Ismail ibn Shaub al-Tiflis is the first known ruler of the Emirate of Tiflis, an Arabic medieval state centered around the Georgian city of Tbilisi.
Probably around the end of the 8th century, Ismail was named, possibly by Caliph Harun al-Rashid, as Emir al-Tiflis, leading the Arab administration in Georgia and becoming the first to hold the title.
His reign most likely coincided with the martyrdom of Abo Tbileli, a Christian Arab killed by the emirate for spreading the Georgian Orthodox Church's faith.
Ismail al-Tiflis had to face the ambitions of the rising Bagrationi dynasty, whose prince Ashot governed large territories from the southwest to the center of Georgia, isolating the Emirate of Tiflis.
[1] Ismail formed an alliance with the Prince-Bishop of Kakheti Grigol and with the mountain tribes of Eastern Transcaucasia and went to war against Ashot, but was defeated during the Battle of Ksani.