Keilash Bey seems to have been the first presiding prince of Abkhazia (circa 1780-1808) to embrace Islam, and was given, on this account, the fort of Suhum-Kale. These conversions of the Abkhazian princes were, however, not irreversible; during the 19th century, various Sharvashidzes shifted back and forth across the religious divide, as the Russians and Ottomans struggled for control of the region. The first attempt to enter into relation with Russia was made by the said Keilash Bey in 1803, shortly after the incorporation of eastern Georgia into the expanding Tsarist empire (1801). After the assassination of this prince by his son Aslan-Bey on May 2, 1808, the pro-Ottoman orientation prevailed but for a short time. On July 2, 1810, the Russian Marines stormed Suhum-Kale and had Aslan-Bey replaced with his rival brother, Sefer-Bey (1810–1821), who had converted to Christianity and assumed the name of George. Abkhazia joined the Russian empire as an autonomous principality.
