Liparit I Dadiani ( ka, ლიპარიტ I დადიანი; died 1470) was a member of the

House of 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 ...

and ''

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

Odishi Odishi ( ka, ოდიში) was a historical district in western Georgia, the core fiefdom of the former Principality of Mingrelia, with which the name "Odishi" was frequently coterminous. Since the early 19th century, this toponym has been su ...

, latter-day

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 Mingrelian ...

, in western Georgia from 1414 until his death. Under his rule, Mingrelia became largely independent from the disintegrating

Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic ...

in the 1460s. Liparit I Dadiani succeeded on the death of his father, Mamia II Dadiani, in a war with the

Abkhazians Abkhazians (russian: Абхазы), or Abkhazs ( ab, Аԥсуаа, Aṕswaа, ), are a Northwest Caucasian languages, Northwest Caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in Abkhazia, a disputed region on the northeastern coast of the Black Sea. A l ...

in 1414. His accession was confirmed by

Alexander I of Georgia Alexander I the Great (, ''Aleksandre I Didi'') (1386 – between August 26, 1445 and March 7, 1446), of the Bagrationi house, was king of Georgia from 1412 to 1442. Despite his efforts to restore the country from the ruins left by the Turco-Mong ...

, who then moved on to pacify the conflict between the Mingrelian and Abkhazian princes. In the course of Liparit's lengthy rule, Mingrelia was embroiled in a series of internecine conflicts which dealt final blows to Georgia's unity. The civil war subsided, but only briefly, by 1460, when the Italian envoy

Ludovico da Bologna Ludovico da Bologna ( 1431/1454–1479) was an Italian diplomat and churchman. A lay Franciscan, he traveled extensively on diplomatic missions for both the Holy See and various powers, both Christian and Islamic. The overarching goal of his travel ...

acted as an intercessor between the Georgian dynasts to enable their participation in the proposed crusade of

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...

against the Ottoman menace. Among the Eastern Christian princes ready to take up arms, the contemporary Western European documents mention ''Bendia rex Mingreliae'', who is the Liparit I of the Georgian sources; ''Bendia'' being a rendition of ''Bediani'', a territorial epithet of the Dadiani, derived from the canton of Bedia. In 1463, Liparit and other western Georgian dukes joined forces with the Georgian Bagratid prince

Bagrat Bagrat ( hy, Բագրատ, in Western Armenian pronounced Pakrad, ka, ბაგრატ) is a male name popular in Georgia and Armenia. It is derived from the Old Persian ''Bagadāta'', "gift of God". The names of the Armenian Bagratuni and ...

against

George VIII of Georgia George VIII (Georgian: გიორგი VIII, ''Giorgi VIII''; 1417–1476) was the last king of the united Georgia, though his kingdom was already splintered and embroiled in a civil war, from 1446 to 1465. Defeated by his rivals, he was lef ...

, winning a decisive battle at Chikhori. Victorious, Bagrat was crowned

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 ...

, but he had to concede significant autonomy to his allies so that the only duties remaining to be performed by Dadiani were to accompany the king with his army in battle and hunting. Liparit died in 1470. He was survived by two sons: *

Shamadavle Dadiani Shamadavle Dadiani (also Shamandavle or Shamandavla; ka, შამადავლე დადიანი; died 1474) was a member of the House of Dadiani and ''eristavi'' ("duke") of Odishi ( Mingrelia) in western Georgia from 1470 until his deat ...

(died 1474), who succeeded Liparit in Mingrelia; *

Mamia Gurieli Mamia Gurieli ( ka, მამია გურიელი, ) was a member of the House of Dadiani and '' eristavi'' ("duke") of Guria in western Georgia in the latter half of the 15th century. He was the first ruler of Guria styled as Gurieli, after ...

(), Duke of Guria and the founder of the continuous line of

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 ...

References

{{s-end 15th-century people from Georgia (country) 1470 deaths House of Dadiani