Vakhtang III

Saint Vakhtang III, the right-⁠believing, was King of Georgia from 1302 to 1308, of the Bagrationi dynasty, in the time of Mongol rule over the country. He is honoured in the Georgian Church and, according to some sources, is commemorated on 10 December. He lived in a time when Georgia was torn between brothers and kinsmen of the ruling family.

He was born around 1275, son of King Demetrius II and his wife from Trebizond. The Ilkhan Ghazan set him on the throne in 1302 as a rival to his brother David VIII, who had revolted against Mongol rule. In fact Vakhtang controlled only the capital Tbilisi and parts of the southern and eastern provinces. David once captured him and released him only through the mediation of Ivane Burseli. After an unsuccessful offensive against David's men, the brothers agreed to rule together.

He spent most of his reign as a commander of the Georgian and Armenian auxiliaries in the endless campaigns of the Mongols, among them those against Damascus in 1303 and Gilan in 1304, or in 1306 according to other sources. He married Ripsime, niece of Shabur, and had two known sons: Demetrius, ruler of Dmanisi, and George, ruler of Samshvilde. He fell asleep in 1308, and the throne passed to his brother David VIII.