The Toreli ( ka, თორელი), earlier known as the Gamrekeli (გამრეკელი), were a noble family in medieval
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 ...
, known from the 10th century and prominent into the 14th. The dynastic name "Toreli" is derived from the territorial epithet, literally meaning "of
Tori", a historic district and the family's original fiefdom in south-central Georgia.
The Toreli rose to particular prominence during 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 ...
under
Queen Tamar
Tamar the Great ( ka, თამარ მეფე, tr, lit. "King Tamar") ( 1160 – 18 January 1213) reigned as the Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, presiding over the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. A member of the Bagrationi dynasty ...
(
r. 1178/1184–1213) and her immediate successors,
George IV
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...
(r. 1213–1223) and
Rusudan (r. 1223–1246). They held fiefs in south and central Georgia and, at times, governed the newly conquered north
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
n districts on behalf of the crown. Several members of the family – one of the most important princely houses at that time – occupied important posts in the administration and army, including the dignity of
amirspasalar
''Amirspasalar'' or ''amirspasalari'' ( ka, ამირსპასალარი, from fa, امیر سپه سالار, ) was the commander-in-chief of the medieval Georgian army and one of the highest officials of the Kingdom of Georgia, comm ...
. A senior branch held the hereditary office of
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 hierarchy, i ...
("duke") of
Akhalkalaki
Akhalkalaki ( ka, ახალქალაქი, tr; hy, Ախալքալաք / Նոր-Քաղաք, translit=Axalk’alak’ / Nor-K’aġak’) is a town in Georgia's southern region of Samtskhe–Javakheti and the administrative centre of the Ak ...
, and a junior branch –
Akhaltsikheli {{Short description, Georgian noble family
Akhaltsikheli ( ka, ახალციხელი; pl. ''Akhaltsikhelebi'', ახალციხელები) were a Georgian noble family prominent in the end of the 12th to the mid-13th centuries. T ...
– that of
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 ...
. At one point in the 12th century, the former was briefly surpassed by the latter, whose influence quickly waned after the death of
Shalva
Shalva ( he, שַׁלְוָה, ''lit.'' Security) is a moshav shitufi in southern Israel. Located in the southern Shephelah near Kiryat Gat, it falls under the jurisdiction of Shafir Regional Council. In it had a population of .
History
The mos ...
and Ivane Akhaltsikheli during the
Khwarezmian invasion in 1225.
The Toreli went in gradual decline during the
Mongol hegemony over Georgia in the course of the 13th century. Of the Toreli branches, the longest surviving were the
Javakhishvili
The Javakhishvili ( ka, ჯავახიშვილი) is a Georgian noble family, a branch of the Toreli (თორელი), known from the 10th century.
History
The surname Javakhishvili, literally "son of Javakh", derives from the 14th-c ...
, in
Shida Kartli
Shida Kartli ( ka, შიდა ქართლი, , ; "Inner Kartli") is a landlocked administrative region (''Mkhare'') in eastern Georgia. It comprises a central part of the historical-geographic province of Shida Kartli. With an area of , Sh ...
, eventually confirmed as princes (
knyaz
, or ( Old Church Slavonic: Кнѧзь) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, dependi ...
) 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. ...
in 1850.
Some Georgian historians (such as
S. Kakabadze, N. Shoshiashvili, S. Tsaishvili) have put forward a tentative hypothesis identifying the medieval Georgian epic poet
Shota Rustaveli
Shota Rustaveli ( ka, შოთა რუსთაველი, c. 1160 – after c. 1220), mononymously known simply as Rustaveli, was a medieval Georgian poet. He is considered to be the pre-eminent poet of the Georgian Golden Age and one of th ...
with a member of the Toreli family.
[Natadze, N & Tsaishvili, S (1966), ''Shota Rustaveli and His Poem'', pp. 20–22. Tbilisi: Ganatleba]
References
Noble families of Georgia (country)
Georgian-language surnames
{{Georgia-noble-stub