Nikoloz "Niko" Dadiani ( ka, ნიკოლოზ "ნიკო" დადიანი), or Nikolay Davidovich Dadian-Mingrelsky (russian: Николай Давидович Дадиан-Мингрельский; 4 January 1847 – 23 January 1903), was the last
Prince of Mingrelia from 1853 to 1867. 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 ...
, one of the leading Georgian noble families, he succeeded on the death of his father,
David Dadiani
David Dadiani ( ka, დავით დადიანი; 23 January 1813 – 30 August 1853), of the House of Dadiani, was Prince of Mingrelia, in western Georgia, from 1846 until his death in 1853. A son of Levan V Dadiani, he became ''de fact ...
, but he never ruled in his own right; during his minority, the government was run by
regency
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
presided by his mother,
Princess Ekaterina, and in 1857, Mingrelia was placed under a provisional
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
administration. In 1867, Dadiani formally abdicated the throne and Mingrelia was directly incorporated into the Russian Empire. Dadiani mostly lived in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, being close to the court. He was an officer in the
Imperial Russian Army, distinguished himself in the
Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), and retired with the rank of major-general.
Early life
Niko Dadiani was born in
Zugdidi
Zugdidi ( ka, ზუგდიდი; xmf, ზუგდიდი or ზუგიდი) is a city in the western Georgian historical province of Samegrelo (Mingrelia). It is situated in the north-west of that province. The city is located 318 kil ...
, Mingrelia's capital, in 1847. Niko was six years old in August 1853 when his father died, and he became
Prince of Mingrelia as an autonomous subject of the Russian Empire. With the approval of
Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...
Nicholas I, Niko was placed under the regency of his mother, Princess Ekaterina; the Russian bureaucrat Kornely Borozdin was assigned to him as a tutor. The regency council also included Niko's paternal uncles,
Grigol and
Konstantin
The first name Konstantin () is a derivation from the Latin name ''Constantinus'' ( Constantine) in some European languages, such as Russian and German. As a Christian given name, it refers to the memory of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great ...
.
The Dadiani family's luxurious life in Zugdidi was interrupted by the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
, during the course of which, in 1854, the
Ottoman troops advanced into Mingrelia. The Russian forces temporarily withdrew from the principality; Princess Ekaterina and Prince Niko took refuge in the mountains of
Lechkhumi
Lechkhumi (Georgian language, Georgian: ლეჩხუმი, ''Lečxumi'') is a historic province in northwestern Georgia (country), Georgia which comprises the area along the middle basin of the Rioni river, Rioni and Tskhenistskali and also th ...
, at the monastery of
Tsageri
Tsageri ( ka, ცაგერი, ''Cageri'') is a town in Georgia, located in Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti region in the west of the country and serving as an administrative center of the homonymous district.
Tsageri is located at 475 m abo ...
. After the war, in 1856, the mother and the son repaired to
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
to attend the coronation of Tsar
Alexander II and then followed the imperial family to St. Petersburg. On this occasion, Niko—enlisted at his birth as a
cornet in the
Life Guards Cossack regiment—was made
aide-de-camp to the Tsar and commissioned as a
poruchik in the Life Guards Caucasian Squadron of His Imperial Majesty's Personal Escort.
End of the principality
Niko remained in St. Petersburg, enjoying the favor of the imperial family
even after his mother hurried home due to a peasant revolt in Mingrelia in May 1857. The revolt was exploited by the Russian government as a pretext to recall Princess Ekaterina back to St. Petersburg and to place the hitherto autonomous principality under a provisional Russian administration.
Niko Dadiani was then sent for further education in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. On his return, Niko, persuaded to accept a ''fait accompli'', renounced his hereditary title of
Prince Regnant
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
of Mingrelia on 4 January 1867. With this, Mingrelia was formally annexed directly into the Russian Empire; Dadiani retained his palaces in Zugdidi and Gordi as his personal property. On his abdication, Niko was recompensed with the title of prince (''
knyaz''), one million
roubles
The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union.
, currencies named ''rub ...
, and a major's commission. His mother, brother, and sister were granted a lifetime pension. On 34 August 1874, he received the style and surname of Prince Dadian-Mingrelsky ("Dadiani of Mingrelia").
Army service
In 1875, Prince Dadian-Mingrelsky was transferred to the
Chevalier Guard Regiment
The Chevalier Guard Regiment (russian: Кавалергардский полк, Kavalergardskiy polk) was a Russian heavy cavalry guard regiment, created in 1800 by the reformation of the Chevalier Guard corps, itself created in 1764 by Catherin ...
and saw action as part of the detachment of General
Iosif Gurko
Count Iosif Vladimirovich Romeyko-Gurko (russian: Граф Ио́сиф Влади́мирович Роме́йко-Гурко́, Iósif Vladímirovič Roméjko-Gurkó; — ), also known as Joseph or Ossip Gourko, was a prominent Russian ...
in
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
during the 1877–1878 war with the Ottoman Empire. He was present at storming
Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province.
Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...
,
Kazanlak
Kazanlak ( bg, Казанлък , Thracian and Greek Σευθόπολις (''Seuthopolis''), tr, Kazanlık) is a Bulgarian town in Stara Zagora Province, located in the middle of the plain of the same name, at the foot of the Balkan mountai ...
, and
Shipka Pass
Shipka Pass ( bg, Шипченски проход, ) (el. 1150 m./3820 ft.) is a scenic mountain pass through the Balkan Mountains in Bulgaria. It marks the border between Stara Zagora province and Gabrovo province. The pass connects the t ...
in 1877. For his conduct, Dadiani was awarded the
Order of St. Vladimir
The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptize ...
, 4th Class, with band and a gold sword with the inscription "for courage". He was promoted to colonel on 30 August 1877. After the war, he withdrew to reserves with the promotion to major-general in August 1878 and finally retired from service with a privilege of wearing a uniform in October 1878.
Later years
On the death of Princess Ekaterina in 1882, Niko Dadiani inherited her estates in Mingrelia and became the richest landowner in the Caucasus. He took an interest in the cultural enterprises of his contemporary Georgian intellectuals. In 1885, Dadiani donated his father's rich personal library collection, including old Georgian manuscripts, to the charity
Society for the Spreading of Literacy among Georgians (now in possession of the
National Parliamentary Library of Georgia
The National Parliamentary Library of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პარლამენტის ეროვნული ბიბლიოთეკა, ''sakartvelos p'arlament'is erovnuli bibliotek'a'') is a governmenta ...
). He helped open schools and hospitals to serve the poor in Mingrelia, and supported efforts to promote the Georgian language.
In 1887, Dadiani was nominated by Tsar
Alexander III as a candidate for the vacant
princely throne of Bulgaria after
Alexander of Battenberg
Alexander Joseph ( bg, Александър I Батенберг; 5 April 185717 November 1893), known as Alexander of Battenberg, was the first prince (''knyaz'') of the Principality of Bulgaria from 1879 until his abdication in 1886. The Bulga ...
had been forced to abdicate in September 1886. The Russian nominee was rejected by the Grand Assembly of Bulgaria, and the crown eventually went to the German prince
Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in July 1887.
Niko Dadiani died in St. Petersburg in 1903. He was buried at the Dadiani burial ground at the
Martvili Monastery
Martvili Monastery ( ka, მარტვილის მონასტერი) is a Georgian monastic complex located in the village of Martvili in the Martvili District of the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Province (Mkhare) of Georgia. It sits upon ...
.
Family
Niko Dadiani married, in St. Petersburg, on 14 April 1874, Countess Maria Alexandrovna von
Adlerberg (29 May 1849 – 27 February 1926), daughter of Count Aleksandr von
Adlerberg, who was
Minister of the Imperial Court. They had three children:
* Princess Ekaterina (27 March 1875 – 10 December 1875);
* Prince Nikolay (30 December 1876 – March 1919), Gentleman of the Imperial Bedchamber; he died in a Bolshevik prison hospital at St. Petersburg without issue; His body was released to his fiancée, Princess Elena
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 ...
, who buried him in the garden of a Georgian church in Russia.
* Princess Salomea (1 December 1878 – 3 December 1961), Lady-in-waiting of the Imperial Court of Russia; she was married to Major-General Prince Aleksandr Nikolayevich
Obolensky
{{For, the rural localities in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, Obolenskoye
The House of Obolensky (russian: Оболенский) is the name of a princely Russian family of the Rurik dynasty. The family of aristocrats mostly fled Russia in 1917 during the ...
(1872–1924) and died as an ''emigrée'' at
Asnières-sur-Seine
Asnières-sur-Seine () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies on the left bank of the river Seine, some eight kilometres from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of ...
, France.
Niko Dadiani also had an extramarital daughter, Menik (1880–1954), with his distant relative Princess Kesaria
Chikovani.
She married Prince Andria Davidovich
Gelovani
The House of Gelovani ( ka, გელოვანი) is a Georgian princely family from the lower part of the mountainous province of Svaneti – formerly rulers of Svaneti.
Origin
The family can be traced back to the 11th century: one of the p ...
(1872-1924) and had issue.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niko I Dadiani
1847 births
1903 deaths
People from Zugdidi
19th-century people from Georgia (country)
House of Dadiani
Imperial Russian major generals
Georgian generals in the Imperial Russian Army
Georgian major generals (Imperial Russia)
Nobility from the Russian Empire
Mingrelians
Nobility of Georgia (country)
Russian military personnel of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
Eastern Orthodox monarchs
Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class