History of Georgia (country) in the context of "Georgian Orthodox Church"

King of Kings was an imperial title employed primarily by monarchs based in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Commonly associated with Iran (historically known as Persia in the West), especially the Achaemenid and Sasanian Empires, the title was originally introduced during the Middle Assyrian Empire by King Tukulti-Ninurta I (reigned 1233–1197 BC) and was subsequently used in a number of different kingdoms and empires, including the aforementioned Persia, various Hellenic kingdoms, India, Armenia, Georgia, and Ethiopia.

The title is commonly seen as equivalent to that of Emperor, both titles outranking that of king in prestige, stemming from the late antique Roman and Eastern Roman emperors who saw the Shahanshahs of the Sasanian Empire as their equals. The last reigning monarchs to use the title of Shahanshah, those of the Pahlavi dynasty in Iran (1925–1979), also equated the title with "Emperor". The rulers of the Ethiopian Empire used the title of Nəgusä Nägäst (literally "King of Kings"), which was officially translated as "Emperor". Sultan of Sultans is the sultanic equivalent of King of Kings and similarly, Khagan can mean "Khan of Khans". Later, lesser versions Amir al-umara ("Emir of Emirs") and Beylerbey ("Bey of Beys") appeared.

The Constitutional Agreement between the Georgian state and the Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia (Georgian: კონსტიტუციური შეთანხმება საქართველოს სახელმწიფოსა და საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალურ მართლმადიდებელ ეკლესიას შორის), informally referred to as the Concordat, is an agreement between the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) and the state that defines relations between the two entities. It was signed by President of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze and Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II on 14 October 2002 at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta, Georgia.

• The concordat confirms the Georgian Orthodox Church's ownership of all churches and monasteries on the territory of Georgia, including those in ruins or non-operating.
• The agreement recognizes the special role of the GOC in the history of Georgia and devolves authority over all religious matters to it.
• The concordat also gives the patriarch legal immunity, grants the GOC the exclusive right to staff the military chaplaincy, exempts GOC clergymen from military service, and gives the GOC a unique consultative role in government, especially in the sphere of education.
• The government of Georgia recognizes the legitimacy of the wedding ceremonies performed by the Georgian Orthodox Church, while maintaining that in legal matters government records must be used.
• As a partial owner of what had been confiscated from the church under Soviet rule (1921–1991), the State pledges to recompense, at least partially, for the damage.

Some of the concordat's provisions, including the consultative role of the church in education, require implementing legislation yet to be adopted by parliament.

The Ottoman–Safavid War of 1623–1639 was a conflict fought between the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Iran, then the two major powers of Western Asia, over control of Mesopotamia.

After initial Safavid success in recapturing Baghdad and most of Ottoman Iraq, having lost it for 90 years, the war became a stalemate as the Safavids were unable to press further into the Ottoman Empire, and the Ottomans themselves were distracted by wars in Europe and weakened by internal turmoil. Eventually, the Ottomans were able to recover Baghdad, taking heavy losses in the final siege, and the signing of the Treaty of Zuhab ended the war in an Ottoman victory. Roughly speaking, the treaty restored the borders of 1555, with the Safavids keeping Daghestan, Shirvan, eastern Georgia, and Eastern Armenia, while western Georgia and Western Armenia decisively came under Ottoman rule. The eastern part of Samtskhe (Meskheti) was irrevocably lost to the Ottomans as well as Mesopotamia. Although parts of Mesopotamia were briefly retaken by the Iranians later on in history, notably during the reigns of Nader Shah (1736–1747) and Karim Khan Zand (1751–1779), it remained thenceforth in Ottoman hands until the aftermath of World War I.

The heads of the Georgian Orthodox Church and its predecessors in the ancient Georgian Kingdom of Iberia (i.e. Kartli) have borne the title of Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia since 1010, except between 1811 and 1917, when the Church was subordinated to the Russian Orthodox Church as part of the Russian imperial policies.

The current style of the head of the Church is as follows:

Vardzia (Georgian: ვარძია [vaɾdzia]) is a cave monastery site in southern Georgia, excavated from the slopes of the Erusheti Mountain on the left bank of the Kura River, thirty kilometres from Aspindza. The main period of construction was the second half of the twelfth century. The caves stretch along the cliff for some five hundred meters and in up to nineteen tiers. The monastery was an important cultural center, a place of significant literary and artistic work.

The Church of the Dormition, dating to the 1180s during the golden age of Tamar and Rustaveli, has an important series of wall paintings. The site was largely abandoned after the Ottoman takeover in the sixteenth century. Now part of a state heritage reserve, the extended area of Vardzia-Khertvisi has been submitted for future inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List.