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CHAPTERS IN THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA 101
remarkable of these in the eighteenth century was, perhaps,
David Guramishvili (b. 1705), who when only nineteen was
tåken from his estate by Lesghian bandits and kept in cruel
confinement for four years until he escaped to Russia, where
he afterwards lived and took part in several campaigns, in
the course of which he was tåken prisoner by the Prussians.
He paints the wretched conditions in his country in sombre
colours, but the intense warmth of his love for Georgia and
its people glows beneath his pessimism. It is in their beautiful
lyrics that the poets of Georgia are at their best.
Among a number of prominent men in East Georgia who
attempted to unite the forces, and raise the civilization and
life of the nation to a higher level in its struggle against the
Persians, Tatars, and Turks, special mention must be made
of the Katholikos Anton (1744-1887). He was successful
in reuniting Kakhetia and Karthlia, and he augmented the
power of the crown by giving it his strong support against
the feudal lords. He tried to establish order in public life,
strengthened the Church, raised the standard of education
and intellectual culture, and showed no little versatility as a
writer of educational works and books on philosophy and
history. His whole life was inspired by a tireless, burning
zeal for his people and country.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries a new influence
began slowly, but none the less surely, to come into play—
the influence of Christian Russia in the north, which had
extended southward to the plains north of the Caucasus.
Under the crushing pressure of their Muhammedan enemies
the kings of East Georgia naturally looked for help to the
Christian Tsar. For a long time, however, they sought in
vain, for the lands of Caucasia had not yet come within
Russia’s " sphere of interest " ; but the change was to come
when the time was ripe for it.
In 1744 Karthlia again came under the rule of a national
king, Teymuras II (1 744-1 762), after being governed for
twenty years by Persian satraps. He was a brave leader ;
and assisted by his son, Heraklius or Erekle 11, who had suc
ceeded to the throne of Kakhetia, he defended his country
against the neighbouring nations with stubborn courage.
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