of Aragvi, a major domain in the center of Georgia. This distribution, which continued later with the granting of the Duchy of Ksani to Prince Iulon in 1790, was an attempt to diminish the large powers of the nobility and to centralize the influence of the Bagrationi royal dynasty. With several governors appointed to replace deposed princes, George married in 1766 the young princess Ketevan Andronikashvili, daughter of the Governor of Kiziqi, at the time 12 years old. She soon became popular at the royal court, notably after taking charge herself of a 300-strong army to defeat a Lezgin raid in 1777. The princely couple gave birth to six sons and six daughters before Ketevan's death on June 3, 1782. On July 13, 1783, George remarried to Princess Mariam Tsitsishvili, daughter of Governor George Tsitsishvili of Pambak and Shuragali. As heir to the throne, George's status within the court was important. He became a member of the Great Council of State, responsible for advising the king in national decision-making. Both this power and his numerous children contributed to increasing an obvious jealousy from his step-mother. Energetic Prince As heir, Prince Georgia increasingly became involved in the country's national affairs. In April 1770, he joined his father's forces against the Ottomans and recaptured Akhaltsikhe. Leading an army of 7,000 men, reinforced by a Russian battalion of 1,200 mercenaries, he sought to capture the Atskuri Fortress in the Borjomi Valley, following which the Russian forces left the expedition and left the Georgian troops facing the Turkish invaders alone. Heraclius II and George managed to defeat the Ottomans in Akhalkalaki and Khertvisi, before delivering a decisive victory in Aspindza on April 20. During that battle, George led the left flank of the Georgian army. Shortly after the Aspindza victory, George and Patriarch Anton I are sent to Imereti in May 1770 to negotiate a peace between King Solomon I and the influential princes Katsia II Dadiani and Simon II Gurieli. Their goal was to form a united Georgian front against a probable Ottoman invasion. The same year, he was sent by his father to put an end to the noble rebellion in Ksani, along with his half-brother Levan. After this campaign, during which George was made responsible for the detachment of Higher Kartli, the two princes captured the rebellious leader George of Ksani and annexed his domains to the royal territories. In 1777,