Sargis I Jaqeli

Sargis I Jaqeli (Georgian: სარგის I ჯაყელი) (died 1285) was a Georgian ruling prince (mtavari) of the House of Jaqeli who became the first sovereign Prince of Samtskhe in 1268.

Sargis was the son of Bek’a Jaqeli, duke of Samtskhe in southwest Georgia, and served as eristavi and amirspasalar under King David VII of Georgia. When David revolted against the Mongol emperors of Il-Khan in 1260, Sargis assumed the commandership of rebel forces and confronted the Mongol punitive expedition led by Arghun Agha. He was eventually defeated, but succeeded in beating off Arghun’s attack on his estates in 1262. Later that year, Sargis accompanied David VII to the Il-Khan court. He is reported to have pleaded himself guilty of a revolt in order to save his royal suzerain from Hulagu Khan’s rage. Around same time, he took part in the Il-Khan’s struggle against the rival Mongol ruler Berke of the Golden Horde, and reputedly saved Hulagu’s life during a battle. The khan decided to reward Sargis’s service by granting him the city of Karin, an honor blocked by jealous Georgian rivals. Having felt betrayed, Sargis broke with the Georgian court, but remained a faithful vassal to the Il-Khans, and was granted injü status in 1266. Thus, Samtskhe became virtually independent of the Georgian crown and was placed under the Il-Khan protectorate. Sargis’s association with the Georgian court was not completely severed, however, as we hear of him being appointed a Lord High Treasurer by Demetrius II of Georgia (r. 1270–1289).

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