Alexander, son of Bakar of Georgia
Encyclopedia
Alexander, son of Bakar or Aleksandr Bakarovich Gruzinsky ) (1726–1791) was a Russian
-born Georgian
prince of the Mukhrani
branch of the Bagrationi royal dynasty. He was the last of the Mukhranians to have attempted, unsuccessfully, to reclaim the crown of Georgia which had been lost to the Kakheti
branch of the Bagrationi. In Russia he bore the surname of Gruzinsky
.
who had followed his father Vakhtang VI
, the king of Kartli
, into exile to Russia in 1724. Alexander was born and raised in Russia. After incomplete studies at the Moscow University, he enrolled into the Page Corps
and then joined the Imperial Russian army, attaining to the rank of a Captain-Poruchik
.
Peter III of Russia
, led to his fall into disfavor with the new Russian autocrat Catherine II of Russia
. Finally, in 1766, the Russian government freed Alexander of his allegiance, depriving him of the military rank, and sponsored his travel to the Caucasus
. Alexander first arrived in Shiraz
to garner the support of the Iran
’s ruler Karim Khan
for his cause. Disappointed by Karim’s reluctance, he found shelter at the court of Solomon II
, the king of Imereti
in western Georgia in 1779. As Solomon's relations with his eastern neighbor, King Heraclius II of Kartli and Kakheti
, were not always easy, Alexander was welcomed in Imereti. From there, he penetrated Kartli and attempted a coup in Tbilisi
while Heraclius was absent at a campaign in Erivan in 1779. The revolt was promptly suppressed and Alexander fled to the mountains of Dagestan
. Anxious to eliminate the threat to his rule, Erekle filed a request to the Russian government to arrest Alexander. It was only after Georgia accepted
the Russian protectorate in 1783 that the khan
of Derbend was induced by the Russian government into surrendering the Georgian pretender. The prince was deported to Smolensk
and held there in confinement until his death in 1791. Thus, Erekle II's last rival for the throne was removed from the scene.
. They had three sons and two daughters:
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
-born Georgian
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...
prince of the Mukhrani
House of Mukhrani
The house of Mukhrani is a Georgian princely family, a collateral branch of the former royal dynasty of Bagrationi of which it sprung early in the 16th century, and received in appanage the domain of Mukhrani located in Kartli, central Georgia...
branch of the Bagrationi royal dynasty. He was the last of the Mukhranians to have attempted, unsuccessfully, to reclaim the crown of Georgia which had been lost to the Kakheti
Kingdom of Kakheti
The Kingdom of Kakheti was a late medieval/early modern monarchy in eastern Georgia, centered at the province of Kakheti, with its capital first at Gremi and then at Telavi...
branch of the Bagrationi. In Russia he bore the surname of Gruzinsky
Gruzinsky
Gruzinsky was a title and later the surname of two different princely lines of the Bagrationi dynasty of Georgia, both of which received it as the subjects of the Russian Empire. The name "Gruzinsky" derives from Russian, originally and literally meaning "of Georgia"...
.
Early life and career
Alexander was the son of Bakar, Crown PrinceBakar of Georgia
Bakar was a Georgian prince of the Mukhrani branch of the Bagrationi dynasty....
who had followed his father Vakhtang VI
Vakhtang VI of Kartli
Vakhtang VI , also known as Vakhtang the Scholar and Vakhtang the Lawgiver, was a Wāli of Kartli, eastern Georgia, as a nominal vassal to the Persian shah from 1716 to 1724. Traditionally, he has been still styled as king of Kartli...
, the king of 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...
, into exile to Russia in 1724. Alexander was born and raised in Russia. After incomplete studies at the Moscow University, he enrolled into the Page Corps
Page Corps
Page Corps was a military academy in Imperial Russia, which prepared sons of the nobility and of senior officers for military service....
and then joined the Imperial Russian army, attaining to the rank of a Captain-Poruchik
Poruchik
Poruchik was a military rank in several Slavic countries, such as the Russian Empire and the Republic of Poland, equivalent to Lieutenant. "Poruchik" means "messenger", "officer for orders". This is a Slavic copy of the term "Lieutenant" .In Russia this rank was first introduced in Strelets New...
.
Claimant to the Georgian throne
After Bakar's death, Alexander renewed his family's claims to the lost throne of Kartli, now held by their cousins from the neighboring Kakheti. Alexander's unsanctioned attempts to make way to Georgia, combined with his support to the TsarTsar
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...
Peter III of Russia
Peter III of Russia
Peter III was Emperor of Russia for six months in 1762. He was very pro-Prussian, which made him an unpopular leader. He was supposedly assassinated as a result of a conspiracy led by his wife, who succeeded him to the throne as Catherine II.-Early life and character:Peter was born in Kiel, in...
, led to his fall into disfavor with the new Russian autocrat Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
. Finally, in 1766, the Russian government freed Alexander of his allegiance, depriving him of the military rank, and sponsored his travel to the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
. Alexander first arrived in Shiraz
Shiraz
Shiraz may refer to:* Shiraz, Iran, a city in Iran* Shiraz County, an administrative subdivision of Iran* Vosketap, Armenia, formerly called ShirazPeople:* Hovhannes Shiraz, Armenian poet* Ara Shiraz, Armenian sculptor...
to garner the support of the Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
’s ruler Karim Khan
Karim Khan
Karim Khan Zand, , , was a ruler of Iran, and the founder of the Zand Dynasty.He was born to a family of the Zand tribe of Lur or Lak deportees...
for his cause. Disappointed by Karim’s reluctance, he found shelter at the court of Solomon II
Solomon II of Imereti
Solomon II , of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was the last King of Imereti from 1789 to 1790 and from 1792 until his deposition by the Imperial Russian government in 1810....
, the king of Imereti
Kingdom of Imereti
The Kingdom of Imereti was established in 1455 by a member of the house of Bagration when the Kingdom of Georgia was dissolved into rival kingdoms. Before that time, Imereti was considered a separate kingdom within the Kingdom of Georgia, to which a cadet branch of the Bagration royal family held...
in western Georgia in 1779. As Solomon's relations with his eastern neighbor, King Heraclius II of Kartli and Kakheti
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...
, were not always easy, Alexander was welcomed in Imereti. From there, he penetrated Kartli and attempted a coup in Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
while Heraclius was absent at a campaign in Erivan in 1779. The revolt was promptly suppressed and Alexander fled to the mountains of Dagestan
Dagestan
The Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...
. Anxious to eliminate the threat to his rule, Erekle filed a request to the Russian government to arrest Alexander. It was only after Georgia accepted
Treaty of Georgievsk
The Treaty of Georgievsk was a bilateral treaty concluded between the Russian Empire and the east Georgian kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti on July 24, 1783. The treaty established Georgia as a protectorate of Russia, which guaranteed Georgia's territorial integrity and the continuation of its reigning...
the Russian protectorate in 1783 that the khan
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
of Derbend was induced by the Russian government into surrendering the Georgian pretender. The prince was deported to Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
and held there in confinement until his death in 1791. Thus, Erekle II's last rival for the throne was removed from the scene.
Family
Alexander was married to Princess Daria Aleksandrovna née Menshikova (d. 1817), granddaughter of the once powerful Aleksandr Danilovich MenshikovAleksandr Danilovich Menshikov
Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov was a Russian statesman, whose official titles included Generalissimus, Prince of the Russian Empire and Duke of Izhora , Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, Duke of Cosel. A highly appreciated associate and friend of Tsar Peter the Great, he was the de facto ruler of...
. They had three sons and two daughters:
- Prince Ivane (Ivan Aleksandrovich Gruzinsky), of whom almost nothing is known.
- Prince George (Igor Aleksandrovich Gruzinsky; 1762–1852), Actual State Councillor and Chamberlain of the Imperial Household. He was married to Varvara Nikolayevna née Bakhmetev. Their only daughter Ana (1798–1889) was married to the Russian government official Count Alexander Petrovich Tolstoy (1801–1873), without issue.
- Prince Alexander (Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Gruzinsky; c. 1763–1823), Colonel of the Russian army. He died unmarried.
- Princess Ana (Anna Aleksandrovna Gruzinskaya; c. 1763–1842). She was married first to Chevalier Alexander Delitzine (1760–1789) and then to General Prince Boris Andreyevich Galitzine (1766–1822).
- Princess Darejan (Daria Aleksandrovna Gruzinskaya; d. 1796). She was married to Prince Pyotr Sergeyevich Troubetzkoy (1760–1817), with four children, including the future Decembrist Sergei Petrovich TroubetzkoySergei Petrovich TroubetzkoyPrince Sergei Petrovich Trubetskoy was one of the organizers of the Decembrist movement. Close to Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov in his views, he was declared the group's leader on the eve of the December 26 uprising in 1825 but failed to appear, and instead sought refuge in the Austrian...
.