Mamia II Gurieli

Last updated
Mamia II Gurieli
Prince Mamia II Gurieli.jpg
Mamia II Gurieli's portrait drawn by Teramo Castelli
Prince of Guria
Reign 1598-1625
Predecessor George II
Successor Simon I
Died 1625 (or 1627)
SpouseTinatin Jaqeli
Issue
  • Ana
  • Simon
  • Manuchar
  • Tamar
  • Tinatin
House Gurieli
Father George II Gurieli
Religion Orthodox Church of Abkhazia

Mamia II Gurieli (-1625/1627) is a 17th-century Georgian prince that ruled over the Principality of Guria in Western Georgia. Son of Prince George II, he succeeded his father in 1600 after spending a decade as head of Gurian troops. As Prince, he distinguished himself as a staunch supporter of closer relations with other Georgian states and an enemy of the Ottoman Empire. However, his policy failed as he was forced to remain under Turkish influence, while his ties with the Kingdom of Imereti progressively declined until an armed conflict and his assassination in 1625.

Contents

Biography

Youth

Mamia Gurieli was born at an unknown date after 1566 within the House of Gurieli, a powerful Georgian princely family governing the Principality of Guria as a quasi-independent state since the 15th century. Oldest son of Prince George II and, most likely, of his first wife (a daughter of Prince Levan I Dadiani), his father's reign is largely unstable and characterized by conflicts between the various Georgian states, which forced George II into exile in Istanbul in 1583, though Mamia's fate during that time is unknown.

Following his father's return to the throne of Guria in 1587, Mamia was granted several responsibilities. In 1589, he led Gurian troops in the war his father launched against the Kingdom of Imereti and managed, with Ottoman help, to depose King Rostom, who was at the time acting as a puppet king of the Principality of Mingrelia. Mamia crowned the young prince Bagrat IV as King of Imereti and stayed in the royal capital Kutaisi under his father's orders to protect the unstable throne. Starting in 1590, he had to defend the kingdom against the armies of King Simon I of Kartli, the ruler of Central Georgia, who deposed Bagrat IV and expelled the Gurian troops.

When Abkhaz pirates under the leadership of Prince Putu launched maritime raids on the Black Sea shores of Guria in 1591, Mamia led the defense of the coast and expelled them.

George II died in 1600 (or 1598 in some sources) and Mamia succeeded him as Mamia II Gurieli, a prince enjoying de facto independence but formally under the protection of the Kingdom of Imereti.

Ottoman War

As soon as he acceded the Gurian throne, Mamia II changed his father's pro-Ottoman and anti-Imeretian foreign policy. 18th-century historian Vakhusht Bagrationi would later describe Mamia II's accession as the beginning of a time of peace between Guria, Imereti, and Mingrelia. His oldest daughter Ana's wedding to King Teimuraz I of Kakheti in 1606 [1] (or 1607-1608 based on other sources) shows that Mamia sought to find allies even the easternmost Georgian states.

In a complete reversal of his predecessors' policies, Mamia II forged an alliance with Safavid Persia in 1609 by using his ties to pro-Safavid Kakheti. [2] Using the 1603-1618 Persia-Turkish War to his advantage, he sent a joint Mingrelian-Gurian army to invade Adjara, [2] a former Gurian region annexed by the Ottoman Empire 50 years prior, and slaughtered the Turkish troops stationed in Batumi in 1609. However, with Persia holding little to no imperial ambitions in Western Georgia and Persian troops never reaching Guria, Mamia II was forced to engage with North Caucasian Cossacks to protect his territorial gains. [2] The Cossacks crossed the Dnepr and launched raids on Black Sea Ottoman ports. [2]

Istanbul responded by imposing a maritime blockade on Guria and Mingrelia, removing their access to salt and iron imports. [3] In 1614, Mamia II and Levan II Dadiani petitioned Sultan Ahmed I, asking him to seek a peaceful solution to the conflict and on 13 December, Mamia II met Ambassador Omar Pasha and Italian emissary Ludovico Grangiero to negotiate. [3] They agreed to an end of the blockade in exchange for the return of Adjara to the Ottoman Empire, an annual tribute of six grams of silver per household, and male and female slaves. On his side, Mamia won the right to refuse entry to all Ottoman troops. [4] Mingrelia, Abkhazia, and Imereti reached a similar agreement a few months later. [3]

Mamia II had to face the Cossacks he invited into his lands. They had been attacking Black Sea ports in Guria and in 1616, launched large raids against Gurian, Mingrelian and Ottoman towns. [3]

Alliance and Collapse

The return of stability in Western Georgia allowed Mamia II to stay in peace with Mingrelia and Imereti. Together, he wrote a letter to Tsar Michael I of Russia, asking him to grant asylum to exiled king Teimuraz I of Kakheti, [3] a request refused by Moscow. Western unity was solidified again in 1618 with the marriage of Prince Alexander Bagrationi, heir to the throne of Imereti, to Princess Tamar Gurieli, daughter of Mamia II.

That alliance was short-lived. In 1620, Kutaisi expelled Princess Tamar, accusing her of adultery and forcing her to find refuge in Guria with her son Bagrat. [5] Guria and Mingrelia responded by imposing a blockade on Imereti and organizing their own marriage alliance: Simon Gurieli, son and heir of Mamia II, married Levan II Dadiani's sister, while Prince Levan II married the daughter of the Prince of Abkhazia. In anticipation of an attack by Imereti, Mingrelia and Guria launched their own attack against King George III in December 1623. [6]

A long civil war was started between the different Western Georgian states, a conflict that would last until 1658 and that would considerably weaken the region for centuries to come. Levan Dadiani became de facto lord of all the Black Sea Georgian states and exiled his vizier Paata Tsulukidze after accusing him of treason. Tsulukidze found refuge at the court of Mamia II. [6]

Murder

Mamia II entertained a difficult relationship with his children. His daughter Ana, queen of Kakheti, died in 1610. His son Manuchar died in 1612. Mamia had a chapel built for the latter at Chekheda in the vicinity of Kobuleti, as a metochion to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. [7]

In 1625 (or, according to a 17th-century annotation in a liturgical anthology of the Monastery of Shemokmedi, in 1627 [7] ), while in open war with Imereti, he was murdered in his sleep by his oldest son Simon. [8] The latter became Prince of Guria and made a donation to the Monastery of Achi to ask the Catholicate of Abkhazia to forgive his sins. Levan II of Mingrelia, opposed to the change in power, invaded the principality, deposed Simon, and became the formal suzerain of House Gurieli.

Family

Mamia II Gurieli's wife is unknown. But we know of at least six children, including one prince and two queens:

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solomon I of Imereti</span> King of Imereti

Solomon I the Great, of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was King of Imereti from 1752 to 1765 and again from 1767 until his death in 1784.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bagrat III of Imereti</span> King of Imereti

Bagrat III (1495-1565), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a King of Imereti from April 1, 1510, to 1565. He succeeded upon the death of his father, Alexander II, and faced repeated assaults from the Ottoman Turks as well as the conflicts with his ostensible vassal princes of Mingrelia, Guria, and Abkhazia who were frequently joining the enemy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George II of Imereti</span> King of Imereti in western Georgia

George II, of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a king of Imereti from 1565 to 1585.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander III of Imereti</span> King of Imereti

Alexander III, was a Georgian monarch of the Bagrationi dynasty, who reigned as king of Imereti in Western Georgia from 1639 to 1660.

Giorgi III Gurieli, of the Georgian House of Gurieli, was Prince of Guria from 1669 to 1684 and King of Imereti from 1681 to 1683. He was energetically involved in civil wars in western Georgian polities, which he sought to bring under his sway. He was killed in battle while trying to recover the lost throne of Imereti.

Mamia III Gurieli, also known as Mamia the Great Gurieli or the Black Gurieli, of the western Georgian House of Gurieli, was Prince of Guria from 1689 to 1714. Involved in civil wars plaguing western Georgia, he became King of Imereti three times in the years of 1701, 1711–1712, and 1713–1714. After his first reign as king for a year in 1701, he abdicated the throne of Imereti, being unable to tolerate the influence of his father-in-law Giorgi Abashidze. Subsequent periods of his royal career was the result of a feud with Giorgi VII of Imereti. Mamia died while still sitting on the throne of Imereti, which then reverted to his rival Giorgi VII.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mariam Dadiani</span> Queen consort of Kartli

Mariam Dadiani was a daughter of Manuchar I Dadiani, Prince of Mingrelia, by his second wife, Tamar Jaqeli. Thrice married, successively to Simon I Gurieli, Prince of Guria, in 1621, King Rostom of Kartli in 1638, and the latter's adopted son and successor, King Vakhtang V in 1658.

Vakhtang was a Georgian prince of the Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Imereti, a younger son of King Alexander II of Imereti by his wife Tamar.

Mamia III Dadiani was a member of the House of Dadiani and eristavi ("duke") of Odishi, that is, Mingrelia, in western Georgia from 1512 until his death. Mamia was a son and successor of Liparit II Dadiani, who had emerged as a semi-independent ruler in the process of dissolution of the Kingdom of Georgia. Mamia was culturally active in Abkhazia and continued his predecessors' efforts to secure borders against the North Caucasian mountainous tribes of Zygia. His naval expedition against them and landing in Zygia ended in a fiasco and Mamia was killed in battle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Levan I Dadiani</span> Prince of Mingrelia

Levan I Dadiani was a member of the House of Dadiani and ruler of Odishi, that is, Mingrelia, in western Georgia. He succeeded on the death of his father, Mamia III Dadiani, as eristavi ("duke") of Odishi and ex officio mandaturt-ukhutsesi of Imereti in 1533. Dadiani's break with the king of Imereti brought about his downfall and imprisonment in 1546. He was able to escape and regain his possessions, securing Ottoman support for his independence from Imereti.

Giorgi III Dadiani was Prince of Mingrelia, of the House of Dadiani, from 1572 to 1573 and again from 1578 until his death. He was a son and successor of Levan I Dadiani.

Mamia IV Dadiani was Prince of Mingrelia, of the House of Dadiani, from 1573 to 1578 and again from 1582 until his death. He was a younger son of Levan I Dadiani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manuchar I Dadiani</span> Prince of Mingrelia

Manuchar I Dadiani was Prince of Mingrelia, of the House of Dadiani, from 1590 until his death. A younger son of Levan I Dadiani, he succeeded on the death of his elder brother, Mamia IV Dadiani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Levan II Dadiani</span> Prince of Mingrelia

Levan II Dadiani was a member of the House of Dadiani and ruler of the Principality of Mingrelia in western Georgia. Levan is known for his extensive raiding of neighboring countries and taking hostages for ransom.

Levan III Dadiani, born Shamadavle (შამადავლე) was Prince of Mingrelia, of the House of Dadiani, from 1661 to 1680. His reign unfolded against the background of a series of civil wars in western Georgian polities, in which Levan III was an opponent of King Bagrat V of Imereti to whom he lost a battle and his own wife.

Mamia I Gurieli, of the House of Gurieli, was Prince of Guria from 1512 until his death in 1534. Succeeding on the death of his father Giorgi I Gurieli, Mamia became involved in the conflict between the two eastern Georgian kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti in 1520; by force of arms, he compelled David X of Kartli to agree on peace with Levan of Kakheti, his son-in-law. Mamia Gurieli's 1533 campaign, jointly with his namesake Prince of Mingrelia, against the homebase of Circassian pirates ended in a fiasco, with Mamia being captured and ransomed later that year.

Rostom Gurieli, of the House of Gurieli, was Prince of Guria from 1534 until his death in 1564. Alongside his royal suzerain, Bagrat III of Imereti, Rostom fought against the expanding Ottoman Empire to which he lost parts of his principality. Rostom's relations with Bagrat III subsequently deteriorated over his support to the king's defiant vassal, Levan I Dadiani.

Giorgi II Gurieli, of the House of Gurieli, was Prince of Guria from 1564 to 1583 and again from 1587 to 1600. Succeeding on the death of his father Rostom Gurieli, Giorgi's rule over his small principality, located in southwest Georgia, was a period of conflict with the neighboring Dadiani of Mingrelia and increasing assertiveness of the Ottomans whom Gurieli submitted in 1581. His reign was interrupted, from 1583 to 1587, by a Mingrelian invasion, but Giorgi was able to resume the throne with Ottoman support.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon I Gurieli</span>

Simon I Gurieli, of the House of Gurieli, was Prince of Guria from 1625 to 1626. He acceded to power in Guria, a small principality in southwest Georgia, after having murdered his father, Mamia II Gurieli, and was dethroned and blinded by his brother-in-law Levan II Dadiani, Prince of Mingrelia. Simon thereafter became a monk and retired to Jerusalem.

Kaikhosro I Gurieli, of the House of Gurieli, was Prince of Guria from 1626 to 1658. He was installed by Levan II Dadiani, Prince of Mingrelia, in place of his deposed predecessor Simon I Gurieli. In his turn, Kaikhosro was overthrown and expelled by King Alexander III of Imereti. His comeback to Guria, in an Ottoman-supported endeavor, concluded with his assassination by a Gurian nobleman.

References

  1. ↑ Rayfield 2012, p. 189.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Rayfield 2012, p. 192.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Rayfield 2012, p. 194.
  4. ↑ Battaglini 1699, p. 243.
  5. ↑ Rayfield 2012, p. 196.
  6. 1 2 Rayfield 2012, p. 197.
  7. 1 2 Khakhutaishvili 2009, p. 43-45.
  8. ↑ Rayfield 2012, p. 198.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.