Mkheidze (), originally Mkhetsidze (მხეციძე), also Pkheidze (ფხეიძე), Kheidze (ხეიძე), Mkhetsia (მხეცია), and Khetsia (ხეცია), is a
Georgian noble family, known from the eighth century. This house, centered at the western district of
Argveti
Argveti (), also Margveti (), is a historic district in Imereti, western Georgia.
Overview
The area lay on the historic Iberian- Lazican frontier, i.e., between what are now eastern and western parts of Georgia. From the 3rd century BC to the ...
, has survived to the end of the Georgian kingdoms and the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...
which granted them recognition of their princely title (Georgian:
tavadi
''Tavadi'' ( ka, თავადი, "prince", lit. "head/chief" an from ka, თავი ''tavi'', "head", with the prefix of agent ''-di'') was a feudal title in Georgia first applied in the Late Middle Ages usually translated in English as Pr ...
, Russian:
knyaz
, or (Old Church Slavonic: Кнѧзь) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, dependi ...
) in 1850.
History
According to the Georgian author
Ioane Bagrationi
Ioane ( ka, იოანე ბაგრატიონი) (16 May 1768 in Tbilisi, Georgia – 15 February 1830 in Saint Petersburg, Russia) was a Georgian prince (batonishvili), writer and encyclopaedist.
Life
A son of George XII, the ...
, writing early in the 19th century, the Mkheidze traced their descent to the medieval house of
Liparitid-Orbeli though the version cannot be substantiated by servicing historical evidence. A legend has it that the 8th-century nobles David and Constantine killed by the Arabs belonged to the Mkheidze family.
The Mkhe(ts)idze are first documented in the 11th-century cross inscription. In the early 16th century, the Mkheidze fief – Samkheidzo – emerged centered on the village of Zedubani near the present-day town of
Tqibuli, but went in decline later that century. In the 17th century, the family partially restored its old prestige. Several of its members occupied high posts at the court of the
Imeretian kings. They intermarried with the
Dadiani
The House of Dadiani ( ka, დადიანი ), later known as the House of Dadiani- Chikovani, was a Georgian family of nobles, dukes and princes, and a ruling dynasty of the western Georgian province of Mingrelia.
The House of Dadiani
Th ...
of
Mingrelia
Mingrelia ( ka, სამეგრელო, tr; xmf, სამარგალო, samargalo; ab, Агырны, Agirni) is a historic province in the western part of Georgia, formerly known as Odishi. It is primarily inhabited by the Mingrelia ...
, the
Gurieli
The House of Gurieli () was a Georgian princely ('' mtavari'') family and a ruling dynasty (dukes) of the southwestern Georgian province of Guria, which was autonomous and later, for a few centuries, independent. A few ducal rulers of the dyna ...
of
Guria
Guria ( ka, გურია) is a region ('' mkhare'') in Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 113,000 (2016), with Ozurgeti as the regional capital.
Geograph ...
, and the
Bagrationi of
Kakheti
Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region ( mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises e ...
and of Imereti.
With the death of Giorgi Mkheidze (1795–1856), the princely branch of the Imeretian Chkheidze became extinct in their male line. The surviving Chkheidze descend from the gentry (
aznauri ''Aznauri'' ( ka, აზნაური, ; pl. ''aznaurni'', აზნაურნი, or ''aznaurebi'', აზნაურები) was a class of Georgian nobility.
The word derives from Middle Persian ''āznāvar'', which, in turn, correspond ...
) line as well as the princely one established in Mingrelia in the first half of the 18th century.
[ Chikovani, Iuri & Bichikashvili, Ioseb (2005), I. მიქელაძეთა საგვარეულო II. მხეიძეთა საგვარეულოები ("The families of Mikeladze and Mkheidze"). ]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 p ...
: Georgian Genealogical Society,
Online version
from the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia
The National Parliamentary Library of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პარლამენტის ეროვნული ბიბლიოთეკა, ''sakartvelos p'arlament'is erovnuli bibliotek'a'') is a governmenta ...
)
References
Noble families of Georgia (country)
Georgian-language surnames
{{Georgia-noble-stub