The House of Jaqeli ( ka, ჯაყელი) was a Georgian princely (''

mtavari ''Mtavari'' ( ka, მთავარი) was a feudal title in Georgia usually translated into English as Prince or Duke. The earliest instances of the use of ''mtavari'' are in the early Georgian hagiographic texts dated to the 5th century. From ...

'') family and a ruling

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

of the Principality of Samtskhe, an offshoot of the House of Chorchaneli.

History

"Jaqeli", literally meaning "of/from Jaqi", was originally a territorial epithet. The family received this name from the castle of Jaqi on the Jaqis-tsqali, one of the left affluents of the

Mtkvari The Kura is an east-flowing river south of the Greater Caucasus Mountains which drains the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus east into the Caspian Sea. It also drains the north side of the Lesser Caucasus while its main tributary, the Ar ...

(Kura) (now in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

). The Jaqeli traced their origin to the late 9th-century nobleman Beshken, of the Chorchaneli, whose descendants possessed the valleys of Jaqi, Postkhovi (modern Posof, Turkey), and Uraveli (near

Akhaltsikhe Akhaltsikhe ( ka, ახალციხე ), formerly known as Lomsia ( ka, ლომსია), is a small city in Georgia's southwestern region ('' mkhare'') of Samtskhe–Javakheti. It is situated on both banks of a small river Potskhovi (a l ...

, Georgia). The title "Jaqeli" first appears in the names of Beshken (I), lord ( eristavi) of Tukharisi, and Murvan, lord of Q'ueli and Beshken's possible son. Beshken (II), Murvan's possible son, died fighting the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

Javakheti Javakheti ( ka, ჯავახეთი ) or Javakhk ( hy, Ջավախք, ''Javakhk'') is a historical province in southern Georgia, corresponding to the modern municipalities of Akhalkalaki, Aspindza (partly), Ninotsminda, and partly to the Turk ...

in 1118. From the 1050s to the 1190s, the Jaqeli took part in several feudal uprisings against the Bagratid kings of Georgia. Eventually, under the queen

Tamar of Georgia Tamar the Great ( ka, თამარ მეფე, tr, lit. "King Tamar") ( 1160 – 18 January 1213) reigned as the Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, presiding over the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. A member of the Bagrationi dyna ...

(1184-1213), the family, in the person of Botso, fell in dishonor, and the title of Jaqeli as well as most of their possessions passed to their relatives of the House of Tsikhisjvari (Tsikhisjvreli), also a Chorchaneli offshoot. The dispossessed family of Botso Jaqeli came to be known as Botsosdze, last heard of with Memna, who died during the defense of

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

against the Khwarezmid ruler Jalal ad-Din Manguberdi in 1226; and with his brother Botso. Jaqeli fresco from Chule

With Ivane-Qvarqvare of Tsikhisjvari (fl. c. 1195-1247), enfeoffed by Queen Tamar of Botso's titles and possessions, the new line of the Jaqeli dynasty emerged. It attained, in the person of Sargis I (r. c. 1260-1285), to the hereditary principate of Samtskhe, and became

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...

independent of the kings of Georgia under the protectorate of

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 ...

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm ...

in 1268. The residence of Jaqeli was established in

Sapara Sapara may refer to: * Sapara Monastery, Georgia * Sapara people, an ethnic group of Ecuador and Peru * Sápara language, a language of Ecuador and Peru * Sapará language, a language of Brazil People with the name * Adé Sapara, English actor ...

. In 1334, King

George V of Georgia George V the Brilliant ( ka, გიორგი V ბრწყინვალე, ''Giorgi V Brtskinvale''; also translated as the ''Illustrious'', or ''Magnificent''; 1286/1289–1346) was King of Georgia from 1299 to 1302 and again from 1314 un ...

brought Samtskhe within the Georgian realm again, and bestowed his maternal uncle

Sargis II Jaqeli Sargis II Jaqeli ( ka, სარგის II ჯაყელი) (1271 – 1334) was a Georgian prince (''mtavari'') and ruler of Principality of Samtskhe from 1306 to 1334.Georgian Soviet encyclopedia, volume 9, page 102, Tbilisi, 1985 He was a s ...

(r. 1306-1334) with the dignity of

atabag 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 ...

, which would become hereditary in the Jaqeli line down to the 17th century. Henceforth, the principality was known as

Samtskhe-Saatabago The Samtskhe-Saatabago or Samtskhe Atabegate ( ka, სამცხე-საათაბაგო), also called the Principality of Samtskhe (სამცხის სამთავრო), was a Georgian feudal principality in Zemo Kartli, ru ...

, the latter part of this

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words Allen, W.E.D., The March-lands of Georgia. ''The Geographical Journal'', Vol. 74, No. 2. (Aug., 1929), p. 155. Suny, Ronald Grigor (1994), ''The Making of the Georgian Nation'', pp. 41, 44, 46-48, 52.

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes 140 ...

, By the mid-15th century, the Jaqeli family had finally succeeded in reducing the rival noble families into vassalage or in driving them out of Samtskhe. By 1490/1491, when the Georgian kingdom finally dissolved into a number of weak and rivaling polities, the Jaqelis were among the most active contending factions, "not without responsibility for the failure to maintain the political unity of the nation", as the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

scholar

William Edward David Allen William Edward David Allen (6 January 1901 – 18 September 1973) was a British scholar, Foreign Service officer, politician and businessman, best known as a historian of the South Caucasus—notably Georgia. He was closely involved in the polit ...

puts it. Beginning from 1578, Samtskhe became a target of Ottoman expansion, and the Jaqeli atabags, after a futile resistance, conveniently apostatized to Islam, and were made hereditary

pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignita ...

s of Akhaltsikhe, a position which they retained, with some brief intermissions, within the family throughout the unceasing wars between the Ottomans, the

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian dynasties and the Georgian rulers down to the eventual Russian conquest in 1829 (see Battle of Akhalzic). A cadet branch, from the Kvabliani valley, accepted the Russian rule and assumed the surname of Atabekov-Kvabliansky. Presently, there are 1526 people in Georgia of Jaqeli family.

Genealogy

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Jaqeli Noble families of Georgia (country) Georgian-language surnames Meskhetians

History

Genealogy

See also

References

External links