Erekle I ( ka, ერეკლე მუხრანაბატონი, ''Erekle Mukhranbatoni''; 29 March 1560 – 1605) was a Georgian nobleman of the

House of Mukhrani The House of Mukhrani is a Georgia (country), Georgian princely family that is a branch of the former royal dynasty of Bagrationi, from which it sprang early in the 16th century, receiving in appanage the domain of Mukhrani, in the Kingdom of Kart ...

, a collateral branch of the royal

Bagrationi dynasty The Bagrationi dynasty (; ) is a royal family, royal dynasty which reigned in Georgia (country), Georgia from the Middle Ages until the early 19th century, being among the oldest extant Christianity, Christian ruling dynasties in the world. In ...

, and Prince or co-Prince ('' batoni'') of

Mukhrani Mukhrani ( ka, მუხრანი, originally Mukhnari ��უხნარი i.e., "oak-grove") is a historical lowland district in eastern Georgia (country), Georgia, currently within the borders of Mtskheta-Mtianeti mkhare, region, north o ...

from 1580 to 1605. Erekle was married to a certain Tamar, with no known issue. Erekle was a son of Archil, a grandson of King Constantine II of Georgia. Traditional genealogies such as that by

Cyril Toumanoff Cyril Leo Toumanoff ( ka, კირილ თუმანოვი; ; 10 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Georgian-American historian, and academic genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armen ...

omit Erekle's tenure as Prince of Mukhrani, instead placing a continuous rule of his cousin, Teimuraz I from 1580 to 1625. During Archil's captivity in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, Erekle lived with his cousins from the ruling Jaqeli family in the

Principality of Samtskhe The Samtskhe-Saatabago or Samtskhe Atabegate ( ka, სამცხე-საათაბაგო), also called the Principality of Samtskhe (სამცხის სამთავრო), was a Georgian feudal principality in Zemo Kartli, rul ...

and fought on their side against the

Shalikashvili The House of Shalikashvili ( ka, შალიკაშვილი, ) is a Georgian noble family, originally from Samtskhe in southwest Georgia. With several notable members from the 16th century to the 20th, their descendants have survived in ...

-led aristocratic revolt in Samtskhe from 1576 to 1578. In May 1578, Erekle returned to the

Kingdom of Kartli The Kingdom of Kartli ( ka, ქართლის სამეფო, tr) was a late medieval and early modern monarchy in eastern Georgia, centred on the province of Kartli, with its capital at Tbilisi. It emerged in the process of a tripar ...

and provided support to Queen Nestan-Darejan, a consort of his exiled cousin, King

Simon I of Kartli Simon I the Great ( ka, სიმონ I დიდი, tr), also known as Svimon ( ka, სვიმონი, tr; 1537 – 1611), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a Georgia (country), Georgian List of monarchs of Georgia, king (''mepe'') of Kingd ...

, who stayed at

Surami Surami ( ka, სურამი) is a small town (''Daba (settlement), daba'') in Georgia (country), Georgia’s Shida Kartli region with a population of 7,492 as of 2014. It is a popular mountain climatic resort and a home to a medieval fortress. ...

. Soon, as the Ottoman army under

Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha Lala Mustafa Pasha ( – 7 August 1580), also known by the additional epithet ''Kara'', was an Ottoman general and Grand Vizier from the Sanjak of Bosnia. Life He was born around 1500, near the Glasinac in Sokolac Plateau in Bosnia to the S ...

marched into the Georgian lands in August 1578, Erekle found himself in the heat of another war as an energetic and locally successful commander.

References

1560 births 1605 deaths House of Mukhrani 16th-century people from Georgia (country) 17th-century people from Georgia (country) {{Georgia-noble-stub