Tsikhistavi ( ka, ციხისთავი) was a military-administrative official; the governor of

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

s (military administrative building) or small fortified cities and associated suburbs in feudal Georgia Tsikhistavi in

Mtskheta-Mtianeti Mtskheta-Mtianeti ( ka, მცხეთა-მთიანეთი, literally "Mtskheta-Mountain Area") is a region (Mkhare) in eastern Georgia comprising the town of Mtskheta, which serves as a regional capital, together with its district and t ...

were governing since the 6th century. On the eave of the 7th century there were two Tsikhistavis, of Ateni and Mukhrani 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 ...

. At the same time there were two Tsikhistavis in the village of Khada ( Mtiuleti). In the document: "''List of donations of King Bagrat III of Imereti to the

Gelati Monastery Gelati ( ka, გელათის მონასტერი) is a medieval monastic complex near Kutaisi in the Imereti region of western Georgia. One of the first monasteries in Georgia, it was founded in 1106 by King David IV of Georgia as a ...

''" (dated by 1545), the Tsikhistavt-tsikhistavni of

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 ...

and Tsikhistavis of Likht-ameri and Likht-imeri are mentioned. Tsikhistavis ruled cities and their garrisons( ka, ციხოვანნი). For the small towns Thsikhistavi had the same function as an Amirta-amira ( ka, ამირთა-ამირა) in the bigger ones. A Tsikhistavi's and his family rights were determined by Giorgi Brtskinvales codex (14th century). For killing a Tsikhistavi the convicted was penalized by 3500 tetri (tetri was Georgian currency of that period), expatriation for three years and confiscation of the manor. Tsikhistavi's income sometimes was collected in the form of a special tax (

Satsikhistavo The term Satsikhistavo ( ka, საციხისთავო) was used in feudal Georgia to designate a military-administrative unit which was ruled by a Tsikhistavi (a person who was appointed by the King for this position). Later the feudal fa ...

, ka, საციხისთავო). Tsikhistavis subordinated to the Eristavt-eristavi,

Eristavi ''Eristavi'' (; literally, "head of the nation") was a Georgian feudal office, roughly equivalent to the Byzantine ''strategos'' and normally translated into English as "prince" or less commonly as "duke". In the Georgian aristocratic hierarchy, i ...

and Mouravi of a city. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Tsikhistavis sometimes are named as a Minibashi ( ka, მინიბაში).

References

* GSE, (1984) volume 11, page 237,

. * I. Dolidze, Georgian legal monuments, volume 1–3, Tbilis 1963–70 Medieval Georgia (country) Nobility of Georgia (country) Noble titles of Georgia (country) Georgian words and phrases {{Georgia-hist-stub

See also

References