 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(June 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Giorgi-Malakia Abashidze (Georgian:გიორგი-მალაქია აბაშიძე, died 15 October 1722) was aGeorgian nobleman andKing of Imereti asGeorge VI (or George V) from 1702 to 1707. He was a member of the prominentHouse of Abashidze.
The youngest son of Prince PaataAbashidze, he served as a priest until about 1684 when he entered politics after the death of his elder brotherPaata Abashidze and began aggressively expanding his patrimonial fiefdom. He dispossessed theHouse of Chkheidze ofShorapani, and theHouse of Agiashvili ofTsutskhvati, and took control of the royal domain in Upper Imereti. Princess TamarAbashidze, his daughter by his marriage to Princess TamarChijavadze, was married to the two successive kings of Imereti,Alexander IV andGeorge V.[1] During the reign of the latter monarch, Abashidze effectively ran the government and acted as an all-powerful kingmaker. In 1699, he gave his daughter Anika in marriage to KingSimon of Imereti, but they divorced in 1700. In 1701, Abashidze compelled KingMamia of Imereti to abdicate and seized the throne for himself. He managed to establish a degree of stability in Imereti and ceased to pay tribute to theOttoman Empire, triggering amilitary response in 1703. He also patronized culture and learning. Deposed after a revolt by the nobles, in favour of the rightfulBagrationi kingGeorge VII, Abashidze took refuge at the court ofVakhtang VI of Kartli inTbilisi. He died there in 1722, and was buried in theKatskhi monastery in Imereti.
| Preceded by | King of Imereti 1702–1707 | Succeeded by |