Rostom ( ka, როსტომი) (1571–1605), of the

Bagrationi Dynasty The Bagrationi dynasty (; ) is a royal dynasty which reigned in Georgia from the Middle Ages until the early 19th century, being among the oldest extant Christian ruling dynasties in the world. In modern usage, the name of the dynasty is sometim ...

, was a

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 ...

in the periods of 1588–1589 and 1590–1605. A son of

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 ...

, sometime claimant to the crown of Imereti, he was raised to the throne through the support of Mamia IV Dadiani, prince of

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 ...

, who had deposed King Leon of Imereti in 1588. Rostom’s authority was defied, however, by his ostensible vassal

Giorgi II Gurieli Giorgi II Gurieli ( ka, გიორგი II გურიელი; died 1600), of the House of Gurieli, was Prince of Guria from 1564 to 1583 and again from 1587 to 1600. Succeeding on the death of his father Rostom Gurieli, Giorgi's rule over hi ...

, prince of

Guria Guria ( ka, გურია) is a region (''mkhare'') in Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 113,000 (2016), with Ozurgeti as the regional capital. Geography ...

, who employed an Ottoman force to dethrone the king in favor of Rostom’s relative Bagrat IV. Rostom fled to Mingrelia, from where he continued struggle for the crown. The eastern Georgian king

Simon I of Kartli Simon I the Great ( ka, სიმონ I დიდი), also known as Svimon ( ka, სვიმონი) (1537–1611), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a Georgian king of Kartli from 1556 to 1569 and again from 1578 to 1599. His first tenure wa ...

exploited the situation and brought most of Imereti under his control. Rostom fled to Mingrelia, with

Manuchar I Dadiani Manuchar I Dadiani ( ka, მანუჩარ I დადიანი; died 1611) was Prince of Mingrelia, of the House of Dadiani, from 1590 until his death. A younger son of Levan I Dadiani, he succeeded on the death of his elder brother, Mami ...

, who rejected Simon's ultimatum and moved into Imereti. He defeated Simon at Opshkviti and ousted him from Imereti in 1590.

Suny, Ronald Grigor Ronald Grigor Suny (born September 25, 1940) is an American historian and political scientist. Suny is the William H. Sewell Jr. Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Michigan and served as director of the Eisenberg In ...

(1994), ''The Making of the Georgian Nation: 2nd edition'', p. 49.

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes 140 ...

, Rostom was reinstated as king of Imereti and made peace with Simon. His authority was largely nominal though, and the power was effectively held by an aristocratic élite, notably by the prince of Mingrelia. Rostom died childless in 1605 and was succeeded by his half-brother

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

References

* Вахушти Багратиони (Vakhushti Bagrationi) (1745)
История Царства Грузинского: Жизнь Имерети
1571 births 1605 deaths Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Imereti Kings of Imereti Eastern Orthodox monarchs {{Georgia-royal-stub