Mikheil ( ka, მიხეილი; russian: Михаил Георгиевич Грузинский, ''Mikhail Georgiyevich Gruzinsky'') (1783 – 21 November 1862) was a son of

George XII George XII ( ka, გიორგი XII, ''Giorgi XII''), sometimes known as George XIII (November 10, 1746 – December 28, 1800), of the House of Bagrationi, was the second and last King of the Kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti in eastern Georgia from ...

, the last

king of Georgia This is a list of kings and queens regnant of the kingdoms of Georgia before Russian annexation in 1801–1810. For more comprehensive lists, and family trees, of Georgian monarchs and rulers see Lists of Georgian monarchs. Kings of Iberia ...

, by his second marriage to Mariam Tsitsishvili. After the

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 ...

annexation of Georgia in 1801, he departed to

St. 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 ...

, where he spent most of his life.

Biography

Prince Royal (''

batonishvili ''Batonishvili'' ( ka, ბატონიშვილი) (literally "a child of batoni (lord or sovereign)" in Georgian) is a title for royal princes and princesses who descend from the kings of Georgia from the Bagrationi dynasty and is suffixe ...

'') Mikheil was the eldest child of George XII born of his second marriage to Mariam Tsitsishvili. He was born in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

in 1783, when George was still a crown prince and heir apparent to the throne of his reigning father, Heraclius II. During the brief and troubled reign of his father (1798–1800), Mikheil, then in his teens, was involved in organizing the Georgian military. In 1800 the commander of the Russian military mission in Georgia, General Ivan Lazarev, reported that of George XII's children by his second marriage, the 16-year-old Mikheil was "the most promising... by virtue of his age"; he had organized a regular jäger regiment of his age-mates and was then training it in accordance to the Russian military standards. George XII died in December 1800 and the Russian government proceeded with outright annexation of Georgia to the empire. Unlike several of his family members, Mikheil did not try to resist the new regime and acceded to the request from the Russian

tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...

to depart for resettlement in St. Petersburg. On this occasion, Mikheil was granted the

Order of St. Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holst ...

, 1st Class, and an annual pension from the Russian treasury. His loyalty was further appreciated by allowing him to return to his homeland in 1802. Mikheil spent the rest of his life mostly residing in St. Petersburg and provided protection and assistance to the Georgian students, such as

Iona Khelashvili Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: �iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there ...

and Gabriel Kikodze, arriving for education in Russia. He died unmarried and without children at the age of 79 in St. Petersburg in 1862. He was buried at the Intercession Monastery in

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 million ...

Ancestry

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mikheil, Prince of Georgia 1783 births 1862 deaths Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti Georgian princes People from Tbilisi Royalty from Saint Petersburg 18th-century people from Georgia (country) 19th-century people from Georgia (country) Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class