George VII of Georgia

George VII (Georgian: გიორგი VII, Giorgi VII) (died 1405 or 1407) was king of Georgia from 1393 to 1407 (alternatively, from 1395 to 1405).

George was the son of the king Bagrat V and his first wife Helena of Trebizond (died of bubonic plague, 1366). Bagrat appointed him co-ruler in 1369.

In November 1386, King Bagrat was defeated and taken prisoner by the Mongol warlord Timur Leng. Prince George organized a successful resistance to the next incursion and released his father. In 1393, Bagrat died and George assumed full royal powers. He spent most of his reign fighting Timur who led seven more expeditions against the stubborn Georgian kingdom from 1387 to 1403, leaving the country in ruins. Finally, in 1403 George had to make peace with the fierce enemy, recognising Timur as a suzerain and paying him tribute, but retaining the right to be crowned as a Christian monarch. He was killed in battle against the Turkmen nomads, apparently of the Kara Koyunlu clan.

George VII may have died childless, as his brother, Constantine I became the next king.