George IV Gurieli ( ka, გიორგი IV გურიელი) (died 1726), of the
House of Gurieli
The House of Gurieli () was a Georgian princely (''mtavari'') family and a ruling dynasty (dukes) of the southwestern Georgian province of Guria, which was autonomous and later, for a few centuries, independent. A few ducal rulers of the dynasty ...
, was
Prince of Guria
The Principality of Guria ( ka, გურიის სამთავრო, tr) was a historical state in Georgia. Centered on modern-day Guria, a southwestern region in Georgia, it was located between the Black Sea and Lesser Caucasus, and was r ...
from 1711 to 1726, and a
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 ...
in 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 ...
in 1716. He was installed as regent of Guria by his father,
Mamia III Gurieli
Mamia III Gurieli ( ka, მამია III გურიელი), also known as Mamia the Great Gurieli (დიდი გურიელი, ''Didi Gurieli'') or the Black Gurieli (შავი გურიელი, ''Shavi Gurieli'') (died 5 J ...
, then the king of Imereti, in 1712. In 1716, he seized the crown of Imereti, but was forced to abandon the enterprise later that year. Returning to Guria, his rule was challenged by a faction of local nobility, which included his mother Elene and brother
Kaikhosro III Gurieli
Kaikhosro III Gurieli ( ka, ქაიხოსრო III გურიელი; died ) was a member of the Georgian family of Gurieli, a princely dynasty of Guria. He was briefly Prince-regnant of Guria as a rival to his brother Giorgi IV Gurieli ...
. He was finally able to crush the opposition after making peace with
Bezhan Dadiani Bezhan Dadiani ( ka, ბეჟან დადიანი; died 1728), of the House of Dadiani, was Prince of Mingrelia from 1715 to 1728. He acceded to power in a coup against his own father, Giorgi IV Dadiani, and came to dominate western Georg ...
,
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 ...
.
Early rule
Giorgi was the eldest son of
Mamia III Gurieli
Mamia III Gurieli ( ka, მამია III გურიელი), also known as Mamia the Great Gurieli (დიდი გურიელი, ''Didi Gurieli'') or the Black Gurieli (შავი გურიელი, ''Shavi Gurieli'') (died 5 J ...
, Prince of Guria, and Elene, daughter of Prince Giorgi Abashidze. When Mamia seized the throne of Imereti in October 1712, Giorgi was made by his father as regent of Guria to the opposition of his younger brother, Levan. On Mamia's death on 5 January 1714, Giorgi Gurieli became prince-regnant. In 1716, the Imeretian opposition led by
Bezhan Dadiani Bezhan Dadiani ( ka, ბეჟან დადიანი; died 1728), of the House of Dadiani, was Prince of Mingrelia from 1715 to 1728. He acceded to power in a coup against his own father, Giorgi IV Dadiani, and came to dominate western Georg ...
,
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 ...
, and Prince Zurab Abashidze invited the Ottoman troops in their successful bid to depose King
Giorgi VII of Imereti, the late Mamia Gurieli's rival, and crowned Giorgi Gurieli as king at
Kutaisi
Kutaisi (, ka, ქუთაისი ) is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the third-most populous city in Georgia, traditionally, second in importance, after the capital city of Tbilisi. Situated west of Tbilis ...
. His reign lasted for only three months; the dethroned king Giorgi VII's
Rachian supporters ambushed and looted Gurieli's treasure, bound to Kutaisi, at Salominao, while a Gurian escort were captured and sold in slavery. The alarmed Gurieli fled Kutaisi back to Guria, while Imereti was divided by Dadiani, Abashidze, and the duke of Racha.
Coup in Guria
Back in his native principality, Giorgi Gurieli faced a coup engineered by his own mother, Elene, on whose instigation Dadiani, Abashidze, and the duke of Racha intervened with their troops to expel Giorgi and replace him with his younger brother,
Kaikhosro III Gurieli
Kaikhosro III Gurieli ( ka, ქაიხოსრო III გურიელი; died ) was a member of the Georgian family of Gurieli, a princely dynasty of Guria. He was briefly Prince-regnant of Guria as a rival to his brother Giorgi IV Gurieli ...
, the unfrocked monk and Elene's favorite son. Giorgi fled to
Akhlatsikhe under the protection of an Ottoman pasha. There he met his exiled predecessor as king of Imereti, Giorgi VII, who married Gurieli's sister Tamar. Akhaltsikhe's own power struggle deprived the two Giorgis of any meaningful support. Gurieli moved to
Erzurum
Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010.
The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...
and, with the troops provided by the local pasha, quickly reconquered Guria, forcing his mother and brothers into exile.
The leading nobles of Guria, such as
Eristavi
''Eristavi'' (; literally, "head of the nation") was a Georgian feudal office, roughly equivalent to the Byzantine '' strategos'' and normally translated into English as "prince" or less commonly as "duke". In the Georgian aristocratic hierarch ...
and Bezhan Nakashidze did not welcome Giorgi's comeback and invoked Bezhan Dadiani's military aid to put Gurieli into flight to
Batumi
Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of th ...
. Dadiani looted Guria and left. Gurieli was able to resume his reign and made peace with Dadiani. He then moved against his estranged nobles, expelled Eristavi, and took away Giorgi Nakashidze's wife, a daughter of Dadiani, as his own mate with her father's consent. Giorgi Gurieli died in 1726. He was succeeded by his son,
Mamia IV Gurieli Mamia IV Gurieli ( ka, მამია IV გურიელი) (died 1778 or 1784), of the western Georgian House of Gurieli, was Prince of Guria from 1726 to 1756 and again from 1758 to 1765 and from 1771 to 1776. Intermissions of his rule was th ...
.
Family
Giorgi Gurieli was married twice, first to Elene (Mariam), daughter of
Prince Abashidze or, according to
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, ...
, of Giorgi Shervashidze, Eristavi of Guria. After the couple's divorce in 1717, Giorgi married Khvaramze, daughter of
Bezhan Dadiani Bezhan Dadiani ( ka, ბეჟან დადიანი; died 1728), of the House of Dadiani, was Prince of Mingrelia from 1715 to 1728. He acceded to power in a coup against his own father, Giorgi IV Dadiani, and came to dominate western Georg ...
and former wife of Prince
Giorgi Nakashidze. After Gurieli's death, Khvaramze married
Shoshita III,
Duke of Racha. Giorgi had two sons:
*
Mamia IV Gurieli Mamia IV Gurieli ( ka, მამია IV გურიელი) (died 1778 or 1784), of the western Georgian House of Gurieli, was Prince of Guria from 1726 to 1756 and again from 1758 to 1765 and from 1771 to 1776. Intermissions of his rule was th ...
*
Giorgi V Gurieli Giorgi V Gurieli ( ka, გიორგი V გურიელი) (), of the western Georgian House of Gurieli, was Prince of Guria from 1756 to 1758 and again from 1765 to 1771 and from 1776 to 1788.
Biography
Giorgi was a son of Giorgi IV Gur ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giorgi 04 Gurieli
1726 deaths
Kings of Imereti
Year of birth unknown
House of Gurieli
Eastern Orthodox monarchs
18th-century people from Georgia (country)