Solomon I
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Solomon I the Great, ( ka, სოლომონ I დიდი) (1735 – April 23, 1784), 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 ...
from 1752 to 1765 and again from 1767 until his death in 1784.


Biography

Solomon was a son of
Alexander V of Imereti Alexander V ( ka, ალექსანდრე V) (c. 1703/4 – March 1752), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was king (''mepe'') of Imereti (western Georgia) from 1720 his death in 1752, with the exceptions of the periods of 1741 and 1746–1749. R ...
by his second wife, Princess Tamar
Abashidze The House of Abashidze ( ka, აბაშიძე) is a Nobility of Georgia (country), Georgian noble family and a former List of Georgian princely families#A, Georgian princely house. Appearing in the 15th century, they achieved prominence in t ...
and succeeded upon his father's death in 1752. He immediately launched a series of stringent measures against the renegade nobles and slave trade from which they profited in conjunction with the Ottoman authorities. In 1752, the aristocratic opposition staged a coup, but Solomon quickly regained the crown and began a program of reforms aimed at stabilizing the kingdom torn apart by chronic civil wars. The Ottomans, which saw Imereti as the sphere of their influence, sent in an army, but Solomon succeeded in mobilizing his nobles around him and defeated the invaders at the
Battle of Khresili The Battle of Khresili ( ka, ხრესილის ბრძოლა, ) was fought on December 14, 1757, between the armies of the Kingdom of Imereti and the Ottoman Empire. King Solomon I of Imereti established a strong monarchy and unifie ...
in 1757. The same year, he forged an alliance with his kinsman, Heraclius II, who ruled in eastern Georgia. He defeated two more Ottoman invasions (20,000 strong and 13,000 strong). The Ottoman instigated invasion of North Caucasus tribes, one of which succeeded, while second one was thwarted. Briefly, Ottomans took Kutaisi in 1765 and placed his cousin, Teimuraz on the throne. In 1767, Solomon managed to stage a comeback, and freed Imereti of Turks again. Next year, another Russo-Turkish war broke out, and in May 1769, Solomon traveled to
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...
to meet with Heraclius II. The two kings decided to request five
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
regiments and join the war with the Ottoman Empire in exchange of the guarantee that Georgian interests would be protected in the final Russo-Turkish peace deal. The Russians sent a small force under General
Gottlieb Heinrich Totleben Gottlob Curt Heinrich Graf von Tottleben, Herr auf Tottleben, Zeippau und Hansdorf im Saganschen (also ''Tottleben'', ''Todtleben'', or ''Todleben''; ; 21 December 1715 – 20 March 1773) was a Saxon-born Russian general known for his adventuris ...
, but the general's rudeness and condescension alienated the Georgians; Totleben was quickly recalled from Georgia. A few of the battles Solomon was involved in was the 1769 siege of Şorapani and the 1770–1771 siege of Poti. After the war was over, Solomon was able to force his autonomist vassals, princes of
Mingrelia Mingrelia or Samegrelo ( ka, სამეგრელო, tr ; ) is a historic province in the western part of Georgia, formerly known as Odishi. It is primarily inhabited by the Mingrelians, a subgroup of Georgians. Geography and climate Mingr ...
and
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 ...
, into submission, and continued antagonizing the Ottoman hegemony in the region. Ottomans had no choice but to sign a treaty with Imereti, by which Imereti was no longer Ottoman vassal, slave trade was not even mentioned, with symbolic tribute of 60 women annually (did not stipulate them to be Georgians, and Solomon never honored this clause anyway). He crushed the Ottoman-sponsored insurrection in
Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...
in 1779, and made a series of forays into the Turkish-controlled southwestern historic Georgian lands. He died in March 1784 and was buried at the
Gelati Monastery Gelati ( ka, გელათის მონასტერი ) is a medieval monastic complex near Kutaisi in the Imereti region of western Georgia. One of the first monasteries in Georgia, it was founded in 1106 by King David IV of Georgia as ...
. He was canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church on 22 December 2016, his feast day set for 23 April ( NS 10 April).


Personal life

Solomon I was married three times; first, to Princess Tinatin Shervashidze, second to Princess Mariam
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 T ...
, daughter of Otia Dadiani (died 1778),
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 ...
, and third, Princess Gulkan Tsulukidze (1730–1800). He had five children, three sons and two daughters: *Prince David, born of Solomon's first marriage to Tinatin Shervashidze. *Prince
Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...
(1760–1780), born by Mariam Dadiani. He led a revolt against Solomon in 1778. *Princess
Darejan Nestan-Darejan ( ka, ნესტან-დარეჯანი) is a Georgian feminine given name, derived from the Persian ''nest andare jahan'', roughly translated as "the matchless". It occurs in the epic poem by the 12th-century Georgian poet ...
( ka) (1756–1827), born by Mariam Dadiani. She married, in 1768, Prince Kaikhosro
Abashidze The House of Abashidze ( ka, აბაშიძე) is a Nobility of Georgia (country), Georgian noble family and a former List of Georgian princely families#A, Georgian princely house. Appearing in the 15th century, they achieved prominence in t ...
. Their son, Prince Ivane
Abashidze The House of Abashidze ( ka, აბაშიძე) is a Nobility of Georgia (country), Georgian noble family and a former List of Georgian princely families#A, Georgian princely house. Appearing in the 15th century, they achieved prominence in t ...
, was a pretender to the throne of Imereti in 1820. *Princess Mariam (1769–1845), born by Mariam Dadiani. She married Prince Elizbar
Eristavi ''Eristavi'' (; literally, "head of the nation") was a Georgia (country), Georgian feudal office, roughly equivalent to the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine ''strategos'' and normally translated into English language, English as "prince" or less comm ...
of
Ksani The Ksani (, , ''Ĉysandon'') is a river in central Georgia, which rises on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range in South Ossetia and flows into the Kura (''Mtkvari''). It is a left tributary of the Kura. The Ksani is long ...
(1738–1813). *Prince Bagrat, an extramarital son.


Ancestry


References


სოლომონ I (Solomon I)
''People.Istoria.Ge''. Accessed on September 23, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Solomon 01 Of Imereti 1735 births 1784 deaths Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Imereti Kings of Imereti 18th-century people from Georgia (country) Eastern Orthodox monarchs People of the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)