and gifts to the king in exchange for a turn in his pro-Russian foreign policy. According to the British diplomatic mission in Saint Petersburg, George XII sent his step-father, Prince George Tsitsishvili as an emissary to Soliman Khaun with a precious watch as a sign of cooperation (instead of a monetary tribute as the state coffers were extremely decrepit at the time). But when the news of a rebellion against Fath-Ali Shah forced Soliman to return to Persia, Tsitsishvili headed back to Tbilisi without presenting the gift. But Persia's ambitions did not end there. Soon, the Karabakh Khanate, historically under Georgia's sphere of influence, broke its ties with Tbilisi and offered its allegiance to the Persian Shah. Fath-Ali Shah send a new embassy to Tbilisi in 1799 to attempt to force George XII into accepting his demands by pointing out Russia's failures to follow its obligations under the Treaty of Georgievsk. But the arrival of Russian troops in November 1799 allowed Tbilisi to reassert a position of power. In early 1800, Russian ambassador Pyotr Kovalensky sent Reserve Lieutenant Merabov as special representative to the court of the Shah. Merabov arrived in Tehran with a list of demands, including the return of Persian prisoners of war captured during the Battle of Krtsanisi and the reimbursement of all costs of the 1795 invasion. He also added that Saint Petersburg sought friendly relations with Persia if the latter abandoned all claims to Kartl-Kakheti. Grand Vizier Hajji Ebrahim Shirazi refused Merabov's demands, asked an official embassy from Emperor Paul I, and tried to execute Merabov, who managed to return to Tbilisi through the difficult Rasht-Baku road. In April 1800, a new Persian embassy arrived in Tbilisi to officially respond to Merabov's demands, threatening George XII with a 60,000-strong invasion. However, the king refused to grant the Persian diplomats a private audience and met them at the Russian Embassy in Tbilisi with Kovalensky. George XII, encouraged by the Russian military presence, categorically refused Fath-Ali Shah's terms, the latter then starting preparations for an invasion. King within an Empire? Internal divisions and external threats pushed George XII to seek a new change in his relations with Russia. On September 7, 1799, he sent a letter to his embassy in Saint Petersburg, stating: This demand to annex Kartl-Kakheti into the Russian Empire was based on the ancient Persian system of governance over Georgia, which envisioned a Georgian