Simon I Gurieli (also Svimon; ka, სიმონ ��ვიმონI გურიელი, 1606 – ), of the

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 ...

, was

Prince of Guria The Principality of Guria ( ka, გურიის სამთავრო, tr) was a historical state in Georgia. Centered on modern-day Guria, a southwestern region in Georgia, it was located between the Black Sea and Lesser Caucasus, and was r ...

from 1625 to 1626. He acceded to power in Guria, a small principality in southwest Georgia, after having murdered his father,

Mamia II Gurieli Mamia II Gurieli (-1625/1627) is a 17th-century Georgian prince that ruled over the Principality of Guria in Western Georgia. Son of Prince George II, he succeeded his father in 1600 after spending a decade as head of Gurian troops. As Prince, he ...

, and was dethroned and blinded by his brother-in-law

Levan II Dadiani Levan II Dadiani (also Leon; ka, ლევან ��ეონII დადიანი; 1597-1657) was a member of the House of Dadiani and ruler of the Principality of Mingrelia in western Georgia. Levan grew up in Kakheti under his grandfather ...

Prince of Mingrelia Principalities Princes and dukes of Guria * Kakhaber I Gurieli c. 1385–1410 *Mamia Gurieli c. 1450–1469 *Kakhaber II Gurieli 1469–1483 * Giorgi I Gurieli 1483–1512 *Mamia I Gurieli 1512–1534 *Rostom Gurieli 1534–1564 *Giorgi II Guriel ...

. Simon thereafter became a monk and retired to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Reign

Simon was a son of

, Prince of Guria, by his wife Tinatin Jaqeli. In 1625, Simon murdered his father while sleeping and seized the princely throne of Guria. He sought redemption in making donations to the

Achi Monastery The Achi Monastery of St. George ( ka, აჭის წმ. გიორგის სახელობის მონასტერი) is a medieval Georgian Orthodox church near the village of Achi in Georgia's southwestern region of Guria, 9 ...

. On his accession, Simon quickly came into conflict with Levan II Dadiani of Mingrelia, whose sister Mariam he had married in 1621. Dadiani's political ambitions and territorial expansionism was a source of concern for the Gurieli. Simon released Levan Dadiani's disgraced

vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was a ...

Paata "Tsutski" Tsulukidze, who had been handed by Dadiani to Mamia Gurieli for custody. Tsulukidze and Gurieli plotted Levan's murder, but Dadiani survived their Abkhaz assassin and had Tsulukidze strangled and quartered, firing the remains from a cannon. Thereafter, he exploited the patricide committed by Simon as a

casus belli A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one b ...

and invaded Guria. Simon resisted, but was defeated at

Lanchkhuti Lanchkhuti ( ka, ლანჩხუთი) is a city in western Georgian region of Guria. It has a population of about 8,000. Lanchkhuti received city status in 1961. Under the USSR, it was the centre of the Georgian SSR Lanchkhuti area and today ...

and made prisoner. Dadiani had him blinded and replaced with his client,

Kaikhosro I Gurieli Kaikhosro I Gurieli ( ka, ქაიხოსრო I გურიელი; died 1660), of the House of Gurieli, was Principality of Guria, Prince of Guria from 1626 to 1658. He was installed by Levan II Dadiani, Principality of Mingrelia, Prince of ...

. Simon's wife and son were taken to Mingrelia.

Retirement

Having lost his throne, sight, and family, Simon, once freed from captivity, retired to Jerusalem and became a monk there. He stayed in touch with his former wife, who went on to become queen-consort of

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 role ...

as the wife of two successive kings, Rostom and Shah-Nawaz. Simon was still alive and residing in Georgia in 1672, when the Frenchman

Jean Chardin Jean Chardin (16 November 1643 – 5 January 1713), born Jean-Baptiste Chardin, and also known as Sir John Chardin, was a French jeweller and traveller whose ten-volume book ''The Travels of Sir John Chardin'' is regarded as one of the finest ...

was travelling in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

. According to Chardin, Mariam hosted her seasoned and frail ex-husband at the border with

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 gave him some means to survive. King Shah-Nawaz was jealous but Mariam dismissed his concerns with laughter, asking "whether he were not asham'd to be jealous of a poor, old, blind, miserable creature, and altogether as impotent as himself."

Family

Simon Gurieli had two known sons: *

Demetre Gurieli Demetre Gurieli ( ka, დემეტრე გურიელი, died ), of the House of Gurieli, was Prince of Guria from 1658 to 1668 and King of Imereti from 1663 to 1664. His rule in Guria as well as in Imereti were result of coups and part o ...

(died 1664/1668), Prince of Guria (1659–1664), King of Imereti (1663–1664); * Otia (died 1645), who followed his mother Mariam in Kartli and died there.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon 01 Gurieli 1606 births 1672 deaths House of Gurieli 17th-century people from Georgia (country) Blind royalty and nobility