The Kingdom of Imereti (Georgian: იმერეთის სამეფო, romanized:imeretis samepo) was a Georgian monarchy established in 1455 by a member of the house of Bagrationi when the Kingdom of Georgia was dissolved into rival kingdoms. Before that time, Imereti was considered a separate kingdom within the Kingdom of Georgia, of which a cadet branch of the Bagrationi royal family held the crown.[1]
The realm was conquered by George V the Brilliant and once again united with the east Kingdom of Georgia.[2] From 1455 onward, however, Imereti became a constant battleground between Georgian and Ottoman forces for several centuries, resulting in the kingdom's progressive decline due to this ongoing instability.
In 1621 it made the earliest appeal to Russia for aid; in 1650 it acknowledged Russian suzerainty and
in 1769 a Russian force expelled the Turks.[3] Under pressure from Pavel Tsitsianov, in 1804 Solomon II of Imereti accepted Russian Imperial suzerainty, only to be deposed entirely in 1810. During the time that Imereti was a vassal state, the Mingrelia, Abkhazia and Guria princedoms declared their independence from Imereti and established their own governments.
Since Solomon II of Imereti had no sons, he proclaimed Prince Constantine, son of king David II of Imereti, and his male-line senior descendants as heirs to the throne of the Kingdom of Imereti.
After the death of Hereditary Prince Constantine (III) (1898–1978), because the male-offspring of this branch came to end, the headship of the House of Bagrationi-Imereti transmitted to Prince Irakli Bagrationi (1925–2013), son of Prince Grigol, the male-line descendant of Prince Bagrat, younger brother of King Solomon I of Imereti (1752–1784).
Irakli Bagrationi (1925–2013)
David Bagrationi (born 1948) (2013–2017), transmitted his headship to his son
^This started in 1260 after David VI revolted against Mongol ruler Hulegu Khan and fled to Abkhazia. This was the result of the Mongolian conquest of Georgia during the 13th century which decentralized and fragmented Georgia, forcing the relocation of governmental centres to the provinces to newly created Kingdom of Western Georgia.
^D.M.Lang - Georgia in the Reign of Giorgi the Brilliant (1314–1346), Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 17, pp. 74-91
^One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Imeretia". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 14 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 331.
History of Georgia
