HISTORY OF THE ROYAL HOUSE THE BAGRATIONI DYNASTY Throughout history, the world has seen many Royal dynasties. These dynasties are created by the kings or queens of respective families who rule throughout multiple generations. Such dynasties include the Valois and the Bourbons of France, the Habsburgs of Austria-Hungary, and the Romanovs of Russia. The Bagrationi Royal dynasty ruled over Georgia between the ninth century A.D. and 1801. Most scholars contend that, originally, the Bagrationis were the natives of Speri, which is an old Georgian province. Bagrationi chronicler Sumbat Davitisdze, in his work Life and Activity of the Bagrationis, the Georgian Kings, Their Origin, Time of Their Crowning for Kings of Kartli states that the Bagrationis are descended from the Biblical King David. Mr. Davitisdze states, “And four brothers (the sons of Solomon – R.M.) came to Kartli; but one of them named Guaram was chosen to be the eristavi (i.e. the ruler) and he was the eristavi of Kartli and the Bagrationis’ father. And so the Bagrationis of Kartli were the grandsons and relatives of Guaram”. There are other chroniclers who also support the Jewish origin of the Bagrationis. The historian of the Georgian King David “the Builder” considers David IV “the Builder” to be the 78th descendant of the biblical King David. In Georgia, the Bagrationis became famous by the end of the eighth century. From the Bagrationi family came Ashot, eristavi (i.e. regional governor) of Kartli, who is known in history as Ashot the Great. He also had the title of Kurapalat, which is a high Byzantine court title. Ashot the Great established the Bagrationi dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti. The Bagrationis of Tao-Klarjeti (Georgian kingdom) became divided into two main branches: the Tao and the Klarjeti Bagrationis. Ashot’s descendant, Adarnase, was honoured as the first king of the Kartvelians in 888 (although other historical records suggest this took place in either 897 or 899). Ardarnase was the son of David I Kurapalat, and he is known in history as Adarnase II. Adarnase II ruled until 923, and he built upon the foundation of the Klarjeti branch of Bagrationis that was established by his ancestor, who was also named Adarnase (and known to history as Adarnase I). Starting with Adarnase II, the title of the Kartvelians’ king was inherited only by the representatives of the Tao branch of Bagrationis (as the successors of Adarnase II). The first king of the united Georgian Kingdom, Bagrat III, belonged to this branch. In contrast, the Klarjeti branch of the Bagrationis came to an end in the early 10th century. During the reign of David IV “the Builder” (1089 - 1125) and Queen Tamar (1179 - 1213), the Georgian state reached the peak of its power and glory. From the second half of the 15thcentury forward, the united Georgian kingdom was divided into separate smaller kingdoms. Yet the kingdoms of Kakheti, Kartli, and Imereti remained the domains of the Bagrationis. The last king of the united Georgia, Giorgi VIII (1446-1466), became the ruler of solely Kakheti in 1466. Consequently, he was the first of the Kakheti branch of the Bagrationis. The Kakheti branch of the Bagrationis continued to rule for centuries, and a descendant, Teimuraz II, became the King of Kartli in 1744. His son, Erekle II, ruled Kakheti. From 1762 onward, Erekle II was the king of the united Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti. The last descendant of this line to rule was King Giorgi XII. After his demise on 28 December of 1800, the Russian Emperor abolished the Georgian kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti. According to the 1801 manifest of Russian Emperor Alexander I, the Bagrationi Royal rule of the Kartli-Kakheti kingdom was illegally abolished, and Georgia was declared to be a Russian province. Despite the illegal military overthrow, the Bagrationi Royal family continued to make significant contributions to Georgia and the greater Russian Empire in the military, scientific, artistic, literary, and other spheres. Within the Russian Empire, children of the Kartli-Kakheti (Georgian) kings Erekle II and Giorgi XII had official titles of “Georgian Princes and Princesses”. In Russia, the honorary style for these Royals was “the Most Respectful”. In 1804 and 1812, the Russian government decided that only the sons of Georgian (Kartli, Kakheti) kings were permitted to enjoy this title. These descendants enjoyed the title of “Georgian prince” (Gruzinski). In 1833, the Russian government adopted an additional decision regarding which grandsons of Erekle II and Giorgi XII were granted the title of “Georgian prince” (Gruzinski), and this title eventually became their surname. The representatives of all other branches of the Bagrationi family had only a title of prince, which was below the title of Georgian prince. Examples of other families that only had the title of prince are Bagration-Mukhranski, Bagration-Davitashvili, and Bagration-Babadishi. Statement of the Chancellery of the Royal House of Georgia “God established earthly royal rule to be similar to heavenly rule, according to His all-powerful reign; akin to His eternal realm, earthly royalty is hereditary.” The Bagrationi succession has been established through centuries of tradition, and it stipulates that there is only one rightful heir at a time. The heir must be a Bagrationi of the Royal line. While the history of Georgia has had occasional exceptions, the traditions of Georgia establish a clear succession mechanism. Any election of a monarch in Georgia or selection of a candidate from offshoot Bagrationi lines would be a rude violation of dynastic law established over centuries and supported by international law. The proper heir must be a descendant of Georgia’s last king, Giorgi XII, and also a descendant of the king Giorgi VIII, who ruled prior to the disintegration of united Georgia into the kingdoms of Kartli, Kakheti, and Imereti. The last king of united Georgia, Giorgi VIII, represented both the east Georgian bloodline of his father, Davit-Ulu, and the west Georgian bloodline of Davit-Narini, through his mother. This was of major importance in the legitimization of the Royal line of the united Georgia. In 1790, under the reign of King Erekle II, an agreement known as the “Treaty of the Iberians (Iverians)” was signed. Within this document, King Erekle II was recognized as the sovereign of all Georgians – “the father of them all”. The treaty was signed by Imeretian King Solomon II, Grigol Dadiani, and Simon Gurieli. Thus the status of King Erekle II was inherited by his son, who became the Georgian King Giorgi XII. In 2006, a memorandum was signed by the House of Bagrationi in which Nugzar Bagrationi-Gruzinski was recognized as the Royal heir to the throne. The memorandum confirms the legal, historical, and genealogical reasons why he is the Royal heir. Additionally, the memorandum contains legal documents from historians of the Georgian Academy of Sciences, recognition of Prince Nugzar as the rightful heir from the Georgian genealogical society and the assembly of the Georgian nobility, and historical documents preserved in the libraries of the Georgian and Russian State Archives. Furthermore, the memorandum contains recognition of Prince Nugzar as the rightful heir by the all-Russian Monarchy Centre, the scientific board of the Moscow Memorial Museum of the Russian Imperial Name, and the Peter-Paul Imperial Society.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 15:22:55 +0000
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