Nino ( ka, ნინო; 15 April 1772 – 30 May 1847) was a Georgian

princess royal Princess Royal is a substantive title, title customarily (but not automatically) awarded by British monarchs to their eldest daughters. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal famil ...

('' batonishvili'') as a daughter of

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

George XII of Georgia and princess consort of

Mingrelia Mingrelia or Samegrelo ( ka, სამეგრელო, tr ; ) is a historic province in the western part of Georgia, formerly known as Odishi. It is primarily inhabited by the Mingrelians, a subgroup of Georgians. Geography and climate Mingr ...

as the wife of Grigol Dadiani, Sovereign Prince of Mingrelia. After the death of her husband in 1804, Nino was a regent for her underage son, Levan until 1811, and helped bring Mingrelia and

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

, a neighboring principality of her in-laws, under the hegemony of 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 1811, she retired to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, where she died at the age of 75.

Early life

Princess Nino 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 ( ...

as the sixth child of then-Crown Prince George and his first wife, Ketevan Andronikashvili, in 1772, in the lifetime of her reigning grandfather, Heraclius II of Georgia. In 1791, at the age of 19, Nino was married off to Grigol Dadiani, Prince of Mingrelia. Around the same time, Grigol's sister Mariam wed Nino's cousin,

Solomon II of Imereti. These marriages were intended to cement an alliance of the Georgian potentates which had been concluded through the efforts of Heraclius II's minister Solomon Lionidze in June 1790. The relations between Solomon and Grigol quickly became soured over their territorial disputes and, in the period of 1791–1802, Grigol thrice lost throne to Solomon's protégés. Grigol and Nino sought and obtained the protection from the Russian Empire, which had taken over the kingdom of Nino's late father in 1801 and eyed Imereti. By the treaty of 1 December 1803 Mingrelia became part of the Russian Empire as an autonomous principality. On this occasion, Nino received a sable fur coat and ten '' arshins'' (7.1 m or 23.3 ft) of crimson velvet as the imperial gifts.

Regency

Upon Grigol Dadiani's sudden death on 23 October 1804, Princess Nino became more prominently involved in the politics of Mingrelia. She immediately accused the rival nobles of having poisoned the prince and requested from the Russian commander in Georgia, Prince Pavel Tsitsianov, to have an inquiry into her husband's murder. On 3 November 1804 the Russian government recognized her as the ruler (''pravitselnitsa'') of Mingrelia and confirmed her as a regent until her 12-year-old son Levan would reach 20. Levan had been held since 1802 as a hostage by Kelesh Ahmed-Bey Shervashidze, Prince of Abkhazia, in return for his help to Grigol in the power struggle in Mingrelia. In March 1805 the Russian troops moved into Abkhazia, restored the fort of Anaklia to Mingrelia, and rescued Levan. The regency council under the presidency of Princess Nino also included Prince Niko Dadiani, Bishop Besarion of Chkondidi, the palace majordomo Giorgi Chikovani, and Prince Beri Gelovani, the lord of

Lechkhumi Lechkhumi ( ) is a historic province in northwestern Georgia (country), Georgia which comprises the area along the middle basin of the Rioni river, Rioni and Tskhenistskali and also the Lajanuri river valley. Now part of the Racha-Lechkhumi and K ...

. Nino's relations with Niko Dadiani, a highly influential nobleman, and Beri Gelovani, her in-law, were strained. The opponents accused Nino of political machinations and using the council to further her own ends. Furthermore, she was rumored to have been behind the murder of Prince Grigol, who had been briefly involved with a woman of the Chichua family. These power struggles would continue throughout the period of regency. Princess Nino followed the pro-Russian policy of her late husband. During the Russo-Turkish war of 1806–12, she took command of the Mingrelian troops which joined the Russians in capturing the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

fortress of

Poti Poti ( ka, ფოთი ; Mingrelian language, Mingrelian: ფუთი; Laz language, Laz: ჶაში/Faşi or ფაში/Paşi) is a port city in Georgia (country), Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the mkhare, region of ...

from the Ottoman forces in 1809. In 1810, Nino sent 1,000 soldiers to the aid of her Abkhazian protégé, Sefer Ali-Bey Shervashidze, who deposed his pro-Ottoman brother, Prince Aslan-Bey, and brought Abkhazia under the Russian protectorate.

Retirement to Russia

In 1811, Nino was sidelined from the government of Mingrelia. She was recalled to St. Petersburg, where she was appointed a '' statsdame'' and decorated with the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Catherine. Her younger son, Giorgi, and the Abkhazian heir, Dimitri, accompanied her to the imperial capital and were enlisted in the Cadet Corps for military education. Early in 1820, when Nino was vacationing at

Georgiyevsk Georgiyevsk () () is a historical city of Russia, historical types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located in the North Caucasus on foothills, submontane tableland on the right bank of the Podkumok River (a tri ...

, Giorgi fell under the suspicion of collaborating with the rebels in Imereti, whom his elder brother, Levan, fought in the Russian ranks. Nino was escorted to

Ryazan Ryazan (, ; also Riazan) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 C ...

, but she was later allowed to return to St. Petersburg, where she spent the rest of her life and died on 31 May 1847. She was interred at the Church of St. John Chrysostom,

Alexander Nevsky Lavra Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alexa ...

. Princess Nino's only surviving portrait, produced by an unknown artist during her St. Petersburg years, was purchased in 2010 by the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n entrepreneur Victor Greenwich Dadianov, a scion of the Dadiani dynasty and Honorary Consul-General of Georgia in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, at one of the auctions of Europe, and was presented by him to the Dadiani Palaces Museum in Zugdidi, Georgia.

Children

Prince Grigol and Princess Nino had six children, two sons and four daughters: * Princess Ketevan (born 1792), who married first Manuchar Shervashidze, Prince of Samurzakano (died 1813), and then, in 1823, Rostom-Bey, son of Kelesh Ahmed-Bey Shervashidze, Prince of Abkhazia. A grandson of her first marriage was Prince Giorgi Shervashidze (1847–1918), Governor of Tiflis, known for his persecution of the

doukhobors The Doukhobors ( Canadian spelling) or Dukhobors (; ) are a Spiritual Christian ethnoreligious group of Russian origin. They are known for their pacifism and tradition of oral history, hymn-singing, and verse. They reject the Russian Ortho ...

in 1895. * Prince Levan (1793–1846), Sovereign Prince of Mingrelia (1804–1840). * Princess Mariam (born 1794), who was married firstly to Prince Giorgi Eristavi of Guria and secondly, c. 1810, to Prince Rostom (Tato), son of Beri Gelovani, Lord of Lechkhumi. * Princess Elene (born 1795), who was married firstly to Prince David Gurieli (died 1833), son of Giorgi V Gurieli, and secondly to Prince Giorgi Mikeladze. * Princess Ekaterine (born 1797), who married in 1810 Colonel Prince Beglar (Petre) Jambakur-Orbeliani (1776–1819), son of Prince Zaal Orbeliani. * Prince Giorgi (1798–c. 1851), Major-General of the Russian army. He married, at Ryazan in 1839, Countess Elizaveta Pahlena, daughter of General Count Pavel Pahlen, and had no issue.

Early life

Regency

Retirement to Russia

Children

Ancestry

References

Further reading