Around the same time, it had become apparent that
Mashhad, a minor
Afsharid remnant, was no longer functioning as the seat of the Iranian government. In 1762, Teimuraz II died while on a diplomatic mission to the court of
St. Petersburg, and Heraclius succeeded him as King of Kartli, thus uniting
eastern Georgia politically for the first time in three centuries.
Coinage Heraclius II's "curiously ambivalent position" in these decades is reflected in the coins issued by him in his realm. Silver coins were struck with the name of
Ismail III on it, or with the
Zand-style inscription
ya karim ("O Gracious One"), whereby an epithet to God was invoked, which actually referred to
Karim Khan Zand. These coins were minted in
Tbilisi up until 1799 – some twenty years after Karim Khan Zand's death. In the same decades, the copper coins struck at Tbilisi bore three types of
iconography; Christian, Georgian, "and even"
Imperial Russian (such as the
double-headed eagle). By minting the silver coins with a reference to Karim Khan Zand on it they were usable for trade in Iran, whereas the copper coins, struck for only local use, reflected Heraclius II's political orientation towards Russia.
Court, efforts and final years While maintaining certain Persian-type pomp at his court, he launched an ambitious program of "Europeanization" which was supported by the Georgian intellectual élites, but was not overwhelmingly successful because Georgia remained physically isolated from
Europe and had to expend all available resources on defending its precarious independence. He strove to enlist the support of European powers and to attract Western scientists and technicians to give his country the benefit of the latest military and industrial techniques. His style of governing resembled that of contemporary
enlightened despots in
Central Europe. He exercised executive, legislative, and judicial authority and closely supervised the activities of government departments. Heraclius's primary objective in internal policy was to further centralize the government through reducing the powers of the aristocracy. For this purpose, he attempted to create a governing élite composed of his own agents to replace the self-minded aristocratic lords in local affairs. At the same time, he encouraged peasant-vassals to supply the military force necessary to overcome the aristocracy's resistance and protect the country from incessant marauding assaults from
Dagestan known to Georgians as
Lekianoba. In the words of the
British historian
David Marshall Lang, "his vigilance in the care of his people knew no bounds. On campaign, he would sit up at night watching for the enemy, while in time of peace, he spent his life in transacting business of state or in religious exercise, and devoted but a few hours to sleep." Heraclius died in 1798 still convinced that only Russian protection could ensure the continued existence of his country. He was succeeded by his weak and sickly son,
George XII, after whose death Tsar Paul I annexed, in 1801, Kartli-Kakheti to Russia, terminating both Georgia's independence and a millennium-long rule of the
Bagrationi dynasty.
Reforms During his reign, Heraclius enacted several reforms. Printing in Tbilisi resumed in 1749 and Heraclius set up his press. He wanted to print canonical liturgical texts and to standardize a language. During his rule, over 40 titles were printed, almost all liturgical, in runs of up to 1000. Heraclius strengthened royal authority and organized it on Russian lines. He launched efforts to repopulate the lands of Kartli-Kakheti, abandoned due to constant wars and other social reasons. For this purpose, he appointed agents,
Mkrelebi, who were tasked with returning refugee serfs in
Nakhichevan and
Karabakh back to their lands, even with violence. He also lured migrants with tax exemptions for them. Heraclius approved violence to stop serfs from complaining, but landowners were blamed for runaways and a severe punishment was employed on them for sexually abusing their serfs. Heraclius had hard time disciplining his nobles. He forbade selling serfs without land twice in 1754 and 1770. He, the Catholicos and the
Darbazi announced that prisoners of war and slaves would become free peasants on crown lands. Under Heraclius’s rule, freemen were more common as some Church peasants and veteran soldiers became freemen, but in overall most of the peasants remained still serfs. Heraclius modernized agriculture by growing new varieties of grain in
Tusheti. Grain became cheaper and famines ended. Peasants paid taxes in fruit or walnuts. Factories were producing sugar, glass, cloth and armaments. Half of a tonne of silver was produced each year. For this purpose, Heraclius invited Greek miners from Levan to work in gold and silver deposits in Akhtala. Inheritance laws were passed which introduced protections for properties of merchants against the crown. Customs duty was set at two and a half percent and revenues increased in the 1760s. Under Heraclius,
mdivanbegis sasamartlo (chief secretary's courts) was formed, while the king’s Darbazi was functioning as a permanent supreme court and privy council. There were two ministers of foreign affairs: one Christian and one Muslim. Heraclius also created a police force. Ancient universities of Tiflis and Telavi were restored, where Bachmeister was taught. Heraclius's policies and exploitation of peasants by landowners often resulted in rebellions: when lord Eliozashvili demanded more than the usual 50 days' work on his estates, serfs revolted and attacked his family, burned his church and stole casks of wine. In 1773,
Pshav tribesmen destroyed castle of their lord and held him hostage, while in 1777, Ksani peasants revolted against the initiative of Heraclius to reestablish
Duchy of Ksani, abolished by his father. In 1780, Heraclius introduced bonds which compelled the wealthy to lend three
tumans to the state, which also faced opposition. In 1770s, Heraclius reformed his army with Russian advisers, training manuals and ranks. He created a regiment of guards based on the European model. An army was permanently paid, although it was still allowed to loot. Tbilisi had a gunpowder factory, although in a state of ramshackle. In 1774, Heraclius introduced mandatory conscription – one man from household served one month per year on his own expenses. Civic development lagged behind and plague resulted in 4,000 deaths in 1770. Due to the Lezgin raids on population and unwillingness of the peasants to submit to the conscription, Heraclius heavily relied on recruiting foreign mercenaries, particularly among
Cherkess clan, which was more civil than Lezgins and had a close sympathy towards Georgians. == Family ==