The House of Vardanisdze ( ka, ვარდანისძე) was an aristocratic family in

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, listed among the Great Nobles ('' didebuli'') of the realm. The family is presumed to have branched off from another eminent Georgian feudal clan of the Marushisdze, a hypothesis supported by the abundance of the name Marushiani in the Vardanisdze family. The first attested member and arguably a founder of the family is Vardan,

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 hierarch ...

of the Svans, in the latter half of the 11th century. The dignity of

(or

eristavt-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, ...

) of the Svans was hereditary in his descendants later known as Vardanisdze (''Vardan'' + -''dze'', "a son"). They also held various important posts at the Georgian royal court, including '' mechurchlet-ukhutsesi'' (

Lord High Treasurer The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in ...

), ''msakhurt-ukhutsesi'' ( Lord Great Chamberlain) and ''mandaturt-ukhutsesi'' (Lord High Mandator) of Likht-Imereti (i.e., west Georgia). The family gave origin to two important branches, the

Dadiani The House of Dadiani ( ka, დადიანი ), later known as the House of Dadiani- Chikovani, was a Georgian family of nobles, dukes and princes, and a ruling dynasty of the western Georgian province of Mingrelia. The House of Dadiani Th ...

of Mingrelia, and the

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 dynast ...

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 ...

while in Svaneti they were replaced by the House of

Gelovani The House of Gelovani ( ka, გელოვანი) is a Georgian princely family from the lower part of the mountainous province of Svaneti – formerly rulers of Svaneti. Origin The family can be traced back to the 11th century: one of the p ...

.ნ. შოშიაშვილი (N. Shoshiashvili), "ვარდანისძენი" (''The Vardanisdze''). ქართული საბჭოთა ენციკლოპედია (''Encyclopaedia Georgiana''), Vol. 4: p. 299. Tbilisi, 1979.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vardanisdze, House Of Families of Georgia (country) Noble families of Georgia (country)