Giorgi I Dadiani ( ka, გიორგი I დადიანი; died 1323) was a member of the

House of Dadiani The House of Dadiani ( ka, დადიანი ), later known as the House of Dadiani-Chikovani, was a Georgia (country), Georgian family of nobles, dukes and princes, and a ruling dynasty of the western Georgian province of Principality of Ming ...

and ''

eristavi ''Eristavi'' (; literally, "head of the nation") was a Georgia (country), Georgian feudal office, roughly equivalent to the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine ''strategos'' and normally translated into English language, English as "prince" or less comm ...

'' ("duke") of

Odishi Odishi ( ka, ოდიში ) was a historical district in western Georgia, the core fiefdom of the former Principality of Mingrelia, with which the name "Odishi" was frequently coterminous. Since the early 19th century, this toponym has been ...

in western Georgia from the late 13th century until his death. The principal source on Giorgi Dadiani is the early-18th-century history by

Prince Vakhushti Vakhushti ( ka, ვახუშტი; 1696 – 1757) was a Georgians, Georgian royal prince (''batonishvili''), geographer, historian and cartographer. His principal historical and geographic works, ''Description of the Kingdom of Georgia'' and ...

, who does not report his parentage; the primary sources available to him have been lost. Giorgi Dadiani is also known from undated inscriptions, in the Georgian ''

asomtavruli The Georgian scripts are the three writing systems used to write the Georgian language: Asomtavruli, Nuskhuri and Mkhedruli. Although the systems differ in appearance, their letters share the same names and alphabetical order and are written ...

'' script, from the territory of Odishi, which allow reconstruction of his genealogy. He was a son of ''mandaturt-ukhutsesi'' ("Lord High Steward") Bediani-Dadiani by his wife Khuashak, daughter of Bega, ''eristavi'' of

Kartli Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...

, and had two brothers, Ioane and Erashahr. Giorgi is depicted in a fresco on the northern wall of the Khobi Cathedral, his own foundation, with a model of the church in his hands. An accompanying inscription identifies him as ''mandaturt-ukhutsesi''. Giorgi is further mentioned in two agapes from the

Monastery of the Cross The Monastery of the Cross (; ; ; ka, ჯვრის მონასტერი, ''jvris monast'eri'') is an Eastern Orthodox monastery near the Nayot neighborhood of Jerusalem. It is located in the Valley of the Cross, below the Israel Mu ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. Giorgi Dadiani held sway over his patrimonial princedom of Odishi, latter-day

Mingrelia Mingrelia or Samegrelo ( ka, სამეგრელო, tr ; ) is a historic province in the western part of Georgia, formerly known as Odishi. It is primarily inhabited by the Mingrelians, a subgroup of Georgians. Geography and climate Mingr ...

, in the time when the

Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia (), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a Middle Ages, medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in Anno Domini, AD. It reached Georgian Golden Age, its Golden Age of political and economic strength during the reign ...

, under the heavy-handed hegemony of the Mongol Ilkhans, suffered political division and was embroiled in a series of internecine feuds. Its western moiety,

Imereti Imereti ( Georgian: იმერეთი, ) is a region of Georgia situated in the central-western part of the republic along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni River. Imereti is the most populous region in Georgia. It consists of 11 mun ...

, of which Odishi was part, had also been fighting its own civil war between the successors of King David Narin—

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine g ...

and

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

. Giorgi Dadiani capitalized on these disorders to assert more autonomy for himself. He, further, seized the duchy of Tskhumi and the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

coastline in

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

up to Anacopia. According to Vakhushti, Giorgi died in 1323 and was succeeded by his son, Mamia I.

References

{{s-end 1323 deaths 13th-century people from Georgia (country) 14th-century people from Georgia (country) House of Dadiani