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The Surameli ( ka, სურამელი; pl. სურამელები, ''suramelebi'') were a noble family in the medieval
Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic ...
, with notable members from the 12th century to the 14th. At the height of their influence and prestige in the 13th century, the Surameli were hereditary ''
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 ...
'' ("duke") of
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 ''msakhurt-ukhutsesi'' ("Lord High Chamberlain") of Georgia.


Origin

The origin of the Surameli family has not been fully elucidated. Their surname derives from a territorial epithet, meaning "of/from
Surami Surami ( ka, სურამი) is a small town ('' daba'') in Georgia’s Shida Kartli region with the population of 7,492. It is a popular mountain climatic resort and a home to a medieval fortress. Location Surami is located on the southern ...
", a castle in the central Georgian province of
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 ...
. Based on similarities in personal names and titles, the 19th-century French Orientalist
Marie-Félicité Brosset Marie-Félicité Brosset (24 January 1802 – 3 September 1880) was a French orientalist who specialized in Georgian and Armenian studies. He worked mostly in Russia. Early life and first works Marie-Félicité Brosset was born in Paris int ...
identified the Surameli of the Georgian annals as possible members of the house of Orbeli. This hypothesis has been accepted by
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, ...
, who considers the "Orbelianis of Surami" as the cousins of those Orbeli who, exiled by
George III of Georgia George III ( ka, გიორგი III) (died 27 March 1184), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the 8th King of Georgia from 1156 to 1184. He became king when his father, Demetrius I, died in 1156, which was preceded by his brother's revolt agains ...
in 1177, later established themselves as the princely dynasty of Siunia. An alternative view, more popular in Georgia and first advanced by
Tedo Zhordania Tedo Zhordania ( ka, თედო ჟორდანია; 10 April 1854 – 22 October 1916) was a Georgian historian, philologist, and educator. Born in an Orthodox priest's family in the village of Mokvi, then part of the Russian Empire, Zho ...
in the 1890s, links the Surameli to the family of Pavneli, which first appears in records in a
deed In common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions, sealed. It is commonly associated with transferring ...
given to the Mghvime monastery. The document, traditionally dated to the 9th or 10th century, has recently been redated to 1121.


History

The first known Surameli is Bega or Beka, a companion of the Georgian king George III in his campaign against the
Shaddadids The Shaddadids were a Kurdish Sunni Muslim dynasty. who ruled in various parts of Armenia and Arran from 951 to 1199 AD. They were established in Dvin. Through their long tenure in Armenia, they often intermarried with the Bagratuni royal famil ...
of
Ani Ani ( hy, Անի; grc-gre, Ἄνιον, ''Ánion''; la, Abnicum; tr, Ani) is a ruined medieval Armenian city now situated in Turkey's province of Kars, next to the closed border with Armenia. Between 961 and 1045, it was the capital of the ...
in 1161. Bega's descendants appear, first with his son Rati, as the hereditary ''eristavi'' of Kartli, succeeding to that office on the downfall of the Orbeli clan in 1177. Under King
David VII of Georgia David VII, also known as David Ulu ( ka, დავით VII ულუ) (1215–1270), from the Bagrationi dynasty, was king of Georgia from 1247 to 1270, jointly with his namesake cousin, David VI, from 1247 to 1259, when David VI, revolting f ...
, 1250, Rati's grandson, Grigol, acceded to the dignity of the chief royal chamberlain, which also became hereditary in the family for nearly a century. At their heyday, the Surameli married into other important families of Georgia, such as the
Toreli The Toreli ( ka, თორელი), earlier known as the Gamrekeli (გამრეკელი), were a noble family in medieval Georgia, known from the 10th century and prominent into the 14th. The dynastic name "Toreli" is derived from the te ...
and
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 ...
, and a daughter of Hamada Surameli became a queen consort of Georgia as the second wife of King David VIII c. 1302. Hamada is the last known Surameli to have been in possession of his family's hereditary offices. With him, the house of Surameli virtually disappears from the records. There is only a bypassing reference to a certain Surameli, ''eristavi'' of the mountaineers of the
Aragvi The Aragvi ( ka, არაგვი) and its basin are in Georgia on the southern slopes of the Caucasus Mountains. The river is long, and its basin covers an area of . The ground strata are mostly sandstone, slate, and limestone. The Zhinval ...
valley under George VII c. 1405.


Notable members


Bega I

Bega I Surameli (ბეგა სურამელი; also known as Beka or Beshken) was the first known member of the family, serving under George III during the victorious expedition against the Shaddadid dynasty of Ani in 1161. His service was rewarded by the king with the village of Suelneti in Kartli, which his grandson Sula later donated to the
Kvatakhevi Kvatakhevi ( ka, ქვათახევი) is a medieval Georgian Orthodox monastery in Shida Kartli, Georgia, west of the nation’s capital of Tbilisi. The Kvatakhevi monastic complex is situated near the village Kavtiskhevi at the end of t ...
monastery. Bega's wife Khuashak Tsokali was one of the two female dignitaries who negotiated on behalf of George III's successor, Tamar, a peace deal with the rebellious political faction led by Qutlu Arslan c. 1184.


Rati I

Rati I Surameli (რატი სურამელი), the son of Bega, was the first of the family to have attained to the title of ''eristavi'' of Kartli, apparently after Liparit Orbeli was dispossessed of the rank following the rebellion against George III in 1177. He is first mentioned in a document dated to 1170. Rati is known as a benefactor to the monasteries of Mghvime and
Vardzia Vardzia ( ka, ვარძია ) is a cave monastery site in southern Georgia, excavated from the slopes of the Erusheti Mountain on the left bank of the Kura River, thirty kilometres from Aspindza. The main period of construction was the sec ...
. The church of Dormition in Vardzia was frescoed on Rati's commission and features his fresco depiction alongside those of his royal suzerains, George III and Tamar. Rati was succeeded as the ''eristavi'' of Kartli by his son, Sula (სულა).


Grigol

Grigol Surameli (გრიგოლ სურამელი; died c. 1260), the son and successor of Sula, was prominent in the politics of Georgia during the advent of the Mongol hegemony. He championed the candidacy of
David VII Ulu David VII, also known as David Ulu ( ka, დავით VII ულუ) (1215–1270), from the Bagrationi dynasty, was king of Georgia from 1247 to 1270, jointly with his namesake cousin, David VI, from 1247 to 1259, when David VI, revolting f ...
to the throne of Georgia during the interregnum of 1245–1247 and succeeded to the royal chamberlainship of Georgia on the death of Vahram of Gagi, a nobleman of the Mkhargrdzeli family, c. 1250. He was among the Georgian auxiliaries during the Mongol siege of the
Assassin Assassination is the murder of a prominent or VIP, important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not ha ...
stronghold of
Alamut Alamut ( fa, الموت) is a region in Iran including western and eastern parts in the western edge of the Alborz (Elburz) range, between the dry and barren plain of Qazvin in the south and the densely forested slopes of the Mazandaran provinc ...
in Iran in 1256 and remained loyal to the Mongols even when David VII took up arms against them in 1259. Grigol had a son, Bega II, who succeeded to his titles, and a daughter, Khatuta, who married the chief royal treasurer Kakha Toreli.


Bega II

Bega II Surameli (ბეგა სურამელი; born c. 1225), son of Grigol, was a close associate of
David VI Narin David VI Narin ( ka, დავით VI ნარინი, tr) (also called ''the Clever'') (1225–1293), from the Bagrationi dynasty, was king of Georgia in 1245–1293. From 1259 to 1293, he ruled the kingdom of Imereti under the name David ...
and accompanied him in his travel to the court of the Great Khan to obtain recognition as king of Georgia in 1242. He was active in the politics of Georgia during the diarchy of David VI and David VII from 1247 to 1259 and joined David VI in a revolt from the Mongol overlordship in 1259. On his father's death, Bega defected from David VI, reconciled with the Mongols, and was made by David VII the successor to the titles of his father. According to the Georgian chronicles, the Mongols called him Salin-Beg, that is, "the Good Bega". He was succeeded by his elder son, Hamada. Bega's another son, Rati II, was a companion of
Demetrius II of Georgia Demetrius II the Self-Sacrificer or the Devoted ( ka, დემეტრე II თავდადებული) (1259–12 March 1289) of the Bagrationi dynasty, was king of Georgia in 1270–1289. Life Son of King David VII and his wife G ...
in the Mongol campaigns. Bega also had the third son, Mikel, and a daughter, Khuashak, who married the influential nobleman Bedan Dadiani.


Hamada

Hamada Surameli (ჰამადა სურამელი), a son and successor of Bega II, was a loyal courtier and commander of the king
David VIII of Georgia David VIII (Georgian language, Georgian: დავით VIII; 1273–1311), from the Bagrationi dynasty, was King of Georgia (country), Georgia in 1292–1302 and 1308-1311. Eldest son of Demetre II of Georgia, Demetre II the Self-sacrificing ...
. During the 1290s, he led the struggle against the
Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' *A ...
incursions in Kartli and laid siege to the Alan-occupied Gori, which he was compelled to relieve after the Mongol intervention. Hamada stood by the side of David VIII during the king's rebellion against the Mongols. His daughter, whose name is not recorded in the sources, married David as the second wife, becoming the mother of the short-lived king
George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...
.


Family tree

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Notes


References

* * * * * * *{{cite encyclopedia , last=Toumanoff , first=Cyril , authorlink=Cyril Toumanoff , editor=Hussey J. M. , editor-link=Joan M. Hussey , encyclopedia=The Cambridge Medieval History , title=Armenia and Georgia , year=1966 , publisher=Cambridge University Press , volume=4 , location= Cambridge , oclc=716953 Noble families of Georgia (country) Georgian-language surnames