Simon (died 1701), of the Bagrationi Dynasty

Bagrationi Dynasty

The Bagrationi dynasty was the ruling family of Georgia. Their ascendency lasted from the early Middle Ages until the early 19th century. In modern usage, this royal line is frequently referred to as the Georgian Bagratids, a Hellenized form of their dynastic name.The origin of the Bagrationi...

, was King of Imereti from 1699 to 1701. An illegitimate son of Alexander IV of Imereti

Alexander IV of Imereti

Alexander IV , of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was a king of Imereti from 1683 to 1690 and again from 1691 to 1695.A natural son of Bagrat V of Imereti, he was a political hostage at the eastern Georgian court of George XI of Kartli at the death of his father in 1681...

, he was brought up at the court of Erekle I of Kartli, while Imereti was embroiled in the civil war among several claimants to the throne. In 1699, the Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 government sponsored a coup against King Archil of Imereti

Archil of Imereti

Archil , was a Georgian prince of the Bagrationi Dynasty and poet. He ruled as king of Imereti in western Georgia and of Kakheti in eastern Georgia...

 and installed Simon as king. The latter married Anika, daughter of the powerful prince Giorgi-Malakia Abashidze

Giorgi-Malakia Abashidze

Giorgi-Malakia Abashidze was a Georgian nobleman and King of Imereti as George VI from 1702 to 1707. He was a member of the prominent Abashidze family....

, but soon the prince and his second daughter Tamar (widow of Alexander IV) expelled Simon back to Kartli

Kartli

Kartli is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari , on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial role in ethnic and political consolidation of the Georgians in the Middle Ages...

. With the support of Mamia III Gurieli

Mamia III Gurieli

Mamia III "the Great", of the Gurieli, also known as the Black Gurieli was Prince of Guria from 1689 to 1714 and King of Imereti in 1701-02, 1711 and 1713....

, prince of Guria, Simon managed to stage a comeback and married Mamia’s sister. However, Prince Abashidze promised Mamia the Imeretian crown and had Simon assassinated in his palace in 1701.