Background
Alexander was appointed by his father George I of Kakheti (ie, George VIII, formerly king of a united Georgia) a co-ruler in 1460, and succeeded on the throne upon George"s death in 1476.
Alexander was appointed by his father George I of Kakheti (ie, George VIII, formerly king of a united Georgia) a co-ruler in 1460, and succeeded on the throne upon George"s death in 1476.
Next year, Kakheti was attacked by the Ak Koyunlu nomads who had earlier ravaged the neighboring Georgian kingdom of Kartli. Alexander also preferred to keep peace with the rival Bagrationi branch in Kartli, which recognized him as an independent monarch in 1490. He was the first Georgian ruler to have attempted to forge an alliance with the co-religionist princes of Moscow in order to counterbalance the growing ambitions of the Safavid dynasty of Iran.
Received with honors by the shah, the mission helped establish stable relations with Iran which would remain more or less peaceful until the early years of the 17th century.
This allowed Alexander to strengthen the royal authority and to secure internal stability within his kingdom. According to the Georgian genealogists, Alexander was married twice.
According to the historian Cyril Toumanoff, both names were bore by the same woman, a daughter of Prince Beena Cholokashvili, reflecting the polyonymy not infrequently found among the Georgian female royals. Alexander was the father of two sons:
Giorgi (1469–1513), the future king George II of Kakheti;
Demetre, forefather of Bagration-Davitishvili noble family.