House of Vardanisdze

The House of Vardanisdze ( _ka. ვარდანისძე) was an aristocratic family in medieval Georgia, listed among the Great Nobles ("didebuli") of the realm.

The family is presumed to have branched off from another eminent Georgian feudal clan of the Marushisdze, a hypothesis supported by the abundance of the name Marushiani in the Vardanisdze family. The first attested member and arguably a founder of the family is Vardan, eristavi of the Svans, in the latter half of the 11th century. The dignity of eristavi (or eristavt-eristavi) of the Svans was hereditary in his descendants later known as Vardanisdze ("Vardan" + -"dze", "a son"). They also held various important posts at the Georgian royal court, including "mechurchlet-ukhutsesi" (Lord High Treasurer), "msakhurt-ukhutsesi" (Lord Great Chamberlain) and "mandaturt-ukhutsesi" (Lord High Mandator) of Likht-Imereti (i.e., west Georgia).

The family gave origin to two important branches, the Dadiani of Mingrelia, and the Gurieli of Guria while in Svaneti they were replaced by the House of Gelovani. [ნ. შოშიაშვილი (N. Shoshiashvili), "ვარდანისძენი" ("The Vardanisdze"). ქართული საბჭოთა ენციკლოპედია ("Encyclopaedia Georgiana"), Vol. 4: p. 299. Tbilisi, 1979.]

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