KIR-NILOS , DIPLOMAT OF KARTLI KING CONSTANTINE II

Abstract

When Kartli King Constantine II (1478–1505) drove the Turkmens out of Kartli, he set his sights on reuniting Kartli, Kakheti, Imereti, and Samtskhe into a single state. In 1490, he convened the royal council, before which he raised the question of how to bring the rebels back under his authority. The council members unanimously advised the king to abandon the struggle to resolve this problem. Constantine was thus compelled to submit to the council's demand and accept the existing situation. In this way, the council legally formalized the fragmentation of Georgia into separate kingdoms and principalities. The breakup of the country also put an end to a unified foreign policy, which became especially apparent in the last quarter of the 15th century.

  From the 1480s onward, the Kingdom of Kakheti saw its salvation in the Muscovite state, while Kartli looked to Western Europe. King Constantine of Kartli oriented his political allegiances toward countries that had a particular interest in weakening the Ottoman Empire. Constantine II first made contact with the Mamluk ruler of Egypt, Al-Ashraf Said ad-Din Qaitbay. The sources tell us nothing of the outcome of the Georgian envoy's negotiations in Cairo, and little is known of that same envoy's negotiations in Spain and Rome. The present article analyzes, to the extent possible, the probable outcomes of Kir-Nilos's negotiations in all three countries. 

 Key words: Kir-Nilos, Zakaria, King Ferdinand, Queen Isabella, Poland