Kelesh-Bey was born in 1747 in the
Principality of Abkhazia, the son of
Manuchar I Sharvashidze, Prince of Abkhazia. In his childhood, Kelesh-Bey was taken to
Constantinople,
Ottoman Empire as a hostage, where he was converted to
Islam. Kelesh returned to
Abkhazia from Istanbul in the 1770s with the goal of taking over and ruling his native land. With the help of Turkish forces, Kelesh-Bey was able to overthrow his uncle,
Zurab Sharvashidze, and take over the Abkhaz crown. Kelesh-Bey was known for his energetic drive to consolidate state power while actively fighting against the
Principality of Mingrelia which bordered Abkhazia to the east. Kelesh-Bey was the grand father of
Gülüstü Hanım, Sultan
Abdulmejid I's consort and Sultan
Mehmed VI's mother. In 1802, he rallied the Turkish support and captured the Mingrelian fort of
Anaklia. After
Mingrelia joined the
Russian Empire in 1803, Kelesh also tried to seek closer ties (associated relations) with Russia, which led to Abkhazia’s break with
Ottoman Turkey. Becoming increasingly worried about Abkhazia drifting closer to Russia, the Turkish leadership tried to remove Kelesh-Bey from power by force, but failed. In the end, Turkey was able to remove Kelesh from the Abkhaz throne by forging close ties to his son
Aslan-Bey who killed his father and became the new ruler of Abkhazia. George Hewitt considers this a Russian fabrication and accuses Aslan-bey's brother
Sefer-Bey,
Nino Dadiani and the Russian military administration of the assassination. ==Personal life==