The third son of King Heraclius II, George was raised in a country at war, facing regular attacks from the Persian and Ottoman empires in its south, and constant Lezgin raids from its northeast, and became heir to the throne after the early death of his two older brothers.

Taking over after his father's death in 1798, George sought closer relations with Russian Empire as a guarantee to secure his succession, especially after reverting the 1794 deal and appointing his son David as crown prince.

An astute diplomat, he also sought alliances with Persia and the Ottoman Empire and was proposed a military partnership by Napoleon, but was forced to use Russia's power to prevent further devastations of his kingdom by his southern neighbors.

The poor economic state of the country led to a collapse in bureaucracy and a rise in crime, while he failed to implement any of the major public, financial, and educational reforms his son Ioane proposed.

In 1800, George secured from Emperor Paul I an approval of what his "Petitionary Articles", which provided for Eastern Georgia's integration into Russia as an autonomous kingdom, although he died without knowing about its ratification.

George grew up during a tumultuous time that saw the slow unification of Eastern Georgian states, his father ruling over Kakheti and his grandfather Teimuraz II leading the Kingdom of Kartli.

[2] This distribution, which continued later with the granting of the Duchy of Ksani to Prince Iulon in 1790, was an attempt to diminish the large powers of the nobility and to centralize the influence of the Bagrationi royal dynasty.

[16] As early as 1772, Heraclius II sent the younger prince Levan to Saint Petersburg at the head of a delegation asking for Russia's protection of Georgia against the Ottoman Empire, a responsibility traditionally bestowed upon the heir to the throne.

[25] Following his accession, George XII was forced to sign a decree recognizing his half-brother Iulon as heir to the throne, a decision made by the king to avoid a civil war in a kingdom stuck between the Russian Empire and a hostile Persia.

Pyotr Buktov, a 19th-century Russian historian, explained the situation in Kartl-Kakheti at the ascension of George XII:[39] The royal princes, put in charge of an important section of the kingdom at the detriment of the aristocracy, did not even think about submitting themselves to the general interest.

Such a division of authority in such a small state gave the impression of anarchy.The royal brothers strengthened themselves in their domains after Avalishvili was sent to Russia, announcing their refusal to recognize George XII as king.

[40] [38] The king sent his embassy to Russia to change the terms of the Treaty of Georgievsk and to allow the Russian Empire to intervene in the internal affairs of Georgia, while granting the Emperor the sole power to recognize the heir to the Georgian throne.

On April 18, 1799, the efforts of Ambassador Chavchavadze led to the signing of an imperial edict by Paul I renewing the treaty and recognizing the pro-Russian David, son of King George, as Crown Prince of the "Two Georgias".

Unbeknownst to Tbilisi, Paul I signed a secret document along with the treaty renewal ordering General Knorring to secure the annexation of the Kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti after the death of King George XII.

Most urgently and to satisfy the demands of King George, he served as a guard against the intrigues of Queen Dowager Darejan, who had continued her campaign against the monarch, and to hinder the military resurgence of Persia.

In June 1798, Persian General Soliman Khaun Qajar[35] led an expedition to the South Caucasus to absorb the various small principalities of the region into Persia's sphere of influence and tried to force George XII's submission,[44] along with sending Crown Prince David as a hostage to Isfahan.

[53] In a threatening letter, Soliman Khaun said:[44] If your good fortune does not allow you and your malicious destiny prevents you from embarking onto this positive path, and if you show yourself irregular in our service, it will become evident: our glorious standard will advance toward your lands and you will face a devastation twice as powerful as under the time of Agha Mohammad Khan.

You shall be wise to accept this advice and to follow our orders.On 3 July, the Shah sent a standard at the court of George XII to have him pledge allegiance to Persia and, in a clear change of tone, offered wealth and gifts to the king in exchange for a turn in his pro-Russian foreign policy.

[54] Fath-Ali Shah send a new embassy to Tbilisi in 1799 to attempt to force George XII into accepting his demands by pointing out Russia's failures to follow its obligations under the Treaty of Georgievsk.

[61] While the Georgian embassy reached Saint Petersburg in June, Kovalensky successfully fought to be named Administrator of the Kingdom by George XII, along with the latter's son Ioane Bagrationi.

[63] His power increasing, the Georgians managed to convince Russian authorities to dismiss Kovalensky and Emperor Paul I signed a decree to that matter on August 3, 1800, replacing him with Ivan Lazarev, who took over as the head of political and military forces in Kartl-Kakheti.

[67] Prior to the formal integration of the kingdom within the Russian Empire the Georgian emissaries had to return to Tbilisi to seek the final agreement from the Royal Council and the signature of King George XII, before an official act could be issued by Emperor Paul.

She successfully pushed Armenian meliks and Azerbaijani khans against George XII, while seeking her son Iulon's recognition as heir to the throne during secret negotiations with Pasha Subath of Childir and King Solomon II of Imereti, the latter governing Western Georgia.

[41] Having informed the Persian invading force of the military weaknesses of Kartl-Kakheti, he joined the troops' leadership and was named Khan of Georgia by the Shah,[53] crossing the Aras river and nearing the Georgian borders.

Alexander and Omar Khan agreed to invade Kakheti, while princes Iulon, Pharnavaz and Vakhtang prepared to occupy the Dariali Gorge, the only opening in the Russia-Georgia natural border, to avoid Russian reinforcements from intervening.

[40] Waiting for a new opportunity to attack, Alexander addressed the Georgian people, swearing on the tomb of Saint Nino that his alliance with Georgia's traditional enemies was only temporary and was meant to restore the legitimate order in the country.

On November 15, 1800, while the diplomatic delegation sent by George XII was still negotiating with Saint Petersburg, Emperor Paul I ordered General Knorring to reinforce as much as possible the Russian strongholds already present in Kartl-Kakheti.

[93] On December 28, 1800,[38] while his ambassadors were still in the North Caucasus, heading towards Tbilisi with the Russian document,[94] George XII addressed Knorring one last time through a translator, entrusting him his kingdom while asking his priests to ensure the crowning of David.

British historian Donald Rayfield has theorized that had Heraclius II's successor been more competent in dealing with internal divisions, Georgia would have been reunited within a single, powerful Caucasian state allied with France, Turkey and Russia.

Papuna Orbeliani, a contemporary chronicler, was a lot more generous towards the king, writing:[30] Since childhood, he proved himself a religious man, very respectful towards the servants of the Church, protecting widows and orphans, gifted with all sorts of virtues, and so impartial in the administration of justice that the great and petty nobles were equal to him.