Zurab Aragvis Eristavi ( ka, ზურაბ არაგვის ერისთავი), also known as Sohrab Aragvis Eristavi (b. 1591 — d. 1629), 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 ...

duke (''

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 ...

'') of the

Duchy of Aragvi The Duchy of Aragvi ( ka, არაგვის საერისთავო) was an important fiefdom in medieval and early modern Georgia, strategically located in the upper Aragvi valley, in the foothills of the eastern Greater Caucasus cres ...

(1619—1629), who initially served the

Safavids 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 ...

, and played a leading role in Georgian politics in the first decades of the 17th century. Later, he joined

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 ...

's (Murav Beg) anti-Persian uprising in 1625–26, switched sides to join

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 ...

(Tahmuras Khan) against Saakadze, but was eventually murdered by his new ally.

Biography

Zurab Eristavi was amongst the highest ranking Georgian nobles at the time. He was the son of Nugzar I (1600-1611) and had one older brother named Baadur (Bahadur). In 1619, with the help of the

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 ...

troops and the Safavid-appointed ruler in

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

, Semayun Khan (Simon II), Zurab managed to drive his elder brother Bahadur out of Bazaleti. Receiving further aid from them, he started to conduct raids against the people of

Mtiuleti Mtiuleti ( ka, მთიულეთი; literally, "the land of mountains") is a historical province in eastern Georgia, on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. It primarily comprises the White Aragvi Valley, and is bordered by ...

and the

Khevi Khevi ( ka, ხევი) is a small historical-geographic area in northeastern Georgia. It is included in the modern-day Kazbegi district, Mtskheta-Mtianeti region (mkhare). Located on the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus mountains, it co ...

; he managed to submit these countries, and became notoriously powerful. Through the marriage of his daughter to Giorgi Saakadze, Saakadze had become the son-in-law of Zurab Eristavi. Zurab himself was the son-in-law of Teimuraz I, through his marriage to

Darejan Nestan-Darejan ( ka, ნესტან-დარეჯანი) is a Georgian feminine given name, derived from the Persian ''nest andare jahan'', roughly translated as "the matchless". It occurs in the epic poem by the 12th-century Georgian poe ...

in 1623. When in 1624 Safavid king Abbas I (r. 1588–1629) decided to marry his granddaughter to Semayun Khan, the Safavid ruler of Kartli, Sohrab Eristavi and

Abd-ol-Ghaffar Amilakhori Abd-ol-Ghaffar Amilakhori ( fa, عبدالقفار امیلخوری, translit=Abd-ol-Qaffār Amilakhori, ka, ანდუყაფარ ამილახორი, tr; died ) was an early 17th-century noble from the Georgian Amilakhori family ...

entertained the guests in the third term of the wedding party on the order of Murav Beg. During the

Battle of Martqopi The Battle of Martqopi ( ka, მარტყოფის ბრძოლა) was a 1625 military confrontation between the Georgian Kingdom of Kartli and Safavid Iran. The Georgians, led by general Giorgi Saakadze, annihilated an Iranian detachm ...

, Zurab and Giorgi Saakadze led the Georgian troops. Zurab led a charge with his main forces after

Qarachaqay Khan Qarachaqay Khan ( fa, قرچغای خان; died 1625) was a military commander in Safavid Iran of Armenian origin. He was known for his great collection of porcelain items and loyal service to Shah Abbas I. Qarachaqay Khan was killed while comm ...

and the other Safavid Iranian commanders had been killed by Saakadze and his son Avtandil (supported by his Georgian escorts), which resulted in the virtual annihilation of the leaderless Iranian troops. When in the summer of 1626 the final "rupture" between Teimuraz I and Giorgi Saakadze occurred, Zurab Eristavi joined the side of the Teimuraz. However, in 1630 Zurab was killed on the orders of Teimuraz I, shortly after the king had instigated the duke to murder the Safavid-sponsored ruler of Kartli, Semayun Khan. Zurab was succeeded as duke (''eristavi'') of Aragvi by his younger brother, known by his dynastic name of David I.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{cite book, last1=Tuite, first1=Kevin, title=An anthology of Georgian folk poetry, date=1994, publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, isbn=978-0838635278, page=132 1591 births 1629 deaths 16th-century people from Georgia (country) 17th-century people from Georgia (country) 17th-century people of Safavid Iran Nobility of Georgia (country)