Heraclius II, who saw his capital Tbilisi burned down and pillaged. George, in charge of the Kakhetian contingent, was blamed for the loss as he failed to reach Tbilisi in time, held back by his troops' hunger and disease in Sighnaghi. George was nonetheless forgiven by his father after the battle and tasked with reconquering the capital. In the summer of 1796, George and his Kakhetian soldiers, aided by Russian colonel Sirikhnev and his forces, retook Tbilisi and chased down the Persian garrison. The prince was then charged with rebuilding the capital, while Heraclius II moved to Telavi. In Tbilisi, Prince George rebuilt the main bridge of the city and organized the repopulation of the capital, while using his diplomatic skills to avoid a Lezgin-Ottoman invasion. In December, George took on the regency of the kingdom as his father became too weak to govern. On December 7, to preserve the family unity, he signed an act recognizing his younger brother Iulon as his heir. The king died on January 12, 1798, at 77 years old, at the Telavi Palace, recently rebuilt by George. Weak King Accession On his deathbed, Heraclius II had George returned from Tbilisi to formally hand him over the state's affairs. On January 14, 1798, two days after his father's death and on the Day of St. Nino, George was recognized King of Kartl-Kakheti by the nobility and the Georgian Orthodox Church in a ceremony in the town of Kazakh. His title showcased his father's ambitions toward unifying the South Caucasus: King George is stylized George XII, though Russian historian Nikolai Dubrovyn claims he has often been called George XIII during his reign because of King George XI's two reigns. It's only on December 5, 1799, nearly two years after his accession to the throne but only a few months after his recognition as king by Russian Emperor Paul I, that King George XII's coronation takes place at the Anchiskhati Cathedral in Tbilisi. This coronation, the last in Georgian history, was led by Patriarch Anton II. Russia participated in the ceremony by making the king a Knight of the Order of Saint Andrew and his wife, Queen Mariam, as a First Class Lady of the Order of Saint Catherine, the two highest decorations of the Russian Empire. This was King George's second Russian decoration, the first being the Order of Saint Alexander Nevski he received on May