| Bagrationi ბაგრატიონი | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms ofPrince Vakhtang-Almaskhan of Georgia atAlexander Nevsky Lavra | |
| Country | Georgia |
| Current head | disputed |
| Final ruler | George XII andPrince David Bagrationi inKartli-Kakheti Solomon II inImereti |
| Style(s) | see list |
| Deposition | 1801 in Kartli-Kakheti 1810 in Imereti |
| Cadet branches | Mukhrani Gruzinsky Davitishvili Imeretinsky |
TheBagrationi dynasty (/bʌɡrʌtiˈɒni/;Georgian:ბაგრატიონი,romanized: bagrat'ioni;[ˈbäɡɾätʼio̞n̪i]) is aroyaldynasty which reigned inGeorgia from theMiddle Ages until the early 19th century, being among the oldest extantChristian ruling dynasties in the world. In modern usage, the name of the dynasty is sometimesHellenized and referred to as theGeorgian Bagratids, also known in English as theBagrations.
Theorigins of the dynasty are disputed but most scholars agree that the dynasty shares them with the ArmenianBagratuni dynasty. The early Georgian Bagratids gained thePrincipality of Iberia throughdynastic marriage after succeeding theChosroid dynasty at the end of the 8th century. In 888Adarnase IV of Iberia restored the Georgian monarchy; variousnative polities then united into theKingdom of Georgia, which prospered from the 11th to the 13th century. This period of time, particularly the reigns ofDavid IV the Builder (1089–1125) and of his great-granddaughterTamar the Great (1184–1213) inaugurated theGeorgian Golden Age in the history of Georgia.[1]
Afterfragmentation of the unified Kingdom of Georgia in the late 15th century, the branches of the Bagrationi dynasty ruled the three breakaway Georgian kingdoms, theKingdom of Kartli, theKingdom of Kakheti, and theKingdom of Imereti, untilRussian annexation in the early-19th century.[1] While the 3rd article of the 1783Treaty of Georgievsk guaranteed continued sovereignty for the Bagrationi dynasty and their continued presence on the Georgian throne, the Russian Empire later broke the terms of the treaty and fully annexed the protectorate.[2] The dynasty persisted within the Russian Empire as an Imperial Russian noble family until the 1917February Revolution. The establishment ofSovietrule in Georgia in 1921 forced some members of the family to accept demoted status and loss of property in Georgia. Other members relocated toWestern Europe,[1] but some Bagrationsrepatriated afterGeorgia regained independence in 1991.
The earliest Georgian forms of the dynastic name areBagratoniani,Bagratuniani[3] andBagratovani, changed subsequently into Bagrationi. These names as well as theArmenianBagratuni and the modern designationBagratid mean "the children ofBagrat" or "the house of/established by Bagrat", Bagrat being a given name ofIranian origin.[4] The origins of the Bagratid dynasty is still matter of debate between Georgian and Armenian scholars. Georgian scholars argue that the Bagrationis were of Georgian origin, while Armenian and Western scholars believe them to be a branch of the ArmenianBagratunis.[5]
According to a tradition first recorded in the work of the 11th-century Georgian chroniclerSumbat Davitis-Dze[6] and repeated much later by PrinceVakhushti Bagrationi (1696–1757), the dynasty claimed descent from thebiblicalking andprophetDavid and came fromIsrael around 530AD. The tradition had it that of seven refugee brothers of theDavidic line, three of them settled inArmenia and the other four arrived inKartli (also known asIberia), where they intermarried with the local ruling houses and acquired some lands in hereditary possession, with one of the four brothers, Guaram (died in 532), founding a line subsequently calledBagrationi after his son Bagrat. A successor,Guaram, was installed as a presiding prince of Iberia under theByzantine protectorate, receiving on this occasion theByzantine court title ofKouropalates[a] in 575.[8] Thus, according to this version, began the dynasty of the Bagrationis, who ruled until 1801.[9]
This tradition enjoyed a general acceptance until the early 20th century.[10] TheJewish origin, let alone the biblical descent, of the Bagratids has been discounted by modern scholarship.Cyril Toumanoff's research concluded that the Georgian Bagratids branched out of theArmenian Bagratid dynasty in the person ofAdarnase, whose father Vasak (son ofAshot III the Blind, presiding prince of Armenia from 732 to 748) passed to Kartli following anabortive uprising against Arab rule in 775. Adarnase’s son,Ashot I, acquired thePrincipality of Iberia in 813 and thus founded the last royal house of Georgia. Accordingly, the legend of theDavidic origin of the Georgian Bagratids was a further development of the earlier claim entertained by the Armenian dynasty, as given in the work of the Armenian authorMoses of Khorene.[10] Once the Georgian branch, which had quickly acculturated in the new environment,[11] assumed royal power, the myth of their biblical origin helped to maintain their legitimacy and became a major ideological pillar of their millennium-long rule of Georgia.[12]
The generation-by-generation history of the Bagrationi dynasty begins only in the late 8th century.[1] Toumanoff claimed that the first Georgian branch of the Bagratids may be traced as far back as the 2nd century AD, when they were said to rule over the princedom ofOdzrkhe in what is now southern Georgia.[13] The Odzrkhe line, known in the medieval annals as the Bivritianis, lasted until the 5th century AD. They cannot, however, be considered the direct ancestors of the later Bagratids who eventually restored Georgian royal authority.[14]Pavle Ingorokva suggested that the Bagrations were a branch of thePharnavazid dynasty of theKingdom of Iberia.[15][16]
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The Bagrationi family had grown in prominence by the time the Georgian monarchy (Caucasian Iberia) fell to theSassanid Persian Empire in the 6th century, and the leading local princely families were exhausted byArab attacks. The rise of the new dynasty was made possible by the extinction of theGuaramids and the near-extinction of theChosroids,[17] the two earlier dynasties of Iberia with whom the Bagratids extensively intermarried, and also by theAbbasid preoccupation with their own civil wars and conflict with theByzantine Empire. Although Arab rule did not allow them a foothold in the ancient capital ofTbilisi and eastern Kartli, the Bagratids successfully maintained their initial domain inKlarjeti andMeskheti and, under the Byzantine protectorate, extended their possessions southward into the northwestern Armenian marches to form a large polity conventionally known in modern history asTao-Klarjeti. In 813, the new dynasty acquired, with Ashot I, the hereditary title ofpresiding prince ofIberia (Kartli), to which theemperor attached thehonorific title ofkourapalates.[18]
Despite the revitalization of the monarchy, Georgian lands remained divided among rival authorities, with Tbilisi remaining inArab hands. The sons and grandsons of Ashot I established three separate branches – the lines ofKartli,Tao, andKlarjeti – frequently struggling with each other and with neighboring rulers. The Kartli line prevailed; in 888, withAdarnase I, it restored the indigenous Iberian royal authority dormant since 580. His descendantBagrat III was able toconsolidate his inheritance in Tao-Klarjeti and theAbkhazian Kingdom, due largely to the diplomacy and conquests of his energetic foster-fatherDavid III of Tao.[citation needed]
This unified monarchy maintained its precarious independence from the Byzantine andSeljuk empires throughout the 11th century, flourished underDavid IV the Builder (1089–1125), who repelled the Seljuk attacks and essentially completed the unification of Georgia with the re-conquest of Tbilisi in 1122.[1] With the decline of Byzantine power and the dissolution of the Great Seljuk Empire, Georgia became one of the pre-eminent nations of theChristianEast, her pan-Caucasian empire stretching, at its largest extent, from theNorth Caucasus tonorthern Iran, and eastwards intoAsia Minor.[19]
In spite of repeated incidents of dynastic strife, the kingdom continued to prosper during the reigns ofDemetrios I (1125–1156),George III (1156–1184), and especially, his daughterTamar the Great (1184–1213).[1] With the death of George III the mainmale line became extinct and the dynasty continued through the marriage of Queen Tamar with theAlan princeDavid Soslan, of reputed Bagratid descent.[b]
The invasions by theKhwarezmians in 1225 and theMongols in 1236 terminated Georgia’s "golden age". The struggle against theMongol rule created adyarchy, with an ambitious lateral branch of the Bagrationi dynasty holding sway over western Georgia (Imereti). There was a brief period of reunion and revival underGeorge V the Brilliant (1299–1302, 1314–1346), but the eight onslaughts of theTurco-Mongol conquerorTimur between 1386 and 1403 dealt a great blow to the Georgian kingdom. About a century later, its unity was finally shattered by two rival Turkic federations; theKara Koyunlu, and theAk Koyunlu. By 1490/91, the once powerful monarchy fragmented into three independent kingdoms –Kartli (central to eastern Georgia),Kakheti (eastern Georgia), andImereti (western Georgia) – each led by a rival branch of the Bagrationi dynasty, and into five semi-independent principalities –Odishi-Mingrelia,Guria,Abkhazia,Svaneti, andSamtskhe – dominated by their own feudal clans.[citation needed]
During the three subsequent centuries, the Georgian rulers maintained their perilous autonomy as subjects under the TurkishOttoman and PersianSafavid,Afsharid, andQajar domination, although sometimes serving as little more than puppets in the hands of their powerful suzerains.[1] In this period, in order to receive investiture from their suzerains, as a necessary prerequisite, many Georgian rulers converted to Islam.[20] Individuals from the Georgian royal family and nobility were frequently chosen for prominent administrative roles within the Safavid state.[21] Members of the Muslim royals from the Bagrationi dynasty, amongst others, held the esteemed position ofdarugha ("prefect") of the Safavid royal capital ofIsfahan for an extensive period spanning over 100 years, from 1618 to 1722.[21] Despite being seated in Kartli starting from 1632,Rostom Khan, in particular, served as Isfahan's darugha for 40 years.[21] Additionally, he appointed deputies to represent him in the Safavid capital.[21]
The line of Imereti, incessantly embroiled in civil war, continued with many breaks in succession, and the kingdom was only relatively spared from the encroachments of its Ottoman suzerains, while Kartli and Kakheti were similarly subjected to its Persian overlords, whose efforts to annihilate the fractious vassal kingdoms were in vain, and the two eastern Georgian monarchies, survived to be reunified in 1762 under KingErekle II, who united in his person both the Kakhetian and Kartlian lines, the latter surviving in male descent in thebranch of Mukhraneli since 1658.[1]
In 1744, Erekle II and his fatherTeimuraz II were granted the kingships of Kakheti and Kartli respectively by their overlordNader Shah, as a reward for their loyalty.[22] Following Nader Shah's death in 1747, Erekle II and Teimuraz II capitalized on the eruption of instability, and declaredde facto independence. After Teimuraz II died in 1762, Erekle II succeeded his father as ruler of Kartli, and united the two kingdoms in a personal union as theKingdom of Kartli-Kakheti, becoming the first Georgian ruler to preside over a politically unified eastern Georgia in three centuries.[23] At about the same time,Karim Khan Zand had ascended the Iranian throne; Erekle II quickly tendered hisde jure submission to the new Iranian ruler, however,de facto, he remained autonomous throughout the entireZand period.[24][25]
Erekle II (Hercules) achieved a degree of stability in Kartli-Kakheti and established political hegemony in easternTranscaucasia. In the 1783Treaty of Georgievsk, he placed his kingdom under the protection ofImperial Russia.[1] The latter failed, however, to provide timely help when the Persian rulerAgha Mohammad Khan Qajarcaptured, sacked and ravaged Tbilisi in 1795 to compel severance of Georgian ties to Russia, as he sought to re-establish Persia's traditional suzerainty over the region.[26][27][page needed]
After the death of Erekle in 1798, his son and successor, KingGeorge XII, renewed a request for protection from EmperorPaul I of Russia,[1] and urged him to intervene in the bitter dynastic feud among the numerous sons and grandsons of the late Erekle. Paul offered to incorporate theKingdom of Kartli-Kakheti into the Russian Empire, while reserving to its native dynasty a degree of internal autonomy – essentially,mediatisation,[1] and in 1799 the Russians marched into Tbilisi.[28] Negotiations of terms were still in process,[29] when Paul signed amanifesto on December 18, 1800, unilaterally declaring the annexation of Kartli-Kakheti to the Russian Empire.[1][30] This proclamation was kept secret until the death of King George on December 28. His eldest son, theTsarevich Davit, had been formally acknowledged asheir apparent by Emperor Paul on 18 April 1799, but his accession as king after his father's death was not recognized.
On September 12, 1801, EmperorAlexander I of Russia formally re-affirmed Paul’s determination, deposing the Bagrationi dynasty from the Georgian throne.[1][30] Although divided among themselves, some of the Bagrationi princes resisted Russian annexation, trying to instigate rebellion. Most of them were subsequently arrested and deported from Georgia.[31]
The reign of the House of Imereti came to an end less than a decade later. On April 25, 1804, the Imeretian kingSolomon II, nominally an Ottoman vassal, was persuaded to conclude theConvention of Elaznauri with Russia, on terms similar to those of the Treaty of Georgievsk. Yet the Russian forces dethroned Solomon on February 20, 1810. Defeated during a subsequent rebellion to regain power, he died in exile inTrabzon, Ottoman Turkey, in 1815.[32][33] Russian rule over Georgia was eventually acknowledged in various peace treaties with Iran and the Ottomans and the remaining Georgian territories were absorbed by the Russian Empire in a piecemeal fashion in the course of the 19th century.
In theRussian Empire, the Bagrationis became a prominent family of aristocrats. The most famous was PrincePyotr Bagration, a great-grandson of KingJesse of Kartli who became a Russian general and hero of thePatriotic War of 1812.[1] His brother PrinceRoman Bagration also became a Russian general, distinguishing himself in theRusso-Persian War (1826–1828), and was the first to enterYerevan in 1827. Roman Bagration was also known for his patronage of the arts, literature and theatre. His home theater in Tbilisi was regarded as one of the finest in the Caucasus. His son PrincePyotr Romanovich Bagration became governor of theTver region and latergovernor-general of theBaltic provinces. He was also a metallurgic engineer known for the development ofgold cyanidation in Russia. PrinceDmitry Petrovich Bagration was a Russian general who fought inWorld War I in theBrusilov Offensive and later joined theRed Army.
The majority of the Bagrationi family leftGeorgia after theRed Army took over Tbilisi in 1921.[1]
The House of Mukhrani is a cadet branch of the Bagrationi dynasty,[1] descending directly from KingConstantine II of Georgia. Originally acadet branch of the former Royal House ofKartli, they claim agnaticgenealogically seniority from the line of the Bagrationi family in the early 20th century; and although this elder branch had lost the rule of Kartli by 1724,[1] it retained the Principality ofMukhrani until its annexation by Russia, along with Kartli-Kakheti, in 1800.[1]
This branch of the family is related to theHouse of Borbón, theHouse of Wittelsbach, theHouse of Habsburg-Lorraine, and theHouse of Romanov. A member of this branch,Princess Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Moukhransky, marriedVladimir Cyrillovich, Grand Duke of Russia, and became the mother of one of the claimants to theRomanov legacy,Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess of Russia.[1] The overwhelming majority of regnant and non-regnant Royal Houses recognize Prince Davit's claim to the Headship of the Royal House of Georgia.[34][35][36][37][38]
In 1942 PrinceIrakli (Erekle) Bagrationi-Mukhraneli, of thegenealogically senior branch of the dynasty, proclaimed himselfhead of the Royal House of Georgia. He founded theUnion of Georgian Traditionalists in exile. His second wife, Maria Antonietta Pasquini, daughter of Ugo,Count di Costafiorita, bore him ason and heir, but died in childbirth in February 1944.[1] In August 1946 the widower marriedPrincess María Mercedes de Baviera y Borbón, a granddaughter of KingAlfonso XII, and daughter ofDonFernando de Baviera y Borbón, who had renounced his royal rights in Bavaria to become a naturalisedinfante in Spain.
Beginning in the 1990s, senior members of the Bagrationi-Mukhraneli descendants beganre-patriating to Georgia from Spain, ending generations of exile. Irakli's elder son,Prince Georgi Bagrationi-Mukhraneli, was officially recognized by government and church leaders when he brought his father's remains from Spain to rest with those of his ancestors inSvetitskhoveli Cathedral atMtskheta in 1995, and moved to Tbilisi in 2005, where he died.[39] His eldest son, Prince Irakli (Erekle), born in 1972, deferred his dynastic claim to his younger brother,Prince Davit (born 1976).[citation needed] Thus, Prince Davit — who moved to Tbilisi and reclaimed his Georgian citizenship — became Head of the Family Council and the Mukhraneli dynastic titles.[40]
The Bagration-Gruzinsky line is the direct line of descendants from the last Sovereign George XII according to Georgian tradition who reigned over the kingdom ofKakheti, re-united the two realms in the kingdom ofKartli-Kakheti in 1762, and did not lose sovereignty until Russian annexation in 1800.[41]
PrinceNugzar Petrovich Bagration-Gruzinski (1950–2025)[42] was the last known malepatrilineal descendant of Kartli-Kakheti's last king,George XII, and was, as such, head of the Kakhetian branch of the dynasty which, althoughgenealogically junior to the Mukhranelis, hasreigned more recently over a part of Georgia, not having lost the throne of a Georgian kingdom until 1800.[citation needed]
Nugzar was a theatrical and cinema director, while his father,Prince Petre Bagration-Gruzinski (1920–1984), was a poet, and authored "Song of Tiflis".[citation needed]
As Nugzar had no male issue, Prince Evgeny Petrovich Gruzinsky (1947-2018), the great-great-grandson of Bagrat's younger brotherIlia (1791–1854), who lived in theRussian Federation, was considered to be anheir presumptive within the same primogeniture principle.[1] But he died without issue and no male descendant (recorded and official) was left in the Gruzinsky branch except Nugzar himself. Despite basing his claim on male primogeniture,[1] Nugzar argued in favor of having his eldest daughter,Ana, designated as his heir prior to his death in 2025.[43]
Princess Ana's role as Heir to the Throne and Head of the Royal House was acknowledged on May 12, 2025, in Tbilisi, Ana Bagration-Gruzinsky was officially recognized as Head of the Royal House of Georgia. The event took place on St. Andrew's Day at the Tbilisi City Assembly. The conference was opened by Metropolitan Shio Mujiri and Metropolitan Daniel (Datuaashvili). With the consent and in the presence of Georgia's spiritual and academic elite, Metropolitan Anania (Japaridze) confirmed Decree No. 2 (2009) issued by Crown Prince Nugzar Bagration-Gruzinsky. This recognition marks strong support for Ana's position from both the Church and the scholarly community.[44]
Various sources present three different lines as the head of the House of Imereti, potential claimants to the long-defunctKingdom of Imereti, the last of the three Georgian kingdoms to lose its independence in 1810. The male line descending from the deposedDavid II of Imereti became extinct in 1978 when Prince Constantine Imeretinski died. He was survived by three daughters of his older brother.[citation needed]
However, PrinceNugzar Petrovich Bagration-Gruzinski claims that the headship of the Imereti branch had – for one reason or another – transferred in the early 20th century to acadet branch descending from an older son ofPrince Bagrat of Imereti. Regardless, this branch died out in the male line in 1937 and in the female line in 2009.[43][40]
The third claim names another branch descending from Prince Bagrat's younger natural son. This line survives in the male line and is headed by Prince David Bagrationi (born 1948) (not to be confused with his younger namesake from the Mukhrani branch).[45][46]
The current claimant is Irakli Davitis Dze Bagrationi (Georgian: ირაკლი დავითის ძე ბაგრატიონი), head of the Georgian scion of the royal Bagrationi dynasty of Imereti, the direct male-line descendant of the kings of Imereti, the direct descendant of Alexander V (Georgian: ალექსანდრე V) (c. 1703/4 – March 1752), of the Bagrationi Dynasty, King of Imereti (western Georgia). Irakli is a son of David Bragationi and Irina Kobakhidze, born 10 July 1982 in Terjola, Imereti, Georgia. He is the future successor and head of the House of Bagrationi-Imereti. Irakli has been recognized by thePatriarch of Georgia, as well as theEcumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, as well as theUnione della Nobiltà Bizantina (Ένωση της Βυζαντινής ευγένειας).[47]
Prince Nugzar's daughter,Princess Ana, a divorced teacher and journalist with two daughters, marriedPrince Davit Bagrationi-Mukhraneli, on 8 February 2009 at theTbilisi Sameba Cathedral.[41] The marriage united the Gruzinsky and Mukhrani branches of the Georgianroyal family, and drew a crowd of 3,000 spectators, officials, and foreign diplomats, as well as extensive coverage by theGeorgian media.[48]
The dynastic significance of the wedding lay in the fact that, amidst theturmoil in political partisanship that has roiled Georgia since its independence in 1991,Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia publicly called for the restoration of the monarchy as a path toward national unity in October 2007.[49] Although this led some politicians and parties to entertain the notion of a Georgianconstitutional monarchy, competition arose among the old dynasty's princes and supporters, as historians andjurists debated which Bagrationi has the strongest hereditary right to a throne that has been vacant for two centuries.[48]
Although somemonarchists support the Gruzinsky branch's claim, others — including most Royal Houses[34][35][36][37][38] — support that of there-patriated Mukhraneli branch.[49] Both branches descend from themedieval kings of Georgia down toConstantine II of Georgia who died in 1505,[1] and continue as unbroken, legitimate male lines into the 21st century.
Aside from his unmarried elder brother Irakli, Davit is theheir male of theBagrationi family, while the bride's father is the most senior descendant of the last Bagrationi to reign over theunited kingdom of eastern Georgia. The marriage between Nugzar Gruzinsky's heiress and the Mukhrani heir may resolve their rivalry for the claim to the throne.[41]
Prince Davit and Princess Ana became the parents of a boy on 27 September 2011,Prince Giorgi Bagration Bagrationi, who, in his person, became the potential uniter of the Mukhraneli and Gruzinsky claims. Since no other Bagrationi prince was born in the Gruzinsky branch, Prince Giorgi became theheir apparent to the heir general of George XIII ofKartli-Kakheti on 1 March 2025, alongside already beingheir apparent to the heir male of the House of Bagrationi, when his maternal grandfather died and the Gruzinsky branch went extinct in the male line, which left his mother as the Gruzinskyheiress general.[50][42]
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