Sefer Ali-Bey Sharvashidze (also known by the

Christian name A Christian name, sometimes referred to as a baptismal name, is a religious personal name given on the occasion of a Christian baptism, though now most often assigned by parents at birth. In English-speaking cultures, a person's Christian nam ...

of Giorgi Sharvashidze) was a prince of the

Principality of Abkhazia The Principality of Abkhazia ( ka, აფხაზეთის სამთავრო, tr) emerged as a separate feudal entity in the 15th-16th centuries, amid the civil wars in the Kingdom of Georgia that concluded with the dissolution of t ...

in 1810–21. He was the youngest son of

Kelesh Ahmed-Bey Sharvashidze Kelesh Ahmed-Bey (Kelesh-Bey) Sharvashidze (1747–1808) was the head of state of the Principality of Abkhazia from the 1780s to 1808. Kelesh-Bey was the son of Manuchar Sharvashidze. Biography Kelesh-Bey was born in 1747 in the Principality of ...

. After Kelesh Ahmed-bey was killed by his heir,

Aslan-Bey Sharvashidze Aslan-Bey / Nikoloz Sharvashidze was a prince of the Principality of Abkhazia in 1808–10. He was the second son of Kelesh Ahmed-Bey Sharvashidze. Aslan Bey was christened in his childhood as Nikoloz Sharvashidze, but he was taken captive by the ...

(or, according to George Hewitt by Sefer-bey himself, together with

Nino Dadiani Nino ( ka, ნინო; 15 April 1772 – 30 May 1847) was a Georgian princess royal (''batonishvili'') as a daughter of King George XII of Georgia and princess consort of Mingrelia as the wife of Grigol Dadiani, Sovereign Prince of Mingrelia. Af ...

and the Russian military administration), Sefer Ali-Bey was forced to hide out in neighboring

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 ...

under the protection of the Mingrelian princess regent Nino. With the help of the Mingrelian nobility, Sefer Ali-Bey tried unsuccessfully, to usurp the throne of Abkhazia. In 1809, Sharvashidze asked the

Tsarist Tsarist autocracy (russian: царское самодержавие, transcr. ''tsarskoye samoderzhaviye''), also called Tsarism, was a form of autocracy (later absolute monarchy) specific to the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states th ...

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 ...

to take Abkhazia under its protection, with the condition that Ali-Bey be established as the new ruler of the Principality. After decisive Russian victories during the

Second Russo-Turkish War The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...

, the Russian forces were able to expel pro-Turkish Abkhazians as well as the remaining Turkish forces from the region.

Tsar Alexander I Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son of Gr ...

established Sefer Ali-Bey Sharvashidze as the new ruler of Abkhazia on 17 February 1810. He died in 1821 and was buried at the

Lykhny Church The Church of Dormition of Lykhny ( ka, ლიხნის ტაძარი, tr) is a medieval Eastern Orthodox, Orthodox Christian church in the village of Lykhny in Abkhazia/Georgia (country), Georgia, built in the 10th century. History ...

References

* ''Georgian State (Soviet) Encyclopedia.'' 1983. Book 10. p. 689. Year of birth missing 1821 deaths Abkhazian former Muslims Princes of Abkhazia Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Islam House of Shervashidze {{abkhazia-bio-stub