Tariel "Taia" Dadiani ( ka, ტარიელ ��აიადადიანი; ), of the

House of Dadiani The House of Dadiani ( ka, დადიანი ), later known as the House of Dadiani-Chikovani, was a Georgia (country), Georgian family of nobles, dukes and princes, and a ruling dynasty of the western Georgian province of Principality of Ming ...

, was

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 ...

from 1793 to 1794 and in 1802 as a rival to his elder brother,

Grigol Dadiani Grigol Dadiani ( ka, გრიგოლ დადიანი; 1770 – 23 October 1804), of the House of Dadiani, was Prince of Mingrelia from 1788 to 1804, with intermissions from 1791 to 1794 and in 1802 when his position was filled by his riv ...

, whose rule was marred by the long-standing struggle between the Imeretian crown seeking to subdue Mingrelia and Mingrelian efforts to win full independence, a continuation of the conflict which had plagued western Georgia for centuries. Tariel enjoyed the support of King

Solomon II of Imereti Solomon II (born as David) ( ka, სოლომონ II; 1772 – February 7, 1815), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the last king ('' mepe'') of Imereti (western Georgia) from 1789 to 1790 and from 1792 until his deposition by the Imperial Rus ...

, whom he joined in an uprising against the

Imperial Russian The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

encroachment in 1810.

Biography

Manuchar was a son of Katsia II Dadiani by his third wife, Princess Anna Tsulukidze. In 1791, King

, who sought to unite all of western Georgia under his authority, deposed Grigol Dadiani and replaced him by his more amenable brother Manuchar. Manuchar's positions was soon tattered by Grigol's continuing efforts to comeback and he had to seek refuge in neighboring

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 ...

. Solomon then briefly installed Tariel as prince-regnant, but Grigol prevailed by 1794. With Solomon's renewed offensive in Mingrelia in 1802, Grigol was once again deposed and replaced by Tariel, but the king's success was short-lived. Grigol was able to resume his tenure and placed, in 1804, Mingrelia under the Russian protection. When Prince Grigol died in October 1804, his young son and successor Levan was placed under regency of the princess dowager Nino. Tariel, like his brother Manuchar, quickly withdraw in opposition to the new government, further exasperated by Nino's efforts to dispossess her opponents of their estates. By January 1810, Tariel and Manuchar had been in an open revolt. Tariel entrenched himself at the castle of Dzhgali. When a combined Mingrelian-Russian force moved against him, Tariel agreed to surrender provided his estates were confirmed to him. Princess Nino reneged on her promise and Tariel fled to Solomon II of Imereti, joining him in resistance to the Russians. After Solomon's defeat, Tariel moved to the highland province of

Lechkhumi Lechkhumi ( ) is a historic province in northwestern Georgia (country), Georgia which comprises the area along the middle basin of the Rioni river, Rioni and Tskhenistskali and also the Lajanuri river valley. Now part of the Racha-Lechkhumi and K ...

and, together with the nobleman Beri Gelovani, induced the locals to take to arms, but the disturbances were quickly contained through Nino's diplomacy. Tariel then joined Solomon in his exile 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 the Ottoman territory and subsequently resided with his in-laws in

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 ...

. Eventually, he reconciled with his nephew Levan, who assumed full ruling powers after Nino was sidelined by the Russian authorities from the Mingrelian government. In 1833, Tariel led a mission to bring Levan's defiant nephew, Dimitri Sharvashidze of Samurzakano, to justice, which ended in Dimitri being killed during a skirmish in Chuburkhinji.

Family

Tariel was married to a daughter of Simon II Gurieli. He had six children, whose descendants still survive.

References

{{s-end House of Dadiani 18th-century people from Georgia (country) 19th-century people from Georgia (country)