Levan V Dadiani
Levan V Dadiani (Georgian: ლევან V დადიანი; 1793 – 30 July 1846), of the House of Dadiani, was Prince of Mingrelia, in western Georgia, from 1804 to 1846. Succeeding on the death of his father Grigol Dadiani, he ruled—initially under the regency of his mother Nino from 1804 to 1811—as a loyal subject of the Russian Empire. Levan Dadiani took little interest in the details of government and resigned in favor of his son, David Dadiani, in 1840, remaining a titular Prince of Mingrelia until his death.
Early life and rule
Levan Dadiani was the eldest son of Grigol Dadiani, Prince of Mingrelia, and his wife, Nino, daughter of
In Russian service
As Levan was underage at his accession, the regency council presided by his mother was established. The council was ridden with internal tensions; Princess Nino was sidelined from the government and Levan assumed full ruling powers in 1811. He championed Russian interests in the region and took part, at the head of Mingrelian forces ("militia"), in Russian military campaigns.
Levan was also instrumental in extending Russian influence into Abkhazia, where he supported his relative, Prince
Mingrelian state of affairs
Levan Dadiani's rule was autocratic. Personally, he was devoted to hunting and had little interest in the administrative affairs of his principality, which he had effectively relegated to his relative Didi-Niko Dadiani until the latter died in 1834.[4] He still helped establish a school at the Martvili Monastery in 1830. Levan, anticipating riches by selling timber to Egypt, dreamed of turning Zugdidi, Mingrelia's chief town, into a modern city called Grigoriopolis[6] and filed a request to the tsar Nicholas I to be allowed to do so in 1837, a few months after he hosted the Russian monarch in his possessions in September 1837. Nicholas I ruled the place could be named Grigoriopolis to appease Dadiani, but withheld his approval to grant to it a city status.[7]
After Niko Dadiani's death in 1834, Levan summoned his eldest son
Family
Levan Dadiani was married twice. He wed first, in 1810, Princess Nino (died 1811), daughter of Prince Zurab Tsereteli (1747–1823), Mayor of the Palace (sakhlt-ukhutsesi) of Imereti. Levan's second wife was his late consort's younger sister Marta (died 1839), mother of his three sons and two daughters.[4]
- Prince David Dadiani (1812–1853), Prince of Mingrelia (1840–1853), major-general;
- Prince Grigol Dadiani (1814–1901), general of the infantry and a poet;
- Princess Nino Dadiani (1816–1886), Lady-in-waiting of the Imperial Court of Russia. She married in 1836 Prince Ivane Bagration of Mukhrani;
- Prince Konstantin Dadiani (1819–1889), lieutenant-general;
- Princess Ekaterine Dadiani (1821–1858), who married in 1833 Prince Dimitri (Seit-Bey) Shervashidze. They were the parents of Giorgi Shervashidze (1847–1918), Governor of Tiflis (1889–1897).
Notes
- ^ Rayfield 2012, p. 266.
- ^ Gvosdev 2000, p. 115.
- ^ Gvosdev 2000, p. 123.
- ^ a b c d e Grebelsky, Dumin & Lapin 1993, p. 54.
- ^ Rayfield 2012, p. 277.
- ^ Rayfield 2012, p. 282.
- ^ Berzhe 1884, p. 382.
- ^ "David Dadiani". Dadiani Dynasty. Smithsonian Institution in association with National Parliamentary Library of Georgia. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
References
- Berzhe, Adolf (1884). "Император Николай на Кавказе в 1837 году [Emperor Nicholas I in the Caucasus in 1837]"(PDF). Russkaya Starina (in Russian). 43: 377–398.
- Grebelsky, P. Kh.; Dumin, S.V.; Lapin, V.V. (1993). Дворянские роды Российской империи. Том 4: Князья Царства Грузинского [Noble families of the Russian Empire. Vol. 4: Princes of the Kingdom of Georgia] (in Russian). Vesti.
- ISBN 0312229909.
- ISBN 978-1780230306.