In the early 18th century, King Vakhtang VI of the ancient Georgian kingdom of Karlti watched as his land was overcome with chaos and warfare. Having traded his vassalage to Persian overlords for allegiance to Peter the Great, the Georgian king was unexpectedly abandoned by his new allies and saw his kingdom brought to ruin by the onslaught of Persians, Ottomans, Afghans, and Russians. Vakhtang's submission would eventually lead to Georgia's total capitulation to Russian domination in the 19th century and Soviet rule in the 20th.
Today, the dynamics that marked the tumult of the 18th century are no less potent. Titles and borders have changed, and the independent variable of the United States has been added. But Georgia and the broader Caucasus remain valuable and strategic real estate for the historically competing empires of Persia (Iran), Muscovy (Russia), and the Turks (Turkey). ...