In 1659, the Kingdom of Kakheti rose up against the Safavid Iranian rule, known as the Bakhtrioni Uprising, due to a change of policy that included the settling of Qizilbash Turkoman tribes in the region. This action was implemented by Abbas II's government for a number of reasons. One of these was the need to repopulate the province, as Shah Abbas I' mass deportations of between 130,000 - 200,000 Georgian subjects to Persia's heartlands and massacre of another thousand in 1616 left this part of the province substantially underpopulated. Another one was to keep an eye on the restive nobles. Another reason was that the Safavid possessions in Georgia were geographically close to the Daghestan province. From Daghestan, Lezgian marauders frequently organized raids into parts of the northwestern Safavid domains, including Safavid Georgia. Lastly, it was also decided as a measure against Russia, which had increased its pressure on Daghestan, a province neighbouring the Georgia province. Iranian authority was restored in Kakheti, and the Qizilbash Turkics were prevented from settling in Kakheti.