Rostom ( ka, როსტომი) (1571–1605), 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 ...

, was a

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

(''

mepe ''Mepe'' (Old Georgian: ႫႴ; ka, მეფე ; ) is a royal title used to designate the Georgian monarch, whether it is referring to a king or a queen regnant. The title was originally a male ruling title. Etymology The word is derived from ...

'') of

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 ...

in the periods of 1588–1589 and 1590–1605.

Biography

A son of

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 ...

, sometime claimant to the crown of Imereti, and his wife, Princess Elene

Gurieli The House of Gurieli () was a Georgia (country), 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 ru ...

(died 1605), daughter of

Rostom Gurieli Rostom Gurieli ( ka, როსტომ გურიელი; died 1564), of the House of Gurieli, was Prince of Guria from 1534 until his death in 1564. Alongside his royal suzerain, Bagrat III of Imereti, Rostom fought against the expanding Otto ...

, Prince of Guria. He was raised to the throne through the support of Mamia IV Dadiani,

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 had deposed King Leon of Imereti in 1588. Rostom's authority was defied, however, by his ostensible vassal Giorgi II Gurieli, prince of

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 ...

, who employed an Ottoman force to dethrone the king in favor of Rostom's relative Bagrat IV. Rostom fled to Mingrelia, from where he continued struggle for the crown. The eastern Georgian king

Simon I of Kartli Simon I the Great ( ka, სიმონ I დიდი, tr), also known as Svimon ( ka, სვიმონი, tr; 1537 – 1611), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a Georgia (country), Georgian List of monarchs of Georgia, king (''mepe'') of Kingd ...

exploited the situation and brought most of Imereti under his control. Rostom fled to Mingrelia, with

Manuchar I Dadiani Manuchar I Dadiani ( ka, მანუჩარ I დადიანი; died 1611) was Prince of Mingrelia, of the House of Dadiani, from 1590 until his death. A younger son of Levan I Dadiani, he succeeded on the death of his elder brother, Ma ...

, who rejected Simon's ultimatum and moved into Imereti. He defeated Simon at Opshkviti and ousted him from Imereti in 1590. Suny, Ronald Grigor (1994), ''The Making of the Georgian Nation: 2nd edition'', p. 49.

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes ...

, Rostom was reinstated as king of Imereti and made peace with Simon. His authority was largely nominal though, and the power was effectively held by a Georgian aristocratic élite, most notably by the

. Although Rostom was married to Princess Tinatin

Jaqeli The House of Jaqeli ( ka, ჯაყელი) was an old Georgian princely family ('' mtavari'') and a ruling dynasty of the Principality of Samtskhe, an offshoot of the House of Chorchaneli. History "Jaqeli", literally meaning "of/from Jaqi ...

(d. 1610), he died childless in 1605 and was succeeded by his half-brother

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

References

* Вахушти Багратиони (Vakhushti Bagrationi) (1745)
История Царства Грузинского: Жизнь Имерети
1571 births 1605 deaths Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Imereti Kings of Imereti {{Georgia-royal-stub