the revival of Kakheti. During his reign tens of deserted villages were repopulated, churches and monasteries repaired, castles rebuilt. In addition, Telavi – insignificant town during the fifteenth–seventeenth centuries – emerged as a new political and urban center of the Kingdom. Effectively exploiting military resources of his father's realm, Archil II organized several victorious expeditions in Dagestan, forcing mountaineers to submission. As a result, during the reign of Archil II inroads of the Dagestani bands decreased significantly. However, in 1675, he had to leave Kakheti, while Heraclius I was forced to stay in Isfahan for years, before his nominal conversion to Islam. From 1676 to 1703 Kakheti was put under direct control of the Safavid appointed khans, whose authority being merely nominal. Iranian khans, unable to deal with the Georgian nobility backed by restive vassal of the Safavids George XI of Kartli (1676–1688; 1703–1709), tried to weaken aristocratic resistance by encouraging further incursions and migration of the Dagestanis’ into Kakhetian lands. Eighteenth century: Heraclius II, political and cultural revival, twilight of the Kartli-Kakhetian Kingdom In 1703, Kakhetian branch of the house of Bagrationi was restored, ruling as the vassals of the degenerating Safavid dynasty. During the next twenty years Heraclius I (1675–1676; 1703–1709) and David II (1709–1722) had to deal with the incessant Dagestani inroads. Despite some initial successes, Eliseni, the easternmost region of the Kingdom, was irrevocably lost in the 1710s, and free communities of the mountaineers, known as Djaro-Belokani, were established, while Georgian peasants living there had to leave or to Islamize gradually. They who chose the latter, became known as Ingiloys. In 1722, Constantine II (1722–1732), the illegitimate son of Heraclius I, became the new King of Kakheti. In the next year, Shah Tahmasp II ordered him to remove from power Vakhtang VI of Kartli, who adopted an anti-Safavid policy and made an alliance with Russia, which proved to be unsuccessful. Constantine II of Kakheti, reinforced by the Transcaucasian Tatars and Dagestanis, invaded Kartli and captured Tbilisi on May 4, 1723. Defeated King of Kartli and his supporters fled to Shida Kartli. The same year, the Ottoman army marched against the Constantine II, who was unable to stop it and offered to negotiate. The Ottomans entered Tbilisi on 12 June 1723, deceiving and imprisoning King of Kakheti during the negotiations. Fortunately for him, Constantine II managed to escape to his realm. After Vakhtang VI of Kartli immigrated