Bagrat III (Georgian: ბაგრატ III; 23 September 1495 – 1565), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the King (mepe) of the Kingdom of Imereti from 1510 to 1565, one of the three Georgian kingdoms that shared control over Georgia following its division in 1490.
Bagrat ascended the throne at the age of fifteen after the death of his father. Throughout his reign, he faced numerous invasions by the Ottoman Empire, notably in 1512, 1543, 1545, and 1549. These invasions led to widespread devastation across his realm and marked the beginning of the decline of a once-powerful western Georgian kingdom. Although Bagrat initially controlled extensive territories, he gradually lost authority over Abkhazia, Samtskhe, and, toward the end of his reign, over the strong principalities of Guria and Mingrelia. His struggles against rebellious vassals proved fruitless, and by the time of his death, after fifty-five years of rule, his dominion had been reduced to the capital city of Kutaisi and a few surrounding agricultural provinces.
Bagrat III is particularly remembered for refusing to convert to Islam, unlike several contemporary Georgian rulers. He actively promoted the construction of new churches and strengthened the influence of the Catholicate of Abkhazia. He is also notable for abolishing slavery, a measure that, while moral in intent, had a detrimental effect on the agrarian economy of his kingdom.
Bagrat was born on 23 September 1495, the eldest son of King Alexander II of Imereti and Queen Tamar. Little is known about his early life, which took place during ongoing conflicts with the neighboring Georgian Kingdom of Kartli and the Ottoman Empire.
In April 1510, Alexander II died of illness in Kutaisi following a campaign against the Ottomans. Bagrat succeeded to the throne of Imereti at the age of fourteen. The early years of his reign were marked by internal conflict, including a rebellion led by his younger brother, Vakhtang.
In 1512, Vakhtang fled to Kartli, where he was besieged and defeated by Bagrat at Mokhisi. After abandoning his father’s territorial gains in Kartli, Bagrat secured a peace settlement with Vakhtang through the mediation of King David X of Kartli.
In 1512 (or 1510, according to historian Kalistrat Salia), the Ottoman Empire once again turned its attention to western Georgia, forming a coalition with the Principality of Samtskhe. Prince Mzetchabuk Jaqeli of Samtskhe joined his forces with the Ottomans at Perseti before advancing into Imereti during the summer. The capital, Kutaisi, fell with little resistance, forcing King Bagrat III to retreat into the mountains of Meskheti. During this first invasion, the Ottomans sacked Kutaisi, destroyed surrounding villages, and burned the Gelati Monastery, the burial site of former Georgian monarchs.
At only seventeen years old, Bagrat organized a swift counteroffensive, rallying troops from across his realm. By winter, he succeeded in driving the Ottoman army back to the Zekari Pass, where he threatened to encircle and cut off their forces. Confronted with this maneuver, the Ottomans withdrew southward, ending their campaign in Imereti.
Despite this success, attacks continued in the northwest of the kingdom, where the Circassian tribe of the Zygians launched naval raids against the ports of Abkhazia and Mingrelia. The Zygians were at the time financed and influenced by the Crimean Khanate, an important Ottoman vassal. These pirates captured numerous Georgians, selling them into slavery in Turkish markets. Determined to end the raids, Bagrat III prepared a punitive expedition.
In January 1533, Bagrat led a joint offensive against the Zygians with the support of Princes Mamia III of Mingrelia and Mamia I of Guria. During the first naval battle, fought on 30 January off the coast of Gagra, the Georgian allies achieved a decisive victory over the Circassian pirates. However, the following day, a betrayal by the Abkhaz nobles led by Tsandia Inal-Ipa resulted in a disastrous defeat. Prince Mamia III of Mingrelia was killed in battle, while Mamia I of Guria was captured by the Zygians.
King Bagrat III sent Malachia I, Catholicos of Abkhazia, to negotiate the return of the captured prince and the body of Mamia III of Mingrelia. The Georgian defeat marked the end of Orthodox dominance in the northwestern regions of Abkhazia, where Islam began to spread with Ottoman support.
Following the Ottoman invasion of 1512, Bagrat III devoted the early part of his reign to restoring the damage inflicted on Kutaisi. With the assistance of a noble named Joseph Phanelidze, he repurchased and rebuilt the Gelati Monastery, entrusting its care to Phanelidze and his descendants. In return, Phanelidze was granted ownership of the surrounding lands and villages, under the condition that he maintain the monastery, while the king retained unrestricted hunting rights in the area.
That same year, Bagrat recognized Mamia III Dadiani as Prince of Mingrelia following the death of Liparit II. By tradition, Mamia Dadiani also assumed the post of Mandaturtukhutsesi (Minister of the Interior), while Mamia Gurieli, who became vassal ruler of Guria in 1512, was appointed Amirspasalar (commander-in-chief) of the royal forces.
After the reconstruction of Gelati, Bagrat transferred the religious center of Imereti from Bichvinta—the seat of the Catholicate of Abkhazia—to Gelati. This move both strengthened royal influence over the church and responded to the growing spread of Islam in Abkhazia. Unlike Bichvinta, located on the Black Sea coast in northern Abkhazia, Gelati lay close to the royal capital of Kutaisi. In 1519, Bagrat appointed Malachia Abashidze as Catholicos, succeeding Stephen, who had led the Church since 1490. Malachia held the office until 1540, after which the line of patriarchs is unknown until Bagrat’s appointment of Eudemios Tchkheidze in 1557.
The king also worked to restore lands devastated by Ottoman incursions, redistributing them among loyal subjects. In recognition of his fidelity, Shoshita Tchkheidze was granted governance over Racha, a duchy in northern Imereti. Bagrat later convened a council of church leaders from the Catholicosate of Abkhazia, which enacted new decrees against the enslavement of Georgians, prescribing the death penalty for anyone involved in the slave trade. Despite these reforms, Ottoman-controlled regions continued the practice of slavery, and after Bagrat’s death, the decrees were soon forgotten. The council also codified harsh penalties for theft and murder.
Bagrat maintained a complex and often strained relationship with his eastern neighbor, the Kingdom of Kartli. In 1520, he allied with Mamia I of Guria and Qvarqvare III Jaqeli of Samtskhe to invade Kartli in an effort to end the ongoing conflict between that kingdom and Kakheti. In a rare act of Georgian unity, Bagrat successfully negotiated peace, establishing defined borders and a mutual defense pact between Kartli and Kakheti. The spirit of unity persisted in 1525 when King Levan of Kakheti and King George IX of Kartli accompanied Bagrat on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
However, the political balance shifted in March 1526, when Bagrat arranged the marriage of his daughter, Tamar, to Prince Luarsab of Kartli, the king’s nephew and heir. The alliance between Imereti and Kartli quickly turned opportunistic: in 1527, Bagrat invaded Kartli, deposed King George IX, and installed his son-in-law on the throne. In return, Imereti annexed all territories west of the Prone River, including the strategic towns of Surami and Borjomi. Relations between the two realms remained unstable in the following decades. Under Ottoman pressure in the 1530s, Bagrat returned the conquered lands to King Luarsab in exchange for military support. Later, in 1546, Bagrat III was among several Georgian monarchs—including Kaikhosro II Jaqeli and Levan of Kakheti—who pledged allegiance to the Safavid shah Tahmasp I at Akhalkalaki, offering assistance in an offensive against Kartli in return for Persian protection against Ottoman aggression.