Bagrat ( ka, ბაგრატი) (8 May 1776 – 8 May 1841) was a Georgian royal prince ('' batonishvili'') of the House of Bagrationi and an author. A son of King George XII of Georgia, Bagrat occupied important administrative posts in the last years of the Georgian monarchy, after whose abolition by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in 1801 he entered the imperial civil service. He was known in Russia as the ''

tsarevich Tsarevich (, ) was a title given to the sons of tsars. The female equivalent was ''tsarevna''. Under the 1797 Pauline Laws, Pauline house laws, the title was discontinued and replaced with ''tsesarevich'' for the heir apparent alone. His younger ...

'' Bagrat Georgievich Gruzinsky (). He is the author of works in the history of Georgia,

veterinary medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, medical diagnosis, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all a ...

and economics. Bagrat is the forefather of the surviving descendants of the last kings of Georgia.

Life in Georgia

Bagrat was born in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

into the family of Crown Prince George, the future king George XII, and his first wife Ketevan née Andronikashvili. In 1790, Bagrat, then aged 14, received a princely domain in the Ksani valley after his reigning grandfather, Erekle II, dispossessed the defiant Kvenipneveli dynasty of the duchy of Ksani, dividing it into three parts. Other parts of the duchy were granted to Bagrat's elder brother Ioann and uncle Iulon. In addition, during the reign of his father George XII (1798–1801), Bagrat received

Kakheti Kakheti (; ) is a region of Georgia. Telavi is its administrative center. The region comprises eight administrative districts: Telavi, Gurjaani, Qvareli, Sagarejo, Dedoplistsqaro, Signagi, Lagodekhi and Akhmeta. Kakhetians speak the ...

in possession. Around the same time, he became involved in a dynastic feud among the numerous posterity of Erekle II and George XII. In November 1800, Bagrat was one of the commanders of a combined Russo-Georgian force that defeated the joint invasion by the Avar khan Umma and Bagrat's own paternal half-uncle

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

on the Battle of Niakhura in Kakheti.

Life in Russia

After George XII's death in 1800, the arrival of the Russian rule brought the Bagrationi rule to an end. The members of the Georgian royal family were deprived of their estates and deported to Russia proper. Unlike many of his royal relatives, Bagrat did not take arms against the Russian regime and, in 1803, accepted his exile in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, which he left the day before the city's occupation by the French troops in 1812, and then in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, where he would live until his death. He was made a chamberlain of the Russian tsar

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon from 495 to 454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas, ruler of the Seleucid Empire 150-145 BC * Pope Alex ...

in 1818 and became a Privy Councillor and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

of the empire in 1828. During his life in Russia, Bagrat composed a continuation of the Georgian history written by his brother

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

, covering the period from the middle of the 18th century to the 1840s. He also compiled a list of Georgians fighting in the Russian ranks against

Napoleonic France The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

in 1812. He also authored memoirs and the first Georgian-language book in veterinary medicine, published in St. Petersburg in 1818.

Family

Prince Bagrat was married to Princess Ekaterine (Ketevan) Cholokashvili (1781 – 30 June 1831), a daughter of Prince Durmishkhan Cholokashvili, sometime bailiff (''

mouravi ''Mouravi'' ( ka, მოურავი ) was an administrative and military officer in early modern Georgia, translated into English as seneschal, bailiff, or constable. A ''mouravi'' was an appointed royal official who had a jurisdiction over pa ...

'') of

Pshavi Pshavi ( ka, ფშავი) is a small historic region of northern Georgia (country), Georgia, nowadays part of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti ''mkhare'' ("region"), and lying chiefly among the southern foothills of the Greater Caucasus mountains along t ...

and Khevsureti. She died of

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

in St. Petersburg and was buried at the Smolensky Cemetery. Bagrat and Ekaterina were the parents of ten children, of whom only three reached adulthood: #Prince Spiridon (1800 – died in infancy). #Princess Barbare (Varvara Bagratovna Gruzinskaya) (1804–1870), married Lieutenant-General Prince Dimitri Orbeliani. #Princess Daria (Daria Bagratovna Gruzinskaya) (1808–1809). #Prince Petre (Pyotr Bagratovich Gruzinsky) (1811–1812). #Prince Giorgi (Georgy Bagratovich Gruzinsky) (1812–c. 1816). #Princess Elisabed (Elizaveta Bagratovna Gruzinskaya) (1813–1815). #Prince Nikoloz (Nikolay Bagratovich Gruzinsky) (1816–1833). #Prince Konstantine (Konstantin Bagratovich Gruzinsky) (born 1817). #Prince

(David Bagratovich Gruzinsky) (30 April 1819 – 24 September 1888), an unofficial head of the Georgian royal house (1880–1888). He was married to Anna Alekseyevna Mazurina (11 January 1824 – 10 August 1866), with one son, Spiridon (born 1861). #Prince

(Alexander Bagratovich Gruzinsky) (1820–1865).

Ancestry

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bagrat, son of George XII of Georgia Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti 1776 births 1841 deaths Georgian princes 19th-century historians from Georgia (country) Generals from Georgia (country) Politicians from Georgia (country) Senators of the Russian Empire Writers from Tbilisi Male writers from Georgia (country)