Teimuraz I ( ka, თეიმურაზ I მუხრანბატონი, ''T'eimuraz I Mukhranbatoni'') (16 July 1572 – 1 July 1625) was a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

tavadi ''Tavadi'' ( ka, თავადი, "prince", lit. "head/chief" an from ka, თავი ''tavi'', "head", with the prefix of agent ''-di'') was a feudal title in Georgia (country), Georgia first applied in the Late Middle Ages usually trans ...

'' ("prince") of the

House of Mukhrani The House of Mukhrani is a Georgian princely family that is a branch of the former royal dynasty of Bagrationi, from which it sprang early in the 16th century, receiving in appanage the domain of Mukhrani, in the Kingdom of Kartli. The family — ...

, a collateral branch of the royal

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 ...

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 ...

, and Prince ('' Mukhranbatoni'') of

Mukhrani Mukhrani ( ka, მუხრანი, originally Mukhnari ��უხნარი i.e., "oak-grove") is a historical lowland district in eastern Georgia, currently within the borders of Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, north of the town of Mtskheta. It lie ...

from 1580 until his death. At the same time, he was an ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

'' commander of the

Banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

Shida Kartli Shida Kartli ( ka, შიდა ქართლი, , ; "Inner Kartli") is a landlocked administrative region (''Mkhare'') in eastern Georgia. It comprises a central part of the historical-geographic province of Shida Kartli. With an area of , Sh ...

and regent of Kartli, from 1623 to 1625, during the rebellion against

Safavid Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

Iran. Teimuraz was killed at the

battle of Marabda The Battle of Marabda took place on 30 June 1625, or July 1, 1625, "Marabda, Battle of (1625)", in ''Historical Dictionary of Georgia'', by Alexander Mikaberidze (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015) p. 454 "Iranian Conflict 1609-25", in ''Early Modern War ...

against the Iranian punitive army.

Early life

Teimuraz was the eldest son of

Vakhtang I Vakhtang I Gorgasali ( ka, ვახტანგ I გორგასალი, tr; or 443 – 502 or 522), of the Chosroid dynasty, was a king of Kingdom of Iberia (antiquity), Iberia, natively known as Kartli (eastern Georgia (country), Georgia) ...

by his wife, Khvaramze. Vakhtang's other known sons were Kaikhosro (died 3 October 1629) and Bagrat (born 16 July 1572). According to

Cyril Toumanoff Cyril Leo Toumanoff (russian: Кирилл Львович Туманов; 13 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Russian-born Georgian historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armenia, ...

's hypothesis, Teimuraz and Bagrat were the same person, the latter being a name adopted by the prince on his accession to the lordship of Mukhrani. When his father died in 1580, the lordship of Mukhrani passed to the late prince's nephew and Teimuraz's uncle,

Erekle I Heraclius I ( ka, ერეკლე I, Erekle I; ) or Nazar Alī Khān (; ) (1642–1709), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a Georgian monarch who ruled the kingdoms of Kakheti (1675–1676, 1703–1709) and Kartli (1688–1703) under the protect ...

(died 1605), apparently, in the capacity of a regent for the underage Prince Teimuraz. During this period of time, Kartli was a battleground between the rivaling Muslim empires, the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

and the Safavids. In 1582, Mukhrani itself became the scene of a major confrontation in which 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 ...

inflicted defeat on the invading Ottoman army.

War and death

In 1609, Teimuraz was in person present at the

battle of Tashiskari The Battle of Tashiskari ( ka, ტაშისკარის ბრძოლა) was fought between the Georgians and the Ottoman Turks at the village of Tashiskari on June 16, 1609. The Georgians, led by Giorgi Saakadze Giorgi Saakadze the Gr ...

, in which the Kartlians under

Giorgi Saakadze Giorgi Saakadze the Grand Mouravi ( ka, გიორგი სააკაძე) (c. 1570 – October 3, 1629) was a Georgian politician and military commander who played an important but contradictory role in the politics of the early 17th-cent ...

annihilated an Ottoman-allied Crimean Tatar force, saving the young king

Luarsab II of Kartli Luarsab II the Holy Martyr ( ka, ლუარსაბ II) (1592 – 21 June (Julian calendar, O.S.), 1 July (Gregorian calendar, N.S.), 1622), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a List of the Kings of Georgia, king of Kingdom of Kartli (1484-1762), ...

. After the Safavid shah Abbas I militarily subjugated eastern Georgia in 1615, a succession of puppet Muslim rulers was installed to rule Kartli, but their authority was shaky in the areas other than the heavily Iranian-garrisoned capital,

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 ...

, and the districts of

Lower Kartli Kvemo Kartli ( ka, ქვემო ქართლი, az, Aşağı Kartli) or "Lower Kartli", is a historic province and current administrative region (mkhare) in southeastern Georgia. The city of Rustavi is the regional capital. Location Kvem ...

. That vacuum of power was temporarily filled by the nobility of Kartli by appointing Teimuraz as regent in 1623. In 1625, Teimuraz joined an uprising against the Safavid hegemony led by Giorgi Saakadze. Shah Abbas dispatched a large punitive army which clashed with the united forces of Kartlians and

Kakhetians ''kakhelebi'' , image = Georgian dialects.svg , image_caption = , population = , popplace = Kakheti: 271 298 (82,9%) (2014) , pop1 = , languages = Kakhetian dialect of Georgian language , religions = † Georgian Orthodox Chu ...

at Marabda on 1 July 1625. According to the 18th-century chronicler

Prince Vakhushti Vakhushti ( ka, ვახუშტი, tr) (1696–1757) was a Georgian royal prince (''batonishvili''), geographer, historian and cartographer. His principal historical and geographic works, ''Description of the Kingdom of Georgia'' and the ''Geo ...

, Teimuraz was killed while gallantly fighting the enemy. A word spread out that the fallen Teimuraz was King

Teimuraz I of Kakheti Teimuraz I ( ka, თეიმურაზ I) (1589–1663), of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was a Georgian monarch who ruled, with intermissions, as King of Kakheti from 1605 to 1648 and also of Kartli from 1625 to 1633. The eldest son of David I and ...

, turning the Georgians into flight and their initial success into a rout.

Marriage and children

Teimuraz I married Ana (died 1624), daughter of Nugzar, Duke of Aragvi of the

House of Sidamoni The House of Sidamoni ( ka, სიდამონი) was a noble family (tavadi) in Georgia, their principal line known as Aragvis Eristavi (არაგვის ერისთავი) by virtue of being eristavi (“dukes”) of Aragvi from 1 ...

. They had six children: * Vakhtang V (1618–1675), adopted son of King Rostom and his successor to the throne of Kartli. *

Constantine I Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...

(fl. 1622 – 1667), Prince of Mukhrani. * Archil (fl. 1637). * Erakle (fl. 1676). * Davit (fl. 1631). * Luarsab (died 1629). * Darejan, who was married to Prince Kaikhosro

Baratashvili Baratashvili ( ka, ბარათაშვილი) is a Georgian noble family, appearing at the end of the 15th century as a continuation of the Kachibadze (ქაჩიბაძე), which were possibly related to the Liparitids-Orbeli. The s ...

, a high courtier killed on the order of King Rostom in 1647.

References

{{s-end 1572 births 1625 deaths House of Mukhrani Regents of Georgia 16th-century people from Georgia (country) 17th-century people from Georgia (country)