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 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 Mingrelia ...

The House of Dadiani

The first data about the family dates back to 1046 AD. Presumably, the Dadiani descended from a certain Dadi, of the House of Vardanisdze. Appointed as hereditary ''eristavi'' (dukes) of Odishi (

Samegrelo 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 Mingrelians ...

) in reward for their military services, the family had become the most powerful feudal house in western Georgia by the 1280's. At that time, the branches of the family governed also

Svaneti Svaneti or Svanetia (Suania in ancient sources; ka, სვანეთი ) is a historic province in the northwestern part of Georgia. It is inhabited by the Svans, an ethnic subgroup of Georgians. Geography Situated on the southern slo ...

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 ...

, and Bedia. In 1542 AD, Duke Levan I Dadiani became hereditary Prince ('' mtavari'') of

and established himself as an independent ruler. His descendant Prince Levan III Dadiani was forced to abdicate in 1691 AD and Dadiani’s relatives from the House of Chikovani, hitherto Princes of Salipartiano, inherited the title of Princes of Mingrelia and the surname of Dadiani. The original dynasty of Dadiani thus went extinct into what genealogists have termed the House of Dadiani-Chikovani. Accepting Russian sovereignty in 1802, the Dadiani were elevated to the dignity of Prince of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the 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 the Great Northern War. T ...

(russian: Дадиани) and enjoyed significant independence in their home affairs. Russia made a de facto annexation of Samegrelo in 1857, but Samegrelo remained nominally in existence until January 4, 1867, when Niko Dadiani, the last Prince of

, was deposed and the principality was abolished. Prince Niko Dadiani officially renounced his rights to the throne in 1868.

Dukes (''eristavi'') and Princes (''mtavari'') of Mingrelia

* Vardan I Dadiani (c. 1180s – 1190s) * Shergil Dadiani (c. 1220s – 1240s) * Vardan II Dadiani (c. 1240s – 1250s) * Tsotne Dadiani (c. 1260s) *

Bedan Dadiani Bedan ( he, בְּדָן ''Bəḏān'') is named as one of the deliverer of Israelites in 1 Samuel 12:11. He is not mentioned elsewhere as a judge of Israel. Bishop Simon Patrick and others (including the Talmud) posit the name to be a contra ...

(c. 1270s – c. 1290s) * Giorgi I Dadiani (c. 1293 – 1323) * Mamia I Dadiani (1323–1345) * Giorgi II Dadiani (1345–1384) * Vameq I Dadiani (1384–1396) * Mamia II Dadiani (1396–1414) * Liparit I Dadiani (1414–1470) * Shamadavle Dadiani (1470–1473) * Vameq II Dadiani (1474–1482) * Liparit II Dadiani (1482–1512) * Mamia III Dadiani (1512–1533) * Levan I Dadiani (1533–1546) * Giorgi III Dadiani (1546–1573, 1574–1582) *

Mamia IV Dadiani Mamia IV Dadiani ( ka, მამია IV დადიანი; died 1590) was Prince of Mingrelia, of the House of Dadiani, from 1573 to 1578 and again from 1582 until his death. He was a younger son of Levan I Dadiani. Mamia Dadiani's career un ...

(1574, 1582–1590) *

Manuchar I Dadiani Manuchar I Dadiani ( ka, მანუჩარ I დადიანი; died 1611) was Prince of Mingrelia, of the House of Dadiani, from 1590 until his death. A younger son of Levan I Dadiani, he succeeded on the death of his elder brother, Mami ...

(1590–1611) * Levan II Dadiani (1611–1657) * Liparit III Dadiani (1657–1658) * Vameq III Dadiani (1658–1661) * Levan III Dadiani (1661–1681) * Levan IV Dadiani (1681–1691) * Giorgi IV Dadiani (Lipartiani) (1700–1704, 1710–1714) * Katsia I Dadiani (1704–1710) * Bezhan I Dadiani (1714–1728) * Otia I Dadiani (1728–1758) * Katsia II Dadiani (1758–1788) * Grigol I Dadiani (1788–1791, 1794–1802, 1802–1804) * Manuchar II Dadiani (1791–1793) * Tariel Dadiani (1793–1794, 1802) * Levan V Dadiani (1804–1840) * David I Dadiani (1840–1853) *

Niko I Dadiani Nikoloz "Niko" Dadiani ( ka, ნიკოლოზ "ნიკო" დადიანი), or Nikolay Davidovich Dadian-Mingrelsky (russian: Николай Давидович Дадиан-Мингрельский; 4 January 1847 – 23 January 190 ...

(1853–1857)

Heads of the Princely House of Mingrelia

(1857–1903) * Niko II Dadiani (1903–1919) *

Shalva Dadiani Shalva Dadiani ( ka, შალვა დადიანი; May 21, 1874 – March 15, 1959) was a Georgian novelist, playwright, and actor. Born in Zestaponi, western Georgia (then Kutais Governorate of Russian Empire), into the family of a wr ...

(1919–1959) * Archil Dadiani (1959–1976) * Niko III Dadiani (1976–present)

Other members of the family

* Mariam Dadiani, a 17th-century princess * Constantine Dadiani, a 19th-century poet and general of Russian army * Andria Dadiani (1850-1910), chess player and tournament patron * Ekaterine Dadiani (1816-1882), Regent Princess of Mingrelia * Salome Dadiani (1848-1913), wife of Prince Achille Murat *

(1874-1959), prominent writer and dramatist * Eleesa Dadiani (born 1988), art gallery owner *

Alex Greenwich Alexander Hart Greenwich (born 28 November 1980) is the member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing the seat of Sydney since the 2012 Sydney by-election. He ran as an independent and was backed by his predecessor, independ ...

(born 1980), Australian politician

References

External links

Dadiani Dynasty
A project by Smithsonian & National Parliamentary Library of Georgia {{Authority control Georgian-language surnames