Konstantine (Murzakan) Dadeshkeliani ( Georgian: კონსტანტინე (მურზაყან) ციოყის ძე დადიშქელიანი; 1826–1857) was the last prince (''

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

'') of the western Georgian mountainous region of

Svaneti Svaneti (Svan language, Svan: შუ̂ან, ლემშუ̂ანიერა; ''shwan, lemshwaniera'', and Suania in ancient sources; ka, სვანეთი ) is a historic province in the northwestern part of Georgia (country), Georg ...

from 1841 to 1857. The eldest son of Prince Mikheil (Tsiok) Dadeshkeliani, he succeeded on his father’s death in September 1841. He ruled under the regency of his grandmother Digorkhan, who died in an armed conflict between the two branches of Dadeshkeliani of

in 1843. Konstantine assumed full ruling powers in 1846. He remained a nominal vassal of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, but was effectively independent. Continuing dynastic strife among the Dadishkeliani, their defiance to the Russian government, and vacillation during the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

(1854–1856), however, led to direct Russian intervention. In 1857, Prince Alexander Baryatinsky, Viceroy of the Caucasus, ordered Svaneti to be subdued by armed force. Konstantine chose to negotiate, but was deposed on September 11, 1857, and ordered into exile to

Erivan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

. On a farewell audience in

Kutaisi Kutaisi ( ; ka, ქუთაისი ) is a city in the Imereti region of the Georgia (country), Republic of Georgia. One of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, it is the List o ...

on October 27, 1857, he quarreled with a local Russian administrator,

Alexander Gagarin Prince Alexander Ivanovich Gagarin () (1801 – 27 October 1857) was a Russian general and nobleman of Rurikid ancestry who was involved in the Caucasian and Crimean wars. In 1857, he served as a governor-general of Kutaisi and was killed by C ...

, and stabbed to death him and three of his staff. When captured, Konstantine was summarily tried by court martial and shot on. Lang, David Marshall (1962), ''A Modern History of Georgia'', pp. 96-97.

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dadeshkeliani, Konstantine 1826 births 1857 deaths Nobility of Georgia (country)

Konstantine Konstantine is a masculine given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the ...

People executed by the Russian Empire by firing squad