3, 1783. The first days of his reign were busy with his attempt to assert control over the royal court. Queen Dowager Darejan sought in vain to remain Queen of Kartl-Kakheti by preventing Mariam of that title, but in a show of force, George XII forced Darejan's partisans to pledge their allegiance to his and Queen Mariam's reign. While the royal court remained established in Telavi, Darejan resettled in Tbilisi, the reconstruction of which continued actively under the direct supervision of the king. From there, she would continue to confront her step-son's reign. Many feared George XII's reign would be a short one. 51 years old, the king was notably overweight and his love of feasts led high nobles to question his capacity to rule a country in crisis. Suffering, like his father, of edema, his movement was limited, a handicap for a nation used to monarchs leading troops themselves on the battlefield. Crisis of Succession Following his accession, George XII was forced to sign a decree recognizing his half-brother Iulon as heir to the throne, a decision made by the king to avoid a civil war in a kingdom stuck between the Russian Empire and a hostile Persia. However, he hoped to nullify the decree in favor of his oldest son David, at the time in Russia's military service, a plan quickly discovered by Queen Dowager Darejan and her sons. The family conflict went deeper than a dynastic dispute. At the core of the disagreement was George XII's foreign policy, a continuation of his father's largely pro-Russian policy. The royal court was divided in two camps - those supporting the king's orientation and those fearing Russian imperialism. The latter were led by Prince Alexander Bagrationi. King George's decision to send Prince George Avalishvili to Saint Petersburg as a special envoy to assist Ambassador Garsevan Chavchavadze to launch negotiations with Emperor Paul I over a renewal of the Treaty of Georgievsk worsened the situation at home, as it became evident Avalishvili was sent to secure the recognition of David as Crown Prince by Russia. Heraclius II's policy of centralizing the kingdom by granting noble fiefs to the royal family had serious consequences. Pyotr Buktov, a 19th-century Russian historian, explained the situation in Kartl-Kakheti at the ascension of George XII: The royal brothers strengthened themselves in their domains after Avalishvili was sent to Russia, announcing their refusal to recognize George XII