Aznauri
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Aznauri
(aznaury), Georgian noblemen in prerevolution-ary Georgia (the name appears in the fifth century). They were divided into imperial, princely, and clerical. Hereditary aznauri were distinguished from bound aznauri. They owned land and performed obligatory military service. With the annexation of Georgia by Russia at the beginning of the 19th century, the aznauri received the rights of the Russian nobility.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.