Name Jesse Kakheti Role Ruler | Died September 15, 1615 | |
Jesse (Georgian: იესე) or Isā Khān (Persian: عیسی خان, ʿIsā Khān; Georgian: ისა-ხანი) (died September 15, 1615), of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was a Safavid-appointed ruler of Kakheti in eastern Georgia from 1614 to 1615.
Jesse was a son of Prince George, himself a son of King Alexander II of Kakheti. Held as a political hostage by Abbas I of Persia, he was converted to Islam and brought up at the shah’s court in Isfahan. In 1614, when Abbas I’s armies overrun Kakheti, the king Teimuraz I had to flee to western Georgia (Kingdom of Imereti). Abbas appointed his loyal vassal, Isā Khān, as a governor of the region, but he failed to gain a foothold there. He was killed during an uprising against his rule.
Jesse is not to be confused with his granduncle Prince Jesse of Kakheti, also known as Isā Khān.