Dadiani

Dadiani coat of arms

Dadiani (Georgian: დადიანი) was a Georgian family of nobles, dukes and princes, and a ruling dynasty of the western Georgian province of Samegrelo.

The House of Dadiani

The first data about the family dates back to 1046. Presumably, the Dadiani descended from a certain Dadi, of the House of Vardanisdze. Appointed as hereditary eristavi (dukes) of Odishi (Samegrelo) in reward for their military services, the family had become the most powerful feudal house in western Georgia by the 1280s. At that time, the branches of the family governed also Svaneti and Guria.

In 1542, Duke Levan I Dadiani became hereditary Prince (mtavari) of Mingrelia and established himself as an independent ruler. His descendant Prince Levan III Dadiani was forced to abdicate in 1691 and Dadiani’s relatives from the Chicovani (ჩიქოვანი in Georgian) family inherited the title of Princes of Mingrelia and the surname of Dadiani. Accepting Russian sovereignty in 1802, the Dadiani were elevated to the dignity of Prince of the Russian Empire (Russian: Дадиани) and enjoyed significant independence in their home affairs. Niko Dadiani, the last Prince of Samegrelo was deposed and his principality was abolished by the Russian government on January 4, 1857. Prince Niko Dadiani officially renounced his rights to the throne in 1868.

Dukes (eristavi) and Princes (mtavari) of Mingrelia

The Dadiani Palace Museum in Zugdidi.

Tsalenjikha Cathedral which contains the Dadiani dynastic chapels

• Vardan I Dadiani (ca 1180ss-1190s)

• Shergil Dadiani (ca 1220s-1240s)

• Vardan II Dadiani (ca 1240s-1250s)

• Tsotne Dadiani (ca 1260s)

• Bedan Dadiani (ca 1270s-ca 1290s)

• Giorgi I Dadiani (ca 1293-1323)

• Mamia I Dadiani (1323-1345)

• Giorgi II Dadiani (1345-1384)

• Vameq I Dadiani (1384-1396)

• Mamia II Dadiani (1396-1414)

• Liparit I Dadiani (1414-1470)

• Shamandavle Dadiani (1470-1473)

• Vameq II Dadiani (1474-1482)

• Liparit II Dadiani (1482-1512)

• Mamia III Dadiani (1512-1533)

• Levan I Dadiani (1533-1546)

• Giorgi III Dadiani (1546-1573, 1574-1582)

• Mamia IV Dadiani (1574, 1582-1590)

• Manuchar I Dadiani (1590-1611)

• Levan II Dadiani (1611-1657)

• Liparit III Dadiani (1657-1658)

• Vameq III Dadiani (1658-1661)

• Levan III Dadiani (1661-1681)

• Levan IV Dadiani (1681-1691)

• Giorgi IV Dadiani (Lipartiani) (1700-1704, 1710-1714)

• Katsia I Dadiani (1704-1710)

• Bezhan I Dadiani (1714-1728)

• Otia I Dadiani (1728-1758)

• Katsia II Dadiani (1758-1788)

• Grigol I Dadiani (1788-1791, 1794-1802, 1802-1804)

• Manuchar II Dadiani (1791-1793)

• Tariel Dadiani (1793-1794, 1802)

• Levan V Dadiani (1804-1840)

• David I Dadiani (1840-1853)

• Niko I Dadiani (1853-1857)

Heads of the Princely House of Mingrelia

• Niko I Dadiani (1857-1903)

• Niko II Dadiani (1903-1919)

• Shalva Dadiani (1919-1959)

• Archil Dadiani (1959-1976)

• Niko III Dadiani (1976-present)

Other members of the family

• Constantine Dadiani, poet and general of Russian army

• Andria Dadiani, chess player and tournament patron

• Ekaterine Dadiani, Princess of Megrelia

• Salome Dadiani, wife of Prince Achiile Murat

• Shalva Dadiani, prominent writer and dramatist

See Also

• House of Chicovani

External links

• Dadiani Dynasty. A project by Smithsonian & National Parliamentary Library of Georgia