Luarsab II of Kartli (1592–1622)
Born 1592 CE, died 1622 CE.
Luarsab II the Holy Martyr (Georgian: ლუარსაბ II; 1592 – 21 June (O.S.), 1 July (N.S.), 1622) was a Georgian monarch who reigned as king (mepe) of Kartli (eastern Georgia) from 1606 to 1615. He was a member of the Bagrationi dynasty. Faced at various points with the powerful Ottoman and Persian empires, Luarsab ended up in exile with family relatives in Western Georgia. After the Persian shah Abbas I promised peace in return for Luarsab's surrender, the young king agreed with the hope of saving his kingdom from complete destruction. Although the Georgians attempted to free Luarsab from Persian captivity through the mediation of Tsar Michael of Russia, the negotiations yielded no results. After refusing to convert to Islam, the incarcerated Luarsab was executed on the orders of the shah in 1622. The Georgian Orthodox Church declared the martyred king a saint and celebrates his memory on July 1, the day of his death.
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