Mingrelian Principality

Mingrelian Principality 

a feudal principality in western Georgia. It seceded from the Imeretian Kingdom in about the mid-16th century, and its rulers, from the Dadiani dynasty, only nominally recognized the authority of the Imeretian kings. Abkhazia was also part of the Mingrelian Principality up until the beginning of the 17th century. At the end of the 17th century, the Dadiani dynasty was overthrown by the Chikovani clan, headed by Katsiia Chikovani. Katsiia’s son Georgii adopted the last name of the previous rulers of the Mingrelian Principality, Dadiani. In 1803 the Mingrelian ruler Grigorii became a Russian subject. In 1857, Prince Bariatinskii, vicegerent of the Caucasus, brought Russian rule to Mingrelia. The Mingrelian Principality ceased to exist de jure in 1867.

REFERENCES

Istoriia Gruzii, part 1. Tbilisi, 1962.
Makalat’ia, S. Samebrelos istoria da et’nograp’ia. Tbilisi, 1941.