Sargis II Jaqeli

Sargis II Jaqeli was a Georgian prince and ruler of Principality of Samtskhe from 1306 to 1334.

Biography

He was a son of Prince Beka I Jaqeli. During his father's reign Sargis participated in many campaigns. In 1290s Azat Mousa, leader of the Anatolian Turkoman tribes, attacked Samtskhe. Beka Jaqeli appointed Sargis as a commander of army and ordered him to stop Turks near village Vashlovani. Around 1303, Sargis defeated Turkoman tribes and expelled them from Meskhetian lands. In 1306, after his father's death, Sargis ascended the Atabeg's throne. He was made Amirspasalar and Atabeg of the Kingdom of Georgia by his nephew, King George V "the Brilliant". After Sargis II's death, his son Qvarqvare became a new Prince of Meskheti, also the vassal of Georgian kingdom.
Paintings of the House of Jaqeli during the period show them wearing the caftan with tiraz bands on the sleeves inscribed with Kufic letters. Their caftan is decorated with the cloud collars made of pearl embroidery, a design of Mongol Ilkhanate origin. This is also the costume worn at the time by the courtiers at the Mongol court in Tabriz.