Eastern Georgia’s Telavi city marks anniversary of Georgian king’s birth
Entertaining events, Georgian food courts and a wine tasting corner were hosted as part of the festival, in addition to educational activities at the palace named after the king. Photo: Telavi city hall
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The eastern Georgian city of Telavi on Monday celebrated the annual celebration of Erekleoba, marking the 302nd anniversary of the birth of King Erekle II, one of the last Georgian monarchs who ruled the Kakheti region between 1744-1762.
Entertaining events, Georgian food courts and a wine tasting corner were hosted as part of the festival, in addition to educational activities at the palace named after the king, while the exhibition hall of the related historical museum featured an exhibition of items illustrating his reign.
Photo: Telavi city hall
The programme for this year’s festival also involved a historical conference entitled The Era of King Erekle and hosted at Telavi State University, while a postage stamp paying homage to the monarch was also unveiled to participants.
The stamp is set to become available at Georgian Post service centres and will also be kept as an exhibit at the Universal Postal Union in the Swiss capital Bern.
Photo: Telavi city hall
An awards occasion for honorary residents of Telavi, a musical performance and a fireworks show closed the celebration - supported by the government administration - in the evening.
Born in 1720 in Telavi, Erekle II began his reign on the throne of the regional kingdom in 1744, before unifying the eastern Kakheti and central Kartli kingdoms in 1762 and reigning over the state until 1798.
Photo: Telavi city hall
The monarch succeeded in uniting eastern Georgia for the first time in three centuries, in the face of constant invasions from Persian and Ottoman armies.
He scored a number of impressive military victories against invading forces, but ultimately decided on an alliance with the Russian Empire to safeguard Georgia against further invasions in the long term.
Photo: Telavi city hall
However the treaty he signed with Russia in 1783 did not prevent Georgia from being left on its own against a devastating 1795 Persian invasion, before Russia itself annexed Georgia in 1801, three years after his death.