within the Kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti. Despite her isolation in Tbilisi, Darejan managed to lead a propaganda campaign against George XII throughout the region. She successfully pushed Armenian meliks and Azerbaijani khans against George XII, while seeking her son Iulon's recognition as heir to the throne during secret negotiations with Pasha Subath of Childir and King Solomon II of Imereti, the latter governing Western Georgia. The latter was also opposed to the pro-Russian policy of George XII, complaining to the king of the lack of consultations with the other Georgian states. In July 1800, princes Iulon, Pharnavaz and Vakhtang gathered 3,000 men under the pretext of preparing against an upcoming Persian invasion, but instead besieged Tbilisi to free Queen Darejan. Ivan Lazarev's Russians destroyed their forces and the rebel troops were dispersed, while Darejan remained imprisoned in the capital. Persian Invasion Attempt In April 1800, George XII refused one last time to bow to Persia's demands. In response, Fath-Ali Shah sent an army of 10,000 men under the leadership of his son Abbas Mirza and General Soliman Khaun Qajar to threaten the Georgian borders. The army gathered in Tabriz and announced its intent to walk on Maku, Yerevan and Tbilisi, while Prince Alexander Bagrationi left the kingdom to join them in Azerbaijan in July. Having informed the Persian invading force of the military weaknesses of Kartl-Kakheti, he joined the troops' leadership and was named Khan of Georgia by the Shah, crossing the Aras river and nearing the Georgian borders. Russian preparations to defend the capital were weak. Kovalensky, with the agreement of George XII, had trenches built around Tbilisi, exposing hundreds of bodies that had been buried after the Battle of Krtsanisi and leading to an epidemy of viral infection across the capital, an epidemy that spread to Kartli. George XII's response was limited to the dispatching of a religious representative across the region. On July 10, 1800, Emperor Paul I ordered General Knorring to send reinforcements to Georgia. Ten squadrons of cavaliers and nine battalions of armed infantry crossed the North Caucasus's line of defense. In September, General Guliakov and his regiment of Kabardino mousquetaires arrived in Kakheti. These new arrivals discouraged the Persian forces, which had to leave occupied Yerevan to return to Tabriz, while Alexander found refuge in the Karabakh. Avar Invasion From his refuge in Yerevan, Prince Alexander joined the Avar lands and managed to convince Omar