Beka I Jaqeli

Beka I Jaqeli (c. 1242–1308) succeeded his father Sargis I in 1285 as prince of Samtskhe, the Jaqeli domain in southern Georgia. A vassal of the Mongol Il-Khans, he paid them tribute while ruling independently of the Georgian crown and fending off Turkish raids.

He married his daughter Jiajak to the Trapezuntine emperor Alexios II, and another daughter, Natela, to King Demetrius II of Georgia; Natela's son George V was raised at Beka's court after the Mongols executed Demetrius.