Begtabegishvili ( ka, ბეგთაბეგიშვილი), Begtabegov or Bektabekov ( ka, ბეგთაბეგოვი, russian: Бегтабеговы, Бектабековы) was a

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 ...

noble family of Armenian origin. The ancestors of the family fled the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

conquest of Armenia and moved to Georgia in the seventeenth century. Bagrationi, Ioane (1768-1830)
Begtabegovi (Princes of Kartli)
''The Brief Description of the Georgian Noble Houses''. Retrieved on December 15, 2007. They were originally known as Shanshean-Martirozashvili (შანშეიან-მარტიროზაშვილი), and possibly also as T’aniashvili (თანიაშვილი). The king Teimuraz I elevated the family to a princely dignity (

tavadi ''Tavadi'' ( ka, თავადი, "prince", lit. "head/chief" an from ka, თავი ''tavi'', "head", with the prefix of agent ''-di'') was a feudal title in Georgia (country), Georgia first applied in the Late Middle Ages usually trans ...

), reportedly in 1633, and granted its head the hereditary office of ''mdivan-begi'', i.e., royal secretary, whence the dynastic name adopted by the family. The early 17th-century head of the house, Begtabeg, was a notable copyist who created one of the best manuscripts of the medieval Georgian epic The Knight in the Panther's Skin by Shota Rustaveli (Manuscript H-54,

Georgian National Center of Manuscripts The Georgian National Centre of Manuscripts ( ka, საქართველოს ხელნაწერთა ეროვნული ცენტრი; formerly the ''Institute of Manuscripts''), located in Tbilisi, Georgia, is a repository ...

). The Begtabegishvili were listed among the Georgian nobility in a special document attached to the

Russo Russo may refer to: *Russo (surname) * Russo (footballer, 1915–1980), full name Adolpho Milman, Brazilian football forward and manager * Russo (footballer, born 1976), full name Ricardo Soares Florêncio, Brazilian football defender *Russo brothe ...

Treaty of Georgievsk of 1783. They were the grandees of the second class under the Princes Baratashvili. After the Russian annexation of Georgia, the family was confirmed in the princely rank (

knyaz , or ( Old Church Slavonic: Кнѧзь) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, dependi ...

) by the

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

’s degrees of February 25, 1826 and December 6, 1850. Their official title was "Bagtabegov, Princes of Georgia" with a corresponding coat of arms (''pictured''). The best known 19th-century members of this family were the major general Solomon Begtabegov (died May 6, 1860) and Alexander Begtabegov (1819-1876), participants of the Caucasian War.Бегтабеговы
Russian Biographic Dictionary. Accessed on December 15, 2007.

References

{{Reflist Armenian families Noble families of Georgia (country) Russian noble families Georgian-language surnames