Key Facts
- Duration
- 1466–1762 (approx. 296 years)
- Origin
- Tripartite division of Kingdom of Georgia, 1478
- Capital
- Tbilisi
- Primary suzerain
- Successive Iranian dynasties (Safavid, Afsharid)
- End
- Merged with Kakheti under Bagrationi dynasty, 1762
Imperial Zenith Metrics
Historical Trajectory
Phase I: Rise
Kartli emerged as an independent kingdom around 1466–1478, when the unified Kingdom of Georgia fragmented into three separate realms following prolonged decline under external pressure. Centred on the historically significant province of Kartli with Tbilisi as its capital, the new kingdom was ruled by the Bagrationi dynasty, which had governed Georgia for centuries, and sought to preserve political continuity amid a volatile Caucasian geopolitical environment shaped by competing Iranian and Ottoman powers.
Phase II: Zenith
At its height, Kartli functioned as a regional political and cultural centre for eastern Georgia, with Tbilisi serving as a hub of Caucasian commerce and administration. The Bagrationi kings periodically negotiated or resisted Iranian suzerainty, and certain rulers managed to extend local autonomy. The kingdom patronised Georgian Orthodox Christianity and maintained Georgian literary and legal traditions, providing institutional continuity for eastern Georgian society through repeated foreign dominations.
Phase III: Decline
Kartli remained largely subordinate to Iran through the Safavid and Afsharid periods, with its rulers often compelled to convert to Islam or accept Iranian-appointed governors. After 1747, weakening Iranian central authority allowed greater independence. In 1762, King Erekle II, already ruling Kakheti, inherited Kartli through dynastic succession and merged the two kingdoms into the unified Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti, ending Kartli's existence as a separate polity.
Notable Imperial Reigns
Selected rulers mapping the empire’s trajectory