Erekle I ( ka, ერეკლე მუხრანაბატონი, ''Erekle Mukhranbatoni''; 29 March 1560 – 1605) 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 ...

nobleman of the

House of Mukhrani The House of Mukhrani is a Georgian princely family that is a branch of the former royal dynasty of Bagrationi, from which it sprang early in the 16th century, receiving in appanage the domain of Mukhrani, in the Kingdom of Kartli. The family — ...

, a collateral branch of the royal

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 ...

, and Prince or co-Prince ('' batoni'') of

Mukhrani Mukhrani ( ka, მუხრანი, originally Mukhnari ��უხნარი i.e., "oak-grove") is a historical lowland district in eastern Georgia, currently within the borders of Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, north of the town of Mtskheta. It lie ...

from 1580 to 1605. Erekle was married to a certain Tamar, with no known issue. Erekle was a son of Archil, a grandson of King

Constantine II of Georgia Constantine II ( ka, კონსტანტინე II, tr) (c. 1447 – 1505), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a 23rd king and last of United Georgia from 1478 until his death. Early in the 1490s, he had to recognise the independence of h ...

. Traditional genealogies such as that by

Cyril Toumanoff Cyril Leo Toumanoff (russian: Кирилл Львович Туманов; 13 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Russian-born Georgian historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armenia, ...

omit Erekle's tenure as Prince of Mukhrani, instead placing a continuous rule of his cousin, Teimuraz I from 1580 to 1625. During Archil's captivity in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, Erekle lived with his cousins from the ruling

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 ...

family in the

Principality of Samtskhe The Samtskhe-Saatabago or Samtskhe Atabegate ( ka, სამცხე-საათაბაგო), also called the Principality of Samtskhe (სამცხის სამთავრო), was a Georgian feudal principality in Zemo Kartli, ru ...

and fought on their side against the

Shalikashvili The Shalikashvili ( ka, შალიკაშვილი, ) is a Georgian noble family, originally from Samtskhe in southwest Georgia. With several notable members from the 16th century to the 20th, their descendants have survived in the United S ...

-led aristocratic revolt in Samtskhe from 1576 to 1578. In May 1578, Erekle returned to the

Kingdom of Kartli The Kingdom of Kartli ( ka, ქართლის სამეფო, tr) was a late medieval/ early modern monarchy in eastern Georgia, centred on the province of Kartli, with its capital at Tbilisi. It emerged in the process of a triparti ...

and provided support to Queen Nestan-Darejan, a consort of his exiled cousin, King

Simon I of Kartli Simon I the Great ( ka, სიმონ I დიდი), also known as Svimon ( ka, სვიმონი) (1537–1611), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a Georgian king of Kartli from 1556 to 1569 and again from 1578 to 1599. His first tenure wa ...

, who stayed at

Surami Surami ( ka, სურამი) is a small town ('' daba'') in Georgia’s Shida Kartli region with the population of 7,492. It is a popular mountain climatic resort and a home to a medieval fortress. Location Surami is located on the southern ...

. Soon, as the Ottoman army under

Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha Lala Mustafa Pasha ( – 7 August 1580), also known by the additional epithet ''Kara'', was an Ottoman Bosnian general and Grand Vizier from the Sanjak of Bosnia. Life He was born around 1500, near the Glasinac in Sokolac Plateau in Bosnia ...

marched into the Georgian lands in August 1578, Erekle found himself in the heat of another war as an energetic and locally successful commander.

References

1560 births 1605 deaths House of Mukhrani 16th-century people from Georgia (country) 17th-century people from Georgia (country) {{Georgia-noble-stub