Prince Konstantin Dadiani ( ka, კონსტანტინე დადიანი, ; 18 October 1819 – 25 April 1889) was a Georgian nobleman 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 general of the

Russian Imperial Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

. During his nearly four-decade long military career, he fought in the

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Common meanings *Anything from the Caucasus region or related to it ** Ethnic groups in the Caucasus ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus re ...

Crimean Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrai ...

, and Turkish wars.

Caucasus mountains

Prince Dadiani was the third son of Levan V Dadiani, Prince of Mingrelia, and his wife, Princess Marta, née Tsereteli. In 1839, he graduated from St. Petersburg Page Corps and was commissioned as a '' khorunzhy'' in a

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

regiment. Assigned to the Caucasian Corps in 1842, Dadiani fought in the

Caucasian War The Caucasian War () or the Caucasus War was a 19th-century military conflict between the Russian Empire and various peoples of the North Caucasus who resisted subjugation during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus. It consisted of a series o ...

against the mountaineers of

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...

in 1844 and

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

from 1846 to 1848. He particularly distinguished himself in putting down a rebellion in Samurzakano in 1849, winning the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th Class. In August 1853, he was fighting again in Chechnya, when the death of his brother, David, Prince of Mingrelia, compelled Konstantin Dadiani to return to

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 ...

to become part of the regency council for his underage nephew Niko presided by David's widow Princess Ekaterina.

Crimean War

Dadiani's return to Mingrelia coincided with the outbreak of 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 ...

, followed by landing of the Ottoman troops in Mingrelia in May 1854. He assumed command of a Mingrelian militia and engaged the superior Ottoman forces at Koki and Kokati on 25 October 1854. With the Ottoman advance, the Russian regular troops retreated from Mingrelia and parts of Mingrelian militia deserted their ranks. Dadiani, with a remaining force, moved to the highlands to protect the family of his late brother. After the Ottoman withdrawal, Konstantin Dadiani marshaled his militia again and joined the

Guria Guria ( ka, გურია) is a region (''mkhare'') in Georgia (country), Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 104,338 (2023), with Ozurgeti as the regional cap ...

detachment in its operations against the Ottoman forces.

Later career

During a peasant revolt in Mingrelia in 1857, Konstantin Dadiani and his brother, Grigory, were recalled to

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

, while Ekaterina was summoned to St. Petersburg. Thus, the regency was sidelined from Mingrelia's government and its autonomy was effectively abrogated. The family accepted the accomplished fact; both Konstantin and Grigory remained in the imperial service. The former was made aide-de-camp to the Tsar Alexander II in 1858 and promoted to major-general in 1866. During the 1877–1878 war with the Ottoman Empire, Dadiani commanded a unit operating on the eastern

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 to block Ottoman landings. On 15 June 1877, he was wounded during bombardment by a squadron of Ottoman warships. After the war, Dadiani was promoted to lieutenant-general and enlisted in reserves of the Caucasian Army. In 1887, he served as an arbiter in the

Senaki Senaki ( ka, სენაკი, ''senak'i''; , ''sanak'i'') is a city in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region, western Georgia. It is located at around between the rivers Tekhura/i and Tsivi, at an elevation of 28–38 meters above sea level. Senaki i ...

uyezd An uezd (also spelled uyezd or uiezd; rus, уе́зд ( pre-1918: уѣздъ), p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context () was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, the R ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dadiani, Konstantin 1819 births 1889 deaths

Konstantin The first name Konstantin () is a derivation from the Latin name '' Constantinus'' ( Constantine) in some European languages, such as Bulgarian, Russian, Estonian and German. As a Christian given name, it refers to the memory of the Roman empe ...

19th-century people from Georgia (country) Imperial Russian Army generals Georgian generals in the Imperial Russian Army Georgian lieutenant generals (Imperial Russia) Russian military personnel of the Caucasian War Russian military personnel of the Crimean War Russian military personnel of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)