The House of Turkestanishvili ( ka, თურქესტანიშვილი) or Turkistanishvili (თურქისტანიშვილი), was a noble family with origin in the eastern Georgian region of

Kartli Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...

who branched out in the 18th century in the

Russian Empire 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 ...

, where, as part of the

Russian nobility The Russian nobility or ''dvoryanstvo'' () arose in the Middle Ages. In 1914, it consisted of approximately 1,900,000 members, out of a total population of 138,200,000. Up until the February Revolution of 1917, the Russian noble estates staffed ...

they came to be known as Turkistanov () and then as Turkestanov (Туркестанов).

History

The genealogical tradition, such as that enshrined in the work of Prince Ioann of Georgia of the early 19th century, ascribes to the Turkestanishvili family an origin from

Turkestan Turkestan,; ; ; ; also spelled Turkistan, is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and East Turkestan (Xinjiang). The region is located in the northwest of modern day China and to the northwest of its ...

, whence, according to a legend, they came to the

Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia (), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a Middle Ages, medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in Anno Domini, AD. It reached Georgian Golden Age, its Golden Age of political and economic strength during the reign ...

in 1202, in the reign of

Queen Tamar Tamar the Great ( ka, თამარ მეფე, tr , ; 1160 – 18 January 1213) reigned as the Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, presiding over the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. A member of the Bagrationi dynasty, her position ...

. The presence of the family on the Georgian soil, in the province of

Somkhiti Somkhiti ( ka, სომხითი, ) was an ambiguous geographic term used in medieval and early modern Georgian historical sources to refer to Armenia on one hand and to the Armeno-Georgian marchlands along the river valleys of Debed and Kh ...

(

Kvemo Kartli Kvemo Kartli ( ka, ქვემო ქართლი ) or "Lower Kartli", is a historic province and current administrative region (mkhare) in southeastern Georgia. The city of Rustavi is the regional capital. Location Kvemo Kartli is a region ...

), is documented since the late 15th century. They were part of the untitled nobility (''

aznauri ''Aznauri'' ( ka, აზნაური, ; pl. ''aznaurni'', აზნაურნი, or ''aznaurebi'', აზნაურები) was a class of Georgian nobility. History The word derives from Middle Persian ''āznāvar'', which, in turn, co ...

'') under the authority of the

kings of Kartli Kings or King's may refer to: *Kings: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations. *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'', an 11th-century epic Persia ...

. Baadur Turkestanishvili, a diplomat, and Erasti Turkestanishvili, a man of letters, followed King

Vakhtang VI of Kartli Vakhtang VI ( ka, ვახტანგ VI), also known as Vakhtang the Scholar, Vakhtang the Lawgiver and Ḥosaynqolī Khan (; 15 September 1675 – 26 March 1737), was a Georgian monarch (''mepe'') of the royal Bagrationi dynasty. He ru ...

in his exile in Russia. Thus, a Russian branch was established and elevated by Vakhtang VI to the dignity of prince (''

tavadi ''Tavadi'' ( ka, თავადი, "prince", lit. "head/chief" an from ka, თავი ''tavi'', "head", with the prefix of agent ''-di'') was a feudal title in Georgia (country), Georgia first applied in the Late Middle Ages usually trans ...

'', ''

knyaz A , also , ''knjaz'' or (), is a historical Slavs, Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times. It is usually translated into English language, English as 'prince', 'king' or 'duke', depending on specific historical c ...

''), their new status also recognized and finally confirmed, in 1856, by the Russian government. Of this branch came Princess

Varvara Turkestanova Princess Varvara Ilynichna Turkestanova (; 26 December 1775 – 20 May 1819) was a Russian Empire, Russian noblewoman of Georgians, Georgian origin, known for her affair with Tsar Alexander I of Russia and her correspondence with the French émigr ...

(1775–1819), a mistress of Tsar

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", 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 in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...

, and Trifon (1861–1934), a revered hierarch of the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

. In 1857, a coat of arms submitted by the amateur historian Prince Nikolay Turkestanov was approved by the Russian Senate, but it was never officially registered by the Department of Heraldry. The Turkestanishvili who remained in Georgia continued to be listed among the ''aznauri'' and were mentioned as such in the list of the Georgian noble families attached to the Russo–Georgian

treaty of Georgievsk The Treaty of Georgievsk (; ka, გეორგიევსკის ტრაქტატი, tr) was a bilateral treaty concluded between the Russian Empire and the east Georgian kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti on July 24, 1783. The treaty establi ...

of 1783.

References

{{Reflist Noble families of Georgia (country) Russian noble families