Mikhail, or Hamud Bey, from the
House of Shervashidze
The House of Sharvashidze or Chachba or Shervashidze ( ka, შარვაშიძე-შერვაშიძე-ჩაჩბა) was a Georgian- Abkhazian ruling family of Principality of Abkhazia. The family was later recognized as one of the ...
, or Chachba (died 1866) was the head of state of the
Principality of Abkhazia
The Principality of Abkhazia ( ka, აფხაზეთის სამთავრო, tr) emerged as a separate feudal entity in the 15th-16th centuries, amid the civil wars in the Kingdom of Georgia that concluded with the dissolution of t ...
and reigned from 1823 to 1864.
Mikhail, who was
Orthodox Christian, came to power at a time when Abkhazia had only recently been declared a
protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its int ...
of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
, as a result of the 1810
manifesto of
Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to:
* Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC
* Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus
* Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome
* Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...
. During the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
of 1853–55, Abkhazia was invaded by
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
, and Mikhail was forced to declare his loyalty to Turkey. This came back to haunt him when, in 1864, the Russians accused him of cooperating with Turkey during the war. He was subsequently exiled to
Voronezh
Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...
, in Russia – an act which was vastly unpopular with the Abkhaz people.
Mikhail's
deportation
Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...
, and death not long after, also marked the beginning of the end for Abkhazian
self-governance for the next 140 years. In June 1864, the Princedom was abolished and replaced by the Sukhumi Military Sector. In 1866, a popular uprising declared Mikhail's son
Giorgi Prince, but this was short-lived.
Ancestry
See also
*
Russification
References
*Lak'oba, S. (1999). ''18th century-1917'' in ''The Abkhazians; a handbook''. Curzon Press, Richmond (England).
External links
*
Abkhazia, Mikheil of
Princes of Abkhazia
Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Islam
Abkhazian former Muslims
Year of birth missing
House of Shervashidze
{{Georgia-noble-stub