Khosro ( ka, ხოსრო; died c. 1570) was a Georgian prince of the

Bagrationi dynasty The Bagrationi dynasty (; ) is a royal family, royal dynasty which reigned in Georgia (country), Georgia from the Middle Ages until the early 19th century, being among the oldest extant Christianity, Christian ruling dynasties in the world. In ...

of the

Kingdom of Imereti The Kingdom of Imereti ( ka, იმერეთის სამეფო, tr) was a Georgian monarchy established in 1455 by a member of the house of Bagrationi when the Kingdom of Georgia was dissolved into rival kingdoms. Before that time, I ...

, who led an abortive revolt against King George II of Imereti in 1568.

Family background

The 18th-century Georgian historian

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 ...

makes Khosro a grandson of

Prince Vakhtang of Imereti Vakhtang ( ka, ვახტანგი; after 1495 – 1548) was a Georgian prince of the Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Imereti, a younger son of King Alexander II of Imereti by his wife Tamar. Vakhtang was in opposition to his elder broth ...

, a version followed by the latter-day scholars such as

Marie-Félicité Brosset Marie-Félicité Brosset (24 January 1802 – 3 September 1880) was a French historian and scholar who worked mostly in the Russian Empire. He specialized in Georgian and Armenian studies. Brosset's interest in the Caucasus developed while ...

and

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 ...

. More recent genealogy, currently established in Georgia and based on the identification of Khosro as a cousin of George II in a contemporary document, considers Khosro as a son, not a grandson, of Prince Vakhtang. Khosro appears to have had a daughter, unknown by the name, who was married to Prince Constantine, a grandson of King Constantine II of Georgia.

Career

In 1568, Khosro led a revolt of the Imeretian nobles against King George II. A major driving force behind the rebellion was

Levan I Dadiani Levan I Dadiani (also Leon; ka, ლევან ��ეონI დადიანი; died 1572) was a member of the House of Dadiani and ruler of Odishi, that is, Mingrelia, in western Georgia. He succeeded on the death of his father, Mamia III ...

Prince of Mingrelia Principalities Princes and dukes of Guria *Kakhaber I Gurieli c. 1385–1410 * Mamia Gurieli c. 1450–1469 * Kakhaber II Gurieli 1469–1483 * Giorgi I Gurieli 1483–1512 * Mamia I Gurieli 1512–1534 * Rostom Gurieli 1534–1564 * Giorgi II Gu ...

, who made common cause with the Imeretian opposition. George was betrayed by one of his men and Khosro and Varaz Chiladze led the rebels in a "treacherous" attack on the king at Ianeti. George won, however, forcing the rebels into flight. Dadiani escaped 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 ...

, while Chiladze was killed at the king's behest. Prince Khosro went in obscurity. He might have been the certain Khosro, whose palace in

Khoni Khoni ( ka, ხონი ) is a town in the Western Georgia (country), Georgian region (mkhare) of Imereti with a population of 7,756 as of January 2024. It is situated on the left bank of the Tskhenistsqali, Tskhenistsqali River in the north-we ...

was granted by King George II to Prince Tsulukidze in a charter issued in 1570.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khosro, Prince of Imereti 1570 deaths Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Imereti 16th-century people from Georgia (country)