Alexander I ( ka, ალექსანდრე I, ''Alek'sandre I'') (died 1389), of the
Bagrationi dynasty
The Bagrationi dynasty (; ) is a royal dynasty which reigned in Georgia from the Middle Ages until the early 19th century, being among the oldest extant Christian ruling dynasties in the world. In modern usage, the name of the dynasty is sometim ...
, was king of western
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
kingdom of Imereti
The Kingdom of Imereti ( ka, იმერეთის სამეფო, tr) was a Georgian monarchy established in 1455 by a member of the house of Bagrationi when the Kingdom of Georgia was dissolved into rival kingdoms. Before that time, Im ...
from 1387 to 1389. Prior to that, he was ''
eristavi
''Eristavi'' (; literally, "head of the nation") was a Georgian feudal office, roughly equivalent to the Byzantine ''strategos'' and normally translated into English as "prince" or less commonly as "duke". In the Georgian aristocratic hierarchy, i ...
'' ("duke") of Imereti under the authority of the
kings of Georgia
This is a list of kings and queens regnant of the kingdoms of Georgia before Russian annexation in 1801–1810.
For more comprehensive lists, and family trees, of Georgian monarchs and rulers see Lists of Georgian monarchs.
Kings of Iberia ...
.
Alexander was born sometime after 1358 into the family of
Bagrat I, then duke (and ex-king) of Imereti, and his wife, a
Jaqeli
The House of Jaqeli ( ka, ჯაყელი) was a Georgian princely (''mtavari'') family and a ruling dynasty of the Principality of Samtskhe, an offshoot of the House of Chorchaneli.
History
"Jaqeli", literally meaning "of/from Jaqi", was ori ...
atabeg
Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the title's use was wit ...
of
Samtskhe
Meskheti ( ka, მესხეთი) or Samtskhe ( ka, სამცხე) (Moschia in ancient sources), is a mountainous area in southwestern Georgia.
History
Ancient tribes known as the Mushki (or Moschi) and Mosiniks (or Mossynoeci) were the ...
. On his father's death in 1372, Alexander was appointed by King
Bagrat V of Georgia
Bagrat V the Great (, ) (died 1393) from the Bagrationi dynasty was the son of the Georgian king David IX of Georgia by his wife Sindukhtar Jaqeli. He was co-ruler from 1355, and became king after the death of his father in 1360.
Life
A fair a ...
as duke of Imereti. In 1387, he took advantage of
Timur's invasions of Georgia
The Kingdom of Georgia, a Christianity, Christian monarchy, kingdom in the Caucasus, was subjected, between 1386 and 1403, to several disastrous invasions by the armies of Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur, whose Timurid Empire, vast empire stretched ...
and proclaimed himself king of Imereti at the
Gelati Monastery
Gelati ( ka, გელათის მონასტერი) is a medieval monastic complex near Kutaisi in the Imereti region of western Georgia. One of the first monasteries in Georgia, it was founded in 1106 by King David IV of Georgia as a ...
, but the city of
Kutaisi
Kutaisi (, ka, ქუთაისი ) is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the third-most populous city in Georgia, traditionally, second in importance, after the capital city of Tbilisi. Situated west of Tbilis ...
remained in the hands of Bagrat V's loyalists and the dukes of
Mingrelia
Mingrelia ( ka, სამეგრელო, tr; xmf, სამარგალო, samargalo; ab, Агырны, Agirni) is a historic province in the western part of Georgia, formerly known as Odishi. It is primarily inhabited by the Mingrelian ...
,
Guria
Guria ( ka, გურია) is a region (''mkhare'') in Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 113,000 (2016), with Ozurgeti as the regional capital.
Geography
...
,
Abkhazia
Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...
, and
Svaneti
Svaneti or Svanetia (Suania in ancient sources; ka, სვანეთი ) is a historic province in the northwestern part of Georgia (country), Georgia. It is inhabited by the Svans, an ethnic subgroup of Georgians.
Geography
Situated o ...
refused to join him. Alexander succeeded in seizing several fortresses in Imereti, but Kutaisi remained outside his control.
He died in 1389 and was succeeded by his brother
George I George I or 1 may refer to:
People
* Patriarch George I of Alexandria ( fl. 621–631)
* George I of Constantinople (d. 686)
* George I of Antioch (d. 790)
* George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9)
* George I of Georgia (d. 1027)
* Yuri Dolgoruk ...
.
Alexander was married to a certain Ana Orbeliani. He had two children:
* Prince
Demetrius
Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning “Demetris” - "devoted to goddess Demeter".
Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumit ...
(died 1455), Duke of Imereti;
* Princess Tamar (died ), wife of
Alexander I of Georgia
Alexander I the Great (, ''Aleksandre I Didi'') (1386 – between August 26, 1445 and March 7, 1446), of the Bagrationi house, was king of Georgia from 1412 to 1442. Despite his efforts to restore the country from the ruins left by the Turco-Mong ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander 02 Of Imereti
Kings of Imereti
14th-century monarchs in Europe
Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Imereti
Eastern Orthodox monarchs
1389 deaths
14th-century people from Georgia (country)