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CHAPTERS IN THE HISTORY OF GEORGIA 103
terrible eunuch Agha Mohamed Khan. Owing to the fatal
internal feuds Heraklius, now wcll over eighty, could not
collect more than a few thousand men to oppose him, and could
not prevent the capture of Tiflis, which was mercilessly
pillaged for six days. Deserted by his many sons, the heroic
old man fled to Ananur in Aragva. Here, in spite of his
advanced age, he raised a small anny, and took Tiflis in the
following year. But the town and the country had been
completely devastated for a long time to come.
Crushed with grief and pity for his country, the aged King
Heraklius died in 1798 at Telav in Kakhetia. A life of
wonderful exploits was at an end, and the whole nation
mourned his loss. Georgia had lost its last support and
protector.
And still, in spite of all these sorrows, the inner dissensions
continuedl The king’s intriguing widow Daria and his
numerous sons by three marriages were chiefly interested in
dividing the inheritance. One of the sons became King
George XIII, but found himself in a very difficult position
and applied to Russia for help ; meanwhile his brother
Alexander also laid claim to the throne and applied to the
Persians. These latter, with a horde of Lesghians, invaded
the country, but were driven back on the arrival of the
Russians. For the moment the danger was averted ; but not
long after King George, lying on his deathbed at Tiflis, sent
a message to the Tsar Paul of Russia to offer him the throne
of Georgia. In 1801, therefore, East Georgia was united to
Russia ; some years later Imeretia became a Russian province,
and gradually the other Georgian territories were also
absorbed by the Russian Empire.
Georgia was thus saved from the Muhammedan menace.
Under Russia the exhausted nation enjoyed a military protec
tion it had never had before, and material prosperity followed
in due course. But on the other hand the Russian Govern
ment was accompanied by its usual defects : excessive cen
tralization of all administration, with the ruthless suppres
sion of every sign of independence in the management of
Georgian affairs, except in a strictly limited sphere of
municipal local government ; a paralysing absence of all
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