David II ( ka, დავით II) (1756 – 11 January 1795), 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 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 ...

(western

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

) from 1784 to 1789 and from 1790 to 1791.

Life

He was the son of George IX of Imereti, who had briefly ruled in 1741. After the death of his cousin, King

Solomon I Solomon I the Great, ( ka, სოლომონ I დიდი) (1735 – April 23, 1784), of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was King of Imereti (western Georgia) from 1752 to 1765 and again from 1767 until his death in 1784. Solomon was a son of Ale ...

, he became a regent but prevented the rival princes David (the future king Solomon II) and

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

from being crowned. With the support of Katsia II

Dadiani The House of Dadiani ( ka, დადიანი ), later known as the House of Dadiani- Chikovani, was a Georgian family of nobles, dukes and princes, and a ruling dynasty of the western Georgian province of Mingrelia. The House of Dadiani Th ...

prince of Mingrelia Principalities Princes and dukes of Guria * Kakhaber I Gurieli c. 1385–1410 *Mamia Gurieli c. 1450–1469 *Kakhaber II Gurieli 1469–1483 * Giorgi I Gurieli 1483–1512 *Mamia I Gurieli 1512–1534 *Rostom Gurieli 1534–1564 *Giorgi II Guriel ...

, he seized the throne and proclaimed himself king on May 4, 1784. He attempted to establish a contact with

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

and to restrict the powers of great nobles. In 1787 David sent the poet Besiki ostensibly to negotiate with the Russians (Besiki was rumoured to be the lover of David’s queen). Besiki lingered in the Ukraine until 1789, forbidden to proceed to St Petersburg, and eventually dying in Iaşi. David's policy drew many leading aristocrats, including the Mingrelian prince Grigol Dadiani, into opposition. In 1789, King

Heraclius II of Georgia Heraclius II ( ka, ერეკლე II), also known as Erekle II and The Little Kakhetian ( ka, პატარა კახი ) (7 November 1720 or 7 October 1721 C. ToumanoffHitchins, KeithHeraclius II. ''Encyclopædia Iranica Online edit ...

sent his army into Imereti and helped David-Solomon to expel David II into

Akhaltsikhe Akhaltsikhe ( ka, ახალციხე ), formerly known as Lomsia ( ka, ლომსია), is a small city in Georgia's southwestern region (''mkhare'') of Samtskhe–Javakheti. It is situated on both banks of a small river Potskhovi (a left ...

in the Ottoman-held Georgian province. In 1790, he returned with a Turkish force and deposed Solomon II, but was eventually defeated and fled Imereti. Later, through the mediation of Heraclius, David was allowed to return to Imereti and granted a fiefdom. Between 1792 and 1794, he attempted, with the

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...

mercenaries, to reclaim the crown, but suffered a defeat and withdrew from Imereti. In January 1795, David died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

while in exile at

Family

David married to Ana Orbeliani (1765–1832), daughter of Prince Mamuka Orbeliani. They were the parents of:Rayfield, p. 435 * Princess Tamar (1781 – 7 April 1840), wife of Prince Simon

Eristavi of Guria The House of Guriis Eristavi ( ka, გურიის ერისთავი) or Eristavi of Guria, was a Georgian noble family, a branch of the Shervashidze, dynasts in Abkhazia. Their surname derives from the title of eristavi ("duke") the ...

. * Princess Mzekhatun (1783 – 2 February 1829), wife of Prince Simon Tsereteli (1773–1855). * Princess Marta (born 1784) * Prince Constantine (1789–1844), heir to the throne of Imereti, subsequently major-general of the Russian service. David also had natural children: * Prince Rostom (died 1820), whose son, Vakhtang, rose in revolt against the Russian rule in 1820. * Princess Anastasia (died c. 1818), wife of Prince Davit Agiashvili.

References

Bibliography

English

* Rayfield, D. (2013) Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia,

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, *

David Marshall Lang David Marshall Lang (6 May 1924 – 20 March 1991), was a Professor of Caucasian Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He was one of the most productive British scholars who specialized in Georgian, Armenian and an ...

, ''The Last Years of the Georgian Monarchy, 1658-1832''.

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, 1957.

Georgian

*საქართველოს მეფეები, მ. ლორთქიფანიძისა და რ. მეტრეველის რედაქცია, თბ., ნეკერი, 2000 *შ. ბურჯანაძე, იმერეთის სამეფოს საშინაო პოლიტიკა 1789–1802 წლებში, თბ., 1962 *შ. ბურჯანაძე, იმერეთის სამეფოს პოლიტიკური ისტორიისათვის 1784–1789 წლებში, ხელნაწერთა ინსტიტუტის მოამბე, ტ. II, თბ., 1960 *მ. რეხვიაშვილი, იმერეთის სამეფო 1462–1810 წწ., თბ., 1989 *ქ. ჩხატარაიშვილი, დასავლეთ საქართველო XVIII ს–ის პირველ ნახევარში, სინ, ტ. IV, თბ., 1973 ალ. ხახანაშვილი, მეფე იმერეთისა სოლომონ II, ტფ., 1910 *მ. სურგულაძე, ბაგრატიონთა სამეფო სახლი, გენეალოგიური ტაბულის შემდგენლები მ. სურგულაძე, მ. ქავთარია, თბ., 1975 1756 births 1795 deaths Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Imereti Kings of Imereti 18th-century people from Georgia (country) Deaths from smallpox Eastern Orthodox monarchs Georgian emigrants to the Ottoman Empire {{Georgia-royal-stub