Lot 2136
Russian Protectorate. Erekle II (1762-1798). Half Bisti, Tiflis 1796 - AH 1210 (1786/7 AD). 7.75 gm. Bennett 908a (R). Single-headed eagle, hijra date written as "1201". Rich olive brown. Very fine. Estimate $400UP
Erekle II was a strong, heroic and conscientious ruler, but he found his kingdom beset by the machinations of Persia and the Ottomans, along with the marauding of Dagestan. When Russia expanded southwards into Crimea in 1783, the Caucasus entered Catherine the Great’s sphere of interest. In that year, Erekle signed the Treaty of Georgievsk which transformed Georgia into a Russian protectorate while giving him the assurances he sought for his kingdom’s security. Those assurances, though, would prove ethereal. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1792, the small Tbilisi-based Russian forces were evacuated. When Muhammad Khan Qajar sought to revive the Persian Empire and restore the Caucasus to its fold, he demanded Erekle submit to his suzerainty. Erekle refused. In September 1795, a Persian army of 35,000 men invaded Georgia. No Russian support was forthcoming. At the Battle of Krtsanisi,Erekle’s small army of 5,000 was nearly annihilated and Tbilisi was sacked. Erekle, who personally fought as part of the Georgian advance guard, was finally spirited away by what remained of his bodyguards.
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| Realized $472 |
