Heraclius I of Kakheti

Heraclius I
King Heraclius I by Nicolaes Witsen, late 17th century.
King of Kakheti
Reign	1675–1676 1703–1709
Predecessor	Archil of Imereti
Successor	David II of Kakheti
King of Kartli
Reign	1688–1703
Predecessor	George XI of Kartli
Successor	George XI of Kartli (restored)
Born	1642
Died	1709 Isfahan, Iran
Spouse	Ana Cholokashvili
Issue	David II of Kakheti Teimuraz II of Kakheti Constantine II of Kakheti
Dynasty	Bagrationi dynasty
Father	Prince David of Kakheti
Mother	Elene Diasamidze
Religion	Georgian Orthodox Church, then Shia Islam
Signature

Heraclius I (Georgian: ერეკლე I, Erekle I) or Nazar Alī Khān (ნაზარალი-ხანი) (1642–1709), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a Georgian monarch who ruled the kingdoms of Kakheti (1675–1676, 1703–1709) and Kartli (1688–1703) under the protection of the Safavid dynasty of Iran.

He was son of Prince David of Kakheti (1612-1648), son of King Teimuraz I, by his wife Helene née Princess Diasamidze (died 1695). Taken to Russia when the pro-Persian king Rostom of Kartli defeated Teimuraz in 1648, he was raised and educated at the Romanov court at Moscow where he was known as Tsarevich Nicholas Davidovich (Russian: Царевич Николай Давыдович). In 1662, he returned to take over the then-vacant crown of Kakheti at the invitation of local nobility, but was defeated by the rival prince Archil who enjoyed the Iranian support.

Nicholas had to flee back to Russia where he featured prominently and was best man of Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich in his wedding to Natalia Naryshkina in 1671 and stood in high favor with the Russian court.

It is believed by some that he was a natural father of Peter the Great. The writer Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy researching the biography of Peter the Great, informed Joseph Stalin that he had unearthed some documents which suggested Peter's father was a Georgian king. He thought he would ingratiate himself with Stalin by telling him this. Instead Stalin was appalled and forbade Tolstoy to mention the matter ever again.