Dardin Shervashidze () (d. June 26, 1243) 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 in 13th century. He was member of Shervashidze dynasty and duke of Tskhumi (

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 ...

) during the reign of Queen

Rusudan of Georgia Rusudan ( ka, რუსუდანი, tr) (c. 1194–1245), a member of the Bagrationi dynasty, ruled as Queen of Georgia in 1223–1245. Life Daughter of King Tamar of Georgia by David Soslan, she succeeded her brother George IV on January 1 ...

Biography

Little is known about Dardin's early life, the reign of Abkhazian princes of the Middle Ages are poorly documented by contemporary Georgian sources. Dardin was member of an influential dynasty in Western Georgia and duke in the Georgian province of Abkhazia, probably in the last years of the

Georgian Golden Age The Georgian Golden Age ( ka, საქართველოს ოქროს ხანა, tr) describes a historical period in the High Middle Ages, spanning from roughly the late 11th to 13th centuries, during which the Kingdom of Georgia reac ...

. In 1243, while Queen

accepted the suzerainty of the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...

, Dardin, along with other Georgian nobles, such as Pharadavla of Akhaltsikhe offered aid to the Seljuk

Sultanate of Rum fa, سلجوقیان روم () , status = , government_type = Hereditary monarchyTriarchy (1249–1254)Diarchy (1257–1262) , year_start = 1077 , year_end = 1308 , p1 = By ...

against the Mongols in 1243. For his courage he had been raised to the position of great honor by the Sultan

Kaykhusraw II Ghiyath al-Din Kaykhusraw ibn Kayqubād or Kaykhusraw II ( fa, غياث الدين كيخسرو بن كيقباد) was the sultan of the Seljuqs of Rûm from 1237 until his death in 1246. He ruled at the time of the Babai uprising and the Mongol ...

, and was appointed as a commander of some 3,000 Georgian

auxiliaries Auxiliaries are support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties such as garrison troops, u ...

at the

Battle of Köse Dağ The Battle of Köse Dağ was fought between the Sultanate of Rum ruled by the Seljuq dynasty and the Mongol Empire on June 26, 1243, at the defile of Köse Dağ, a location between Erzincan and Gümüşhane in modern northeastern Turkey. The M ...

in 1243, where the Seljuk Turks were crushed by the Mongol commander

Bayju Baiju Noyan or Baichu (, , ; in European sources: Bayothnoy; ) was a Mongol commander in Persia, Armenia, Anatolia and Georgia. He was appointed by Ögedei Khan to succeed Chormagan. He was the last direct imperial governor of the Mongol Near Eas ...

. Shervashidze was killed in the action.ВТОРЖЕНИЕ МОНГОЛОВ. АБХАЗЫ-МАМЛЮКИ
The chronicler describes him as a "prominent " and "courageous".

References

Sources

* Claude Cahen, « Köse Dagh » in ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'', P. Bearman et al. (Brill 2007). Nobility of Georgia (country) 13th-century people from Georgia (country) House of Shervashidze 1244 deaths {{Georgia-hist-stub