Manuchar was the son of
Manuchar II Jaqeli and his wife, Helen, daughter of
Simon I of Kartli. As a child, he accompanied his father,
Manuchar II Jaqeli, when the latter settled at the
Safavid Iranian court, then located at
Qazvin. Later, when the Iranian royal court had already been moved to
Isfahan, his mother Helen had been making efforts in order for her son to be able to succeed as the next atabeg. She discussed the matter at court with then incumbent Safavid Shah
Abbas I (),
Alexander II of Kakheti, as well as the
Portuguese diplomat
Antonio de Gouvea. With Manuchar III living at the court, Helen herself received "virtually nothing" from Abbas I, although she had offered him sovereignty over Samtskhe. Having been confirmed in 1607 as ruler of Samtskhe by Abbas I, Manuchar III continued to fight the
Ottomans in a similar fashion to his father. However, he ceased his activities in 1608, when due to the circumstances, he was forced to flee to
Kartli. Following his father's death in 1614, Manuchar III now officially claimed the title of
atabeg of Samtskhe and made active efforts to incite anti-Ottoman sentiments in the area. Later, in 1624, he battled against the Ottoman
pasha of
Erzurum; shortly after, he moved to Kartli once again. There, he supported
Giorgi Saakadze against the Iranians, and was reputable at the
Battle of Marabda. In 1625, he resumed relations with the Ottomans, who subsequently confirmed him as atabeg of Samtskhe; when he actually returned to Samtskhe however, he was killed (poisoned) by his own uncle
Beka Jaqeli, better known as
Sefer Pasha. Manuchar III was the last Christian ruler of Samtskhe; upon his death in 1625, the Ottomans
completely incorporated the western part of the principality of Samtskhe as a pashalik. In 1639, by the
Treaty of Zuhab, they also gained the eastern part, which had been under Safavid control. The members of the House of Jaqeli, who had been at the head of the principality for centuries, converted to Islam, and remained in power as hereditary
pashas in the Ottoman service. ==References==