The Principality of

Svaneti Svaneti or Svanetia (Suania in ancient sources; ka, სვანეთი ) is a historic province in the northwestern part of Georgia (country), Georgia. It is inhabited by the Svans, an ethnic subgroup of Georgians. Geography Situated o ...

( ka, სვანეთის სამთავრო, tr) was a small principality ( samtavro) in the

region of the

Greater Caucasus The Greater Caucasus ( az, Böyük Qafqaz, Бөјүк Гафгаз, بيوک قافقاز; ka, დიდი კავკასიონი, ''Didi K’avk’asioni''; russian: Большой Кавказ, ''Bolshoy Kavkaz'', sometimes translat ...

mountains that emerged following the breakup of the Kingdom of Georgia in the late 15th century. It was ruled successively by the houses of

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 ...

and

Dadeshkeliani The Dadeshkeliani or Dadishkeliani ( ka, დადეშქელიანი, დადიშქელიანი) was an aristocratic family from the mountainous western Georgian province of Svaneti. They ruled the Principality of Svaneti from ...

, and was annexed to 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 1858.

Early history

Svaneti lies in northwestern

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 ...

, along two broad upland valleys located to the south of

Mount Elbrus Mount Elbrus ( rus, links=no, Эльбрус, r=Elbrus, p=ɪlʲˈbrus; kbd, Ӏуащхьэмахуэ, 'uaşhəmaxuə; krc, Минги тау, Mingi Taw) is the highest and most prominent peak in Russia and Europe. It is situated in the we ...

– the upper

Enguri River The Enguri ( ka, ენგური, tr, xmf, ინგირი, ingiri, ab, Егры, ''Egry'' russian: Ингури, ''Inguri'') is a river in western Georgia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .Ts'khenis-Ts'k'ali and its tributary, the Kheladula, in the east. In the period of Georgian unity (1008–1463), it was a duchy (

saeristavo Saeristavo ( ka, საერისთავო), in historical and scientific literature with this term is defined a territorial unit in old Georgia, which was ruled by Eristavi (duke). List of the Duchies of Kingdom of Georgia See also * Er ...

) within the Bagratid kingdom of Georgia ruled first by the house of Vardanidze from the late 11th to the 14th century, and then by that of Gelovani which established themselves as virtually independent princes when Georgia fragmented, in the 1460s (officially 1490/1491), into three kingdoms –

Kartli Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...

Kakheti Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region (mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises eigh ...

, and

Imereti Imereti ( Georgian: იმერეთი) is a region of Georgia situated in the central-western part of the republic along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni River. Imereti is the most populous region in Georgia. It consists of 11 munic ...

– and several regional principalities and feudal enclaves. A series of Ottoman invasions and civil wars in western Georgia resulted in a breakdown of communications and the mountainous regions became increasingly isolated. In Svaneti, a medieval feudal system effectively collapsed and once flourishing regional

Georgian Orthodox The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...

culture went in decline to the point of reversal to some pagan practices. The highlanders of Svaneti entrenched themselves in their difficultly accessible villages fortified with chains of defensive towers and were only passively involved in the turmoil that filled Georgia, leading to the relative lack of written records about Svaneti from that period. Their relations with the neighbors on the other side of the Caucasus range, chiefly

Kabarda Grand Principality of Great Kabarda or East Circassia was a historical country in the North Caucasus corresponding partly to the modern Kabardino-Balkaria. It had better political organization than its neighbors and existed as a political commun ...

and

Balkars The Balkars ( krc, Малкъарлыла, Malqarlıla or Таулула, , 'Mountaineers') are a Turkic people of the Caucasus region, one of the titular populations of Kabardino-Balkaria. Their Karachay-Balkar language is of the Ponto-Ca ...

, were often hostile, although trade via mountainous passes and intermarriages among the noble families were also common.

Civil strife and Russian annexation

Between the 17th and 19th centuries, Svaneti fragmented into three political entities. The first, Lower Svaneti in the upper Ts'khenis-Ts'k'ali valley, dominated by the clans of Gelovani and Gardabkhadze, was gradually subjugated by the

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 ...

princes of Mingrelia and came to be known as ''Dadiani Svaneti''. The second, Upper Svaneti, lay along the upper reaches of the Enguri river for whose control the families of Richgviani and

vied. The latter clan emerged as the eventual winners by the 1720s and established their rule on the territory to the west of the Enguri, which henceforth came to be known as ''Dadeshkeliani Svaneti'' (Principality of Svaneti). The communities to the east of the Enguri seceded, however, and organized themselves into a confederation of clans which was deprived of any centralized government and was known as "

Free Svaneti Free Svaneti ( ka, თავისუფალი სვანეთი, ''t'avisup'ali svanet'i''; russian: Вольная Сванетия, ''vol'naya svanetiya'') was a name applied to the self-governing communities of Svans, Svan highlanders, o ...

". In the 1820s, the Principality of Svaneti effectively split into two as a result of a

blood feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one pa ...

between the rival Dadeshkeliani branches. Through the mediation by the princes of Mingrelia, both branches accepted nominal Russian suzerainty in 1833 as did the Free Svanetian communities in 1840. Nevertheless, they continued to run their affairs independently and did not allow Russian officials or church missions into the area until the late 1840s. Continuing dynastic strife among the Dadishkeliani, their defiance to the Russian government, and vacillation during 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 de ...

(1854–1856), however, led to direct Russian intervention. In 1857, Prince Alexander Baryatinsky, Viceroy of the Caucasus, ordered Svaneti to be subdued by armed force. The ruling prince of Svaneti,

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

, chose to negotiate, but was ordered into exile to

Erivan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and in ...

. On a farewell audience in

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 ...

, he quarreled with a local Russian administrator, Alexander Gagarin, and stabbed him to death along with three of his staff. When captured, Constantine was summarily tried by court martial and shot. In 1858, the principality was abolished and converted into a district administered by a Russian-appointed officer (''pristav''). Several members of the Dadeshekeliani family were exiled to the remote Russian provinces and those who remained in Georgia were deprived of their autonomous powers. Constantine Dadeshkeliani, Prince of Svaneti

Constantine Dadeshkeliani, Prince of Svaneti

Rulers

Duchy of Svaneti (X-XV)

* John I * Vakhdang * Bakur * Vardan I * Jinjikh * John II * Vardan II * John III * Baram * Arashiani * Khazhig * Ozbeg * Shamadavla * Abesalom

References

{{Georgia (country) topics

Russian Empire Svaneti States and territories established in the 1460s States and territories disestablished in 1857