Abstract

This study investigates the shifting geopolitical fortunes of the Georgian kingdoms in the eighteenth century, focusing on Kartli‑Kakheti under Kings Teimuraz II and Heraclius II. Drawing on diplomatic correspondence and military accounts, it traces Georgian efforts to balance Ottoman, Persian, and Russian pressures – military alliances, treaties (notably the 1782 friendship pact), and diplomatic appeals – and evaluates the consequences of inconsistent Russian support, culminating in the 1795 Persian invasion and eventual Russian annexation at the century’s end. The research interrogates competing narratives of protection versus domination, showing how external intervention reshaped Georgian sovereignty, state institutions and national identity.