George VIII

In 1433, Alexander appointed George as co-ruler alongside his brothers Vakhtang IV, Demetrius, and Zaal, in an attempt to strengthen the royal authority against the growing power of the nobility. However, the young George soon fell under the influence of the nobles, leading to his father's abdication in 1442. He subsequently assumed administrative control over the northeastern territories of the Caucasus under the supervision of his elder brother, Vakhtang IV. Upon Vakhtang's death in 1446, George seized the throne, disinherited his elder brother Demetrius, and forced him into exile. George VIII is remembered as the last monarch to rule over a united Georgian kingdom, although the formal division of the realm was not recognized until 1490. During his reign, he rapidly lost control of Samtskhe in the 1460s, when the atabeg Qvarqvare II Jaqeli declared independence. Subsequently, Western Georgia broke away during the Georgian Triumvirate War, a civil conflict that marked the fragmentation of the kingdom. In 1465, George was captured and imprisoned by the atabeg of Samtskhe, leading to a further weakening of royal power and the rise of semi-independent principalities across Georgia.