In 1762, Erekle II (Heraclius) proclaimed himself King of Kartli and Kakheti, thereby uniting Eastern Georgia. The situation improved somewhat in Western Georgia too. Solomon I, King of Imereti (1752-1784), strove for the consolidation of the country and centralization of power. The aim of Western Georgia was to free the country from the Turks and to unify it. In 1757, Solomon I defeated the Turks in a battle at Khresili. In 1758, military alliance was formed between the Imeretian Kingdom and the Kingdoms of Kartli (Iberia) and Kakheti, providing mutual assistance to face the external aggression.

A major uprising took place in Abkhazia in 1771. The Abkhazians ejected the Turkish garrison from the Sukhumi fortress. However, owing to hostile actions of the competing princes, the final victory fell to the Turks. Turkey tried in every way possible - but in vain - to make Abkhazia her ally in her objective to subjugate Georgia. The latter sought to turn to advantage the Russo-Turkish war that broke out in 1769. A joint (Russo-Georgian) campaign was planned to seize the Akhaltsikhé vilayet. In 1769, Russian forces arrived under general Todtleben. In 1770, Russian and Georgian troops besieged the Atsquri fortress. As soon as the battle began, Todtleben deserted Erekle II on the field, withdrawing his troops. But Georgians, led by Erekle II, managed to win a glorious victory over the Turks in the battle of Aspindza. However, this victory failed to be used as means of reaching the final goal - freeing the country of Turkish oppression. In 1744, according to the Kucuk-Kainardji peace treaty Russia recognized Turkey's domination over Western Georgia on condition that Turkey ceased levying tribute from Imereti. Thus, Turkish influence in Georgia was limited, and Georgia actually became an ally of Russia.

On July 24, 1783, Russia and the eastern Georgian Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti signed the Treaty of Georgievsk, according to which Kartli-Kakheti received protection by Russia. The treaty was ratified by King Erekle II on January 24, 1784. Despite Russia's commitment to defend Georgia, it rendered no assistance when the Turks invaded in 1785 and again in 1795. This period culminated in the 1801 Russian annexation of remaining Georgian lands and the deposing of the Bagrationi dynasty.

The Battle of Krtsanisi was fought between Persian and Georgian armies at the place of Krtsanisi near Tbilisi from September 8 to September 11, 1795. This was the war led by the Persian ruler Agha Mohammad Khan as a reprisal for King Erekle II of Georgia’s alliance with the Russian Empire. Having abandoned the siege of Shusha in the Karabakh Khanate, the Khan marched directly on Tbilisi, and attacked the heavily fortified Georgian positions on the southwestern approaches to the city. Abandoned by several of his nobles, Erekle II managed to mobilize around 5,000 troops, including some 2,000 auxiliaries from Imereti under the King Solomon II. The Georgians offered a desperate resistance and succeeding in rolling back a series of Persian attacks on September 9 and 10. Early on September 11, Agha Mohammad Khan personally led an all-out offensive against the Georgians. Amid an artillery duel and a fierce cavalry charge, the Persians managed to cross the Mtkvari River and outflanked the decimating Georgian army. Erekle II attempted to mount a counterattack, but eventually had to retreat to the last available positions at the outskirt of Tbilisi. By the nightfall, the Georgian forces had been exhausted and nearly destroyed completely. The last surviving Georgian artillerists briefly held the advancing Persians to allow Erekle II and his retinue of some 150 men to escape through the city to the mountains. The fighting continued in the streets of Tbilisi and at the fortress of Narikala. In a few hours, Agha Mohammad Khan was in full control of the Georgian capital which was completely sacked and its population massacred. The Persian army marched back with spoil and carrying off some 15,000 captives. 300 Aragvians died in that battle giving an oath to win or to die. Their names have been remembered and honored since then.