{{Short description, Georgian noble family
Akhaltsikheli ( ka, ახალციხელი; pl. ''Akhaltsikhelebi'', ახალციხელები) were a
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
noble family prominent in the end of the 12th to the mid-13th centuries. Their name came from the city of Akhaltsikhe, their original fiefdom.
They branched out from the Toreli (Thoreli) ducal family towards the end of the 12th century and through loyal service to the Georgian crown acquired more lands including those ruled by their kinsmen from the Thoreli house. As a result of the Khwarezmian and
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
invasions, the family declined, lost their possessions to other noble families, and virtually became extinct by the end of the 13th century.
The most prominent of them were:
* Shalva of Akhaltsikhe
* Ivane of Akhaltsikhe (died 1225), Shalva's brother, prominent military commander who was appointed governor general of Kars in 1205/1206 and granted the titles of
Atabek
Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the title's use was wit ...
and Amira. He was killed by the Khwarezmians in the
Battle of Garni
The Battle of Garni was fought in 1225 near Garni, in modern day Armenia, then part of the Kingdom of Georgia. The invading Khwarazmian Empire was led by Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu, its last Sultan, who was driven from his realm by the Mongol Empi ...
.
* Pharadavla of Akhaltsikhe (died 1244), Shalva's son; He fled to the
Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm
fa, سلجوقیان روم ()
, status =
, government_type = Hereditary monarchyTriarchy (1249–1254)Diarchy (1257–1262)
, year_start = 1077
, year_end = 1308
, p1 = By ...
when the Mongols took control of Georgia, and joined the army of sultan
Kaykhusraw II
Ghiyath al-Din Kaykhusraw ibn Kayqubād or Kaykhusraw II ( fa, غياث الدين كيخسرو بن كيقباد) was the sultan of the Seljuqs of Rûm from 1237 until his death in 1246. He ruled at the time of the Babai uprising and the Mongol ...
. Together with another refuge from Georgia, Dardin Sharvashisdze, he commanded Georgian auxiliaries at the
Battle of Köse Dağ
The Battle of Köse Dağ was fought between the Sultanate of Rum ruled by the Seljuq dynasty and the Mongol Empire on June 26, 1243, at the defile of Köse Dağ, a location between Erzincan and Gümüşhane in modern northeastern Turkey. The ...
in 1243 where the Seljuk Turks were crushed by the Mongol commander Bayju. Sharvashisdze was killed in action, and the sultan later had Pharadavla assassinated.