also known as Sahak in Georgian sources, was the emir of Tbilisi between 833 and 853. Under his rule, the emirate reached the apex of its power. He forced Georgian princes to pay tribute from Kakheti to Abkhazia. He tried to become independent from the Abbasid caliphate, stopped reversing the tribute, and allied himself with local nobility such as the mtavari of Kakheti. In retribution, the caliph Al-Mutawakkil sent an expedition against him led by Bugha al-Kabir, assisted by the Georgian noble Bagrationi family. In 853, they burnt and sacked Tbilisi, and killed the emir.