principality · Caucasus

Principality of Kakheti

786 CE – 1010 CE (approx.) · capital Telavi

An eastern Georgian principality ruled by chorepiscopi, leaders with a churchly title, that resisted the Arab emirs of Tbilisi and the Bagratid kings.

Origins

Kakheti, the land east of Tbilisi, broke away from the Principality of Iberia in 786, when the nobleman Grigol took the title chorepiscopus and united its mountain communities. The weakening of central power under Arab rule allowed it to become a separate state.

Rule and society

Its rulers, whose title meant rural bishop although they were lay princes, ruled from Ujarma and later Telavi with the support of the mountain peoples of Tusheti and Pshavi. They fought the Emirate of Tbilisi and the Kingdom of Abkhazia, and in the 10th century absorbed the Principality of Hereti. Viticulture and farming in the Alazani valley sustained it.

Decline and legacy

Around 1010 Kvirike III took the title king, forming the Kingdom of Kakheti-Hereti, which held out against the united Georgian monarchy until 1104. Kakheti later re-emerged as a separate Georgian kingdom in the 15th century.

Lineage

Principality of Iberia 588 CE – 888 CEPrincipality of KakhetiKingdom of Kakheti-Hereti 1010 CE – 1104 CE

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Principality of Kakheti. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-kakheti
MLA
“Principality of Kakheti.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-kakheti. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Principality of Kakheti.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-kakheti.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Principality of Kakheti’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-kakheti (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻