Chavchavadze
Encyclopedia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
noble family, formerly a prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
ly one (tavadi
Tavadi
Tavadi , "prince", lit. "head/chief" [man], from tavi, "head", with the prefix of agent -di) was a feudal title in Georgia first applied in the Late Middle Ages usually translated in English as prince...
).
The family is first attested in the 15th century, during the reign of Alexander I of Georgia
Alexander I of Georgia
Alexander I, “the Great” , of the Bagrationi house, was king of Georgia from 1412 to 1442. Despite his efforts to restore the country from the ruins left by the Turco-Mongol warlord Timur Leng’s invasions, Georgia never recovered and faced the inevitable fragmentation that was followed by a long...
. By the time of Leon of Kakheti they appear in the province of Kakheti
Kakheti
Kakheti is a historical province in Eastern Georgia inhabited by Kakhetians who speak a local dialect of Georgian. It is bordered by the small mountainous province of Tusheti and the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north, Russian Federation to the Northeast, Azerbaijan to the Southeast, and...
(1529, according to Prince Ioann of Georgia), where they produced two lines: one in Telavi
Telavi
Telavi is the main city and administrative center of Georgia's eastern province of Kakheti. Its population consists of some 21,800 inhabitants . The city is located on foot-hills of Tsiv-Gombori Range at 500-800 meters above the sea level....
and Tsinandali
Tsinandali
Tsinandali is a village in Kakheti, Georgia, noted for the estate and its historic winery which once belonged to the 19th-century aristocratic poet Alexander Chavchavadze . It is situated in the district of Telavi, 79 km east of Tbilisi....
; another in Qvareli and Shildi. Both these lines were elevated to a princely dignity under the kings Erekle I
Erekle I of Kakheti
Heraclius I or Nazar Alī Khān , of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was a Georgian monarch who ruled the kingdoms of Kakheti and Kartli under the protection of the Safavid dynasty of Iran....
(1680s) and Constantine II
Constantine II of Kakheti
Constantine II also known as Mahmād Qulī Khān , of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was a king of Kakheti in eastern Georgia from 1722 to 1732....
(1726), respectively.
The Chavchavadze family, with its head Prince Garsevan
Garsevan Chavchavadze
Prince Garsevan Chavchavadze was a Georgian politician and diplomat primarily known as a Georgian ambassador to Imperial Russia....
, came to much prominence under the king Erekle II
Erekle II
Erekle II was a Georgian monarch of the Bagrationi Dynasty, reigning as the king of Kakheti from 1744 to 1762, and of Kartli and Kakheti from 1762 until 1798. In the contemporary Persian sources he is referred to as Erekli Khan, while Russians knew him as Irakli...
later in the 18th century, and continued to play an important role in Georgia during the Imperial Russian rule. They were confirmed in their rank by the Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
’s decrees of 1825, 1828, 1829, and 1850.
On 4 July 1853, a small party under Kazi Muhammad (the son of Murid leader, Imam Shamil) kidnapped Prince Chavchavadze's wife and sister-in-law, Princess Orbeliani, together with their children and some others. The princess was exchanged for Shamil's son, Jamalu'd-din and 40,000 roubles on 10 March 1855.
Notable members
- Garsevan ChavchavadzeGarsevan ChavchavadzePrince Garsevan Chavchavadze was a Georgian politician and diplomat primarily known as a Georgian ambassador to Imperial Russia....
- Alexander ChavchavadzeAlexander ChavchavadzePrince Alexander Chavchavadze was a notable Georgian poet, public benefactor and military figure. Regarded as the "father of Georgian romanticism," he was also known as a preeminent aristocrat of Georgia and a talented general in the Imperial Russian service.-Early life:Alexander Chavchavadze was...
- Nino ChavchavadzeNino ChavchavadzePrincess Nino Chavchavadze , was a daughter of the famous Georgian Knyaz and poet Alexander Chavchavadze and wife of Russian diplomat and playwright Alexandr Griboyedov....
- Ilia Chavchavadze
- David ChavchavadzeDavid ChavchavadzeDavid Chavchavadze is an American author and a former Central Intelligence Agency officer of Georgian-Russian origin....