The House of Palavandishvili ( ka, ფალავანდიშვილი) is an ancient Georgian aristocratic family, known from the 12th/13th century and received among the princely nobility of

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

as Princes Palavandov () in the 19th century.

History

"Palavandishvili" means a warrior. When Georgia had a war, they agreed with their enemy not to shed one's blood and to choose one of their chosen warriors and to fight one on one. After a great battle of two magnificent warriors, Palavandishvili won and inculcated the name of warrior. Bagrationi, Ioane (1768-1830)
Phalavandis-shvili
''The Brief Description of the Georgian Noble Houses''. Retrieved on March 30, 2009. Dolgorukov, Pyotr (1856), "Российская родословная книга, т. III" ("Russian Genealogical Book, vol. III"), p. 481.

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

: Eduard Veymar Typography According to

Cyril Toumanoff Cyril Leo Toumanoff ( ka, კირილ თუმანოვი; ; 10 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Georgian-American historian, and academic genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armen ...

, dynastic patronymic of this family – Palavandishvili literally translates as “the sons of Palavandi” – betrays their connection with the Armenian house of

Pahlavuni Pahlavuni (; classical orthography: Պահլաւունի) was an Armenian noble family, a branch of the Kamsarakan, that rose to prominence in the late 10th century during the last years of the Bagratuni monarchy. Origins The Pahlavunis (a ...

of ancient

Arsacid The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power centered in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe ...

(Parthian) stock; and the family legend of migration may be a vague memory of the Palavandishvili's Pahlavid descent.

Toumanoff, Cyril Cyril Leo Toumanoff ( ka, კირილ თუმანოვი; ; 10 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Georgian-American historian, and academic genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armen ...

(1967). ''Studies in Christian Caucasian History'', pp. 208, 270.

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. The Palavandishvili first established themselves in

Akhaltsikhe Akhaltsikhe ( ka, ახალციხე ), formerly known as Lomsia ( ka, ლომსია ), is a small city in Georgia's southwestern region () of Samtskhe–Javakheti. It is the administrative center of the Akhaltsikhe Municipality and ...

in south Georgian province of

Samtskhe Meskheti ( ka, მესხეთი ) or Samtskhe ( ka, სამცხე ), also known as Moschia in ancient sources, is a mountainous area in southwestern Georgia. History Ancient tribes known as the Mushki (or Moschi) and Mosiniks (or Mo ...

which fell to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

in the 16th century. Most of them then fled northward, in the kingdom 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 ...

; those who remained in Samtskhe apostatized to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. In Kartli, the family were confirmed in princely rank (

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 (country), Georgia first applied in the Late Middle Ages usually trans ...

) and received a hereditary fief – known as Sapalavando – in the Prone valley the latter being their offshoot. In the contemporary aristocratic hierarchy, the Palavandishvili were grandees of the first class and vassals to the Princes of Mukhrani. After the Russian annexation of Georgia they were confirmed as princes of the Russian Empire in 1825 and 1850 and they made many marriage with Russian noble families members They are also relative of Bagrationi, Tsitsishvili, Tarkhan-Mouravi, Pahlevi, Khimshiashvili and another dynasty. Famous prince Palavandishvili/Palavandovs are: Eliazar Palavandishvili, ambasador in Russia at the end of the 18-th century, gubernator of Tiflisi gubernia prince Nikoloz Palavandov, filologist and translator Zakaria Palavandov, Prince Ioan son of Antony Palavandov was a member of the education society, Prince Antony son of Ioan Palavandov was a politician-reformer etc.(Prince Palavandishvili house.) Prince Palavandishvili has three coat of arms, oldest coat of arms was approved in 1826(informations are at the archives of the world).

References

{{Reflist Noble families of Georgia (country) Russian noble families Georgian-language surnames