The Sun and the Lion

Kyrgyzstan Province, Tbilisi. A year has passed since Ibrahim captured the city. The former battlefields have been cleaned up, the city fortifications have been simply repaired, and the prosperity of peacetime has begun to return to this land.

A group of Georgian cavalry with helmets and armors surrounded Heraclius and galloped on the dilapidated road, rushing to the capital of the province.

I have seen the Governor. Outside the city, the bureaucrats and attachés who came out to greet the new Governor saluted Heraclius.

Then, under the guidance of his entourage, Heraclius led the guards and officials along the avenue to the former palace, which was also the seat of the Tbilisi Municipal Government and the Gergistan Provincial Government.

After Ibrahim destroyed the city, the red heads only retained the main structure and part of the furniture of the palace, and most of the valuable decorations were looted to use as military expenses. But they were not so cruel as to dismantle icons and other religious objects and melt them, divide and carry away murals, and dig up floors and tiles.

Looking at the nobles who greeted him in the square in front of the palace, Heraclius felt great satisfaction.

It was finally his turn to dominate Georgia, a capital that the Bagrationi family had run for hundreds of years and a population of hundreds of thousands. Although he was essentially a local governor under the central government, Ibrahim could reduce his position and seize power.

Entering the palace hall, local bureaucrats and dignitaries had prepared a luxurious banquet to please his favorite.

Since Ibrahim wiped out the kings and dukes of Georgia in one fell swoop, these small Georgian nobles have been very cooperative with the bureaucrats sent by Tabriz, and have also avoided conflicts with the Turkmen tribes who have moved in. After all, there are people above them, because The war also created a lot of unclaimed land, and there was no emir to seize their properties.

The servants poured wine and served exquisite food to everyone present, and Heraclius immediately started to feast, while the dignitaries below were secretly observing this branch of Bagrationi.

As Heraclius ate, he thought about how to complete Ibrahim's mission.

Kyrgyzstan is a special province. The chief officials of the four departments of administration, justice, military and supervision of the province were of the same rank. In order to strengthen his control over the local areas, Ibrahim sent a large number of caliphs to serve as local officials, even the governor-general who combined military and political affairs. , the clergy also firmly controlled the supervisory and judicial branches.

However, Armenia and Gergistan are provinces dominated by Christians, and Muslims are a minority group, which is not suitable for decentralizing priests. After all, Ibrahim is only the Sheikh of the Safavid order, not the local Christian church. Patriarch.

Ibrahim allowed these patrons to enter the bureaucracy, and Persian civil servants, under the orders of the King of Kings, recruited, trained, and selected a group of Georgians who would adapt to the Iranian bureaucracy.

Fortunately, both Iran and Georgia have had long-term contact with the Turks (including Turkmen), and the language problem has been barely solved - is Azerbaijani considered a Turkic language?

These local bureaucrats who are fluent in Turkic and Georgian languages ​​can effectively help Tabriz manage their compatriots, and they will not be as big as Qizilbash. On the contrary, as a minority excluded by mainstream society, whether military officers or civil servants wanted to maintain their power, they could only rely on the royal power.

Completing this task was a major task for Heraclius. He wanted to tame these Georgian dignitaries, while at the same time promoting a group of motivated people from other classes and integrating them into the Safavid dynasty's state machinery.

Then there is the Georgian Orthodox Church, which can also be called the Georgian Apostolic Autonomous Orthodox Church. Since Ibrahim's decree to confiscate all religious properties has offended the church, religion is also a very important part of the rule.

But the Orthodox Church in Georgia had been torn apart by troubled times, with the Mongol and Timurid conquests and civil wars dividing the church organization. For example, the Abkhazian Catholic Church was born under the rule of the Mongols. This church has considerable influence in the western region of Georgia centered on Abkhazia.

The long-term oppression by the Muslim conquerors, the continuous civil wars between royal families, and the schisms within the church all dealt a heavy blow to the religious power of Georgia.

Therefore, the church is actually a soft persimmon.

Patriarch Abraham II of Georgia (with the same name) and Bishop Ephraim of Tbilisi attended the banquet, hoping to gain the support of the new governor.

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Heraclius, who had done his homework before coming, looked at the respectful eyes of the two and judged that the situation was similar to what he expected.

Everyone, I, Heraclius, am just a slave of Shahansha. I didn't expect to receive such warm hospitality from you. I am really grateful. Heraclius said to the distinguished guests present.

Your Excellency, what we have done is nothing compared to your efforts. First, a judge from Tbilisi raised his glass and said with sincerity.

Then Bishop Ephraim of Tbilisi also stood up: Dear Sir, your piety is enough to move the Lord. We can only repay you with a small amount of gratitude.

Under everyone's rainbow fart, Heraclius sat down with a happy face and said: Since you trust me so much, I can't live up to your trust.

Everyone was delighted, was this implying that their interests would not be infringed?

In a joyful atmosphere, the banquet ended.

Heraclius then took some time to complete the handover of official duties, and then learned through his servant how much property he, Gerkin Khan, had.

There are various types of real estate such as cultivated land, woodland, grassland, and fish ponds, and the area is vast. Many tenants live on it, and the mills in nearly ten villages also belong to him. There are also many properties, one in Tbilisi city and several villas in the countryside, with complete supporting facilities.

Coupled with several small mines, these properties from rewards and contributions from local forces turned Heraclius from an inconspicuous descendant to the largest landowner in Georgia.

Of course, this is taxable.

Just when Heraclius had not recovered from the huge surprise, the servant suddenly reported to him that the patriarch and the bishop of Tbilisi came to visit.