Gurieli (Georgian: გურიელი) was a Georgian noble family and a ruling dynasty of the southwestern Georgian province of Guria.
Initially a hereditary title of governors (eristavi) of Guria since the mid-13th century, Gurieli (literally, "of Guria") was adopted as a dynastic name by the Vardanisdze family (ვარდანისძე), hereditary rulers of Svaneti (a highland province in western Georgia). The other notable branch of the Vardanisdze was the Dadiani (დადიანი) of Mingrelia. Both of these branches occasionally used double names: Gurieli-Dadiani or Dadiani-Gurieli.[1]
The Gurieli were vassals to the Georgian crown, but, at the same time, seem to have paid some kind of homage (Greek: προςκυνησις) to the rulers of the neighboring Empire of Trebizond,[2] whose last emperor, David Komnenos (reigned from 1459 to 1461), married his daughter to Mamia Vardanisdze-Gurieli (c. 1450 - 69). If the couple had issue, possibly the son Kakhaber (1469 - 83), the latter-day Gurieli should have descended from several Byzantine and Trapezuntine emperors.[3]
In the 1460s, when the power of the Bagrationi Dynasty of Georgia was on the decline, the Gurieli pursued a policy of separation and became virtually independent rulers (mtavari) of the Principality of Guria[4] in the mid-16th century,[5] but were forced to pay tribute to the Ottoman Empire, nominally recognizing also the authority of the princes of Mingrelia and kings of Imereti. Throughout the following two centuries, the politics of the Gurieli dynasty were dominated by the conflicts with the neighboring Georgian rulers, Ottoman inroads, and repeated occasions of civil strife and palace coups.
Having accepted Imperial Russian sovereignty in 1810, the dynasty continued to enjoy some autonomy in their home affairs until 1829, when the Russian authorities deposed David, the last Gurieli, and abolished the Principality of Guria.[6] With the death of David in 1839, the main male line went extinct. His cousin, David Gurieli (1802-1856), and his descendants (Russian: Гуриели, Гуриеловы) were confirmed in the dignity of Prince (knyaz) by the Tsar’s decree of 1850.
Prince Gurieli
c. 1385–1410 – Kakhaber I; son of Giorgi II Dadiani; eristavi of Guria and Svaneti
c. 1410–1430 – Giorgi I; son of Kakhaber I
c. 1430–1450 – Mamia I; son of Giorgi I
c. 1450–1469 – Mamia II; son of Liparit I Dadiani
1469–1483 – Kakhaber II; possibly son of Mamia II by his Trapezuntine wife
1483–1512 – Giorgi I (II); son of Kakhaber II; sovereign prince from 1491
1512–1534 – Mamia I (III); son of Giorgi I
1534–1564 – Rostom; son of Mamia I
1564–1583 – Giorgi II (III); son of Rostom; deposed
1583–1587 – Vakhtang I; son of Giorgi II
1587–1600 – Giorgi II (III); restored
1600–1625 – Mamia II (IV); son of Giorgi II
1625 – Svimon I; son of Mamia II; deposed, died after 1672
1625–1658 – Kaikhosro I (III); son of Vakhtang I
1659–1668 – Demetre; son of Svimon I; deposed, died 1668
Malak'ia; son of Kaikhosro I; rival prince 1685; deposed
1689–1712 – Mamia III (V); son of Giorgi III; deposed
Malak'ia; restored as rival prince 1689; deposed, died after 1689
1712 – Girogi IV (V); son of Mamia III; deposed
1712–1714 – Mamia III (V); restored
1714–1716 – Giorgi IV (V); restored; deposed
1716 – Kaikhosro III (V); son of Mamia III; deposed, died after 1716
1716–1726 – Giorgi IV (V); restored
1726–1744 – Mamia IV (VI); son of Giorgi IV; deposed, died 1778
1744 – Giorgi V (VI); son of Giorgi IV; abdicated, died after 1744
1744–1792 – Svimon II; son of Giorgi V; deposed
1778–c. 1780 – Kaikhosro IV (VI); son of Giorgi V; abdicated, died after 1820
c. 1780–1792 – Svimon II; restored
1792–1803 – Vakhtang II; son of Giorgi V; deposed, died after 1814
1803–1826 – Mamia V (VII); son of Svimon II
Kaikhosro, brother of Svimon II, regent 1803-1809
1826–1829 – Davit’; son of Mamia V; deposed, died 1839
Sophia, mother of Davit’, regent 1826-1829
References
^(Georgian) ქ. ჩხატარაიშვილი (K. Chkhataraishvili) "გურიელები" (The Gurieli), in: ქართული საბჭოთა ენციკლოპედია (Encyclopaedia Georgiana). Vol. 3: p. 314. Tbilisi, 1978.
