Baghvashi
Encyclopedia
The Liparitids also known as Baghuashi (ბაღჳაში), were a noble house (didebuli) in medieval Georgia
, with notable members from the 9th to 12th centuries and famed for their powerful resistance to the consolidation of the Bagratid
royal authority in the Kingdom of Georgia
. A principal branch of the Liparitid house, known later under the name of Orbeli or Orbeliani, were expelled, in 1177, to Armenia
where they came to be known as Orbeleans
whose one member later returned to Georgia. The family gave origin to several cadet branches which have survived in Georgia for several centuries.
and some other modern scholars to have been descended from one of the fugitive princes of the Armenian Mamikonid dynasty. This hypothesis is not commonly shared by the scholars in Georgia who believe the family to have been native to the western Georgian district of Argveti
whence they were ousted by the kings of Abkhazia in the 870s. Either way, the dynasty, in the person of its eponymous founder, Liparit I, established themselves in the province of Trialeti
in southern Georgia (Lower Iberia
) c. 876. In Georgia, they received the moniker of "Baghuashi", probably derived from baghva, an archaic Georgian word for "ravaging" (cf. Orbeliani, Sulkhan-Saba
, Dictionary, 4.4: 101. Tbilisi, 1965 [in Georgian]), which eventually firmly attached to the family.
, a Georgian Bagratid prince of Iberia
based in Tao-Klarjeti
, and built a stronghold called Klde-Karni
on a strategic mountain
of the Trialeti Range
. This area lay in the possessions of David’s kinsman Guaram Mampali
, and the move eventually led to a split among the Bagratids which concluded with the murder of David by his nephew (son of Guaram Mampali) Nasra
in 881. In a civil war that ensued, Liparit supported David’s heir, Adarnase I, who was victorious and crowned, with the Armenian support, as King of the Georgians in 888. Thus, Liparit and his heirs secured a hereditary dukedom of Trialeti and Kldekari. They quickly rose in prominence, gaining more possessions and prestige and when, in the early 11th century, the Bagratid dynasty established the unified all-Georgian monarchy, the Liparitids were among its most powerful vassals and rivals.
, even succeeded in temporarily driving King Bagrat IV
into the Byzantine territory. The kings of Georgia had to concede more possessions and titles to the family in order to pacify a series of the Liparitid rebellions. In the 1050s, David IV of Georgia
defeated Liparit IV and expelled him into the Byzantine Empire, absorbing the Liparitid duchy into royal domain. After their expulsion from Georgia, several Liparitids also were active in the Byzantine military
and administrative service in the 12th century. Around 1110, the family, their principal branch being known under the name of Orbeli or Orbeliani after the castle of Orbeti, was restored in the part of their possessions, but their tendency to rebellion against the crown did not quell.
In 1177, Ivane Orbeli headed an abortive insurrection against George III of Georgia
on behalf of his son-in-law and George's nephew Demna. The victorious king all members of the Orbeli clan, excepting two brothers who escaped. One brother, Ivane, succeeded in restoring part of his family's holdings in Georgia during the reign of queen Tamar
(1184-1213). The other brother, Elikum, fled to the Atabegs of Azerbaijan
and became Muslim. His descendants — Orbelian
— eventually gained control of the Armenian principality of Syunik
.
A cadet branch of the Liparitid house, the Kakhaberisdze
, was enfeoffed of Racha
and Takveri in northwestern Georgia, from the 11th or 12th century to the 13th, though they appear to have maintained themselves in it till the 15th.
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...
, with notable members from the 9th to 12th centuries and famed for their powerful resistance to the consolidation of the Bagratid
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...
royal authority in the Kingdom of Georgia
Kingdom of Georgia
The Kingdom of Georgia was a medieval monarchy established in AD 978 by Bagrat III.It flourished during the 11th and 12th centuries, the so-called "golden age" of the history of Georgia. It fell to the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, but managed to re-assert sovereignty by 1327...
. A principal branch of the Liparitid house, known later under the name of Orbeli or Orbeliani, were expelled, in 1177, to Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
where they came to be known as Orbeleans
Orbelian Dynasty
The Orbelian lords of Syunik were a noble family, documented in inscriptions throughout Vayots Dzor and Syunik, and recorded by the family bishop Stepanos in his 1297 History of Syunik....
whose one member later returned to Georgia. The family gave origin to several cadet branches which have survived in Georgia for several centuries.
Origins
The Liparitids are believed by Cyril ToumanoffCyril Toumanoff
Cyril Leo Heraclius, Prince Toumanoff was an United States-based historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armenia, the Byzantine Empire, and Iran...
and some other modern scholars to have been descended from one of the fugitive princes of the Armenian Mamikonid dynasty. This hypothesis is not commonly shared by the scholars in Georgia who believe the family to have been native to the western Georgian district of Argveti
Argveti
Argveti , also Argwet’i or Margweti , is a historic district in Imereti, western Georgia.The area lay on the historic Iberian-Lazican frontier, i.e., between what are now eastern and western parts of Georgia...
whence they were ousted by the kings of Abkhazia in the 870s. Either way, the dynasty, in the person of its eponymous founder, Liparit I, established themselves in the province of Trialeti
Trialeti
Trialeti is a mountainous area in central Georgia. In Georgian its name means "a place of wandering". The Trialeti Range is a part of the greater Trialeti Region....
in southern Georgia (Lower Iberia
Kvemo Kartli
Kvemo Kartli is a historic province and current administrative region in southeastern Georgia. The city of Rustavi is a regional capital. The population is mixed between Azeris and Georgians .The current governor is Davit Kirkitadze.- External links :* *...
) c. 876. In Georgia, they received the moniker of "Baghuashi", probably derived from baghva, an archaic Georgian word for "ravaging" (cf. Orbeliani, Sulkhan-Saba
Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani
Prince Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani was a Georgian prince, writer, monk and convert to Roman Catholicism.- Biography :...
, Dictionary, 4.4: 101. Tbilisi, 1965 [in Georgian]), which eventually firmly attached to the family.
Early history
In their new fiefdom, the Liparitids accepted the suzerainty of David I KuropalatesDavid I Kuropalates
David I was a Georgian Bagratid Prince and curopalates of Iberia/Kartli from 876 to 881.The eldest son and successor of Bagrat I, he was baptised by the influential Georgian monk Grigol Khandzteli. David shared the Bagratid hereditary lands in Tao-Klarjeti with his uncles and cousins, his fiefdom...
, a Georgian Bagratid prince of Iberia
Caucasian Iberia
Iberia , also known as Iveria , was a name given by the ancient Greeks and Romans to the ancient Georgian kingdom of Kartli , corresponding roughly to the eastern and southern parts of the present day Georgia...
based in Tao-Klarjeti
Tao-Klarjeti
Tao-Klarjeti is the term conventionally used in modern history writing to describe the historic south-western Georgian principalities, now forming part of north-eastern Turkey and divided among the provinces of Erzurum, Artvin, Ardahan and Kars...
, and built a stronghold called Klde-Karni
Kldekari (duchy)
Kldekari was a duchy in the mediaeval Georgia. Ruled by a powerful dynasty of Baghvashi, the duchy existed from 876 to 1103 in the southern Kvemo Kartli province, and, despite its small size, created particular problems to the Bagrationi kings who sought to bring all Georgian lands into a single...
on a strategic mountain
Kldekari (mountain)
Kldekari is a mountain and rocky pass in the Trialeti range, southeastern Georgia. In the vicinity are the ruins of a medieval fortress, also called Kldekari....
of the Trialeti Range
Trialeti Range
Trialeti Range is an east-west mountain range of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the central part of Georgia. The eastern edge of the Range runs along the western border of Tbilisi, while the western edge lies along River Mtkvari to the southwest of Borjomi. The length of the Trialeti Range is...
. This area lay in the possessions of David’s kinsman Guaram Mampali
Guaram Mampali
Guaram, the mampali, was a Georgian Bagratid prince and the youngest son of Ashot I, the founder of the Bagratid dynasty of Iberia/Kartli....
, and the move eventually led to a split among the Bagratids which concluded with the murder of David by his nephew (son of Guaram Mampali) Nasra
Nasra
Nasra or Nasr was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti involved and eventually killed in a dynastic war with his relatives....
in 881. In a civil war that ensued, Liparit supported David’s heir, Adarnase I, who was victorious and crowned, with the Armenian support, as King of the Georgians in 888. Thus, Liparit and his heirs secured a hereditary dukedom of Trialeti and Kldekari. They quickly rose in prominence, gaining more possessions and prestige and when, in the early 11th century, the Bagratid dynasty established the unified all-Georgian monarchy, the Liparitids were among its most powerful vassals and rivals.
Struggle with the Bagratids
In the mid-eleventh century, the Liparitid house reached the apogee of their might and remained, for a century, leaders of the feudality in its struggle against the growing power of the kings of Georgia. In 1047, one of the most illustrious representatives of the family, Liparit IVLiparit IV, Duke of Kldekari
Liparit IV, sometimes known as Liparit III , was an 11th-century Georgian general and political figure who was at times the most valuable support of King Bagrat IV of Georgia and his most dangerous rival...
, even succeeded in temporarily driving King Bagrat IV
Bagrat IV of Georgia
Bagrat IV , of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the King of Georgia from 1027 to 1072. During his long and eventful reign, Bagrat sought to repress the great nobility and to secure Georgia's sovereignty from the Byzantine and Seljuqid empires...
into the Byzantine territory. The kings of Georgia had to concede more possessions and titles to the family in order to pacify a series of the Liparitid rebellions. In the 1050s, David IV of Georgia
David IV of Georgia
David IV "the Builder", also known as David II , of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a king of Georgia from 1089 until his death in 1125....
defeated Liparit IV and expelled him into the Byzantine Empire, absorbing the Liparitid duchy into royal domain. After their expulsion from Georgia, several Liparitids also were active in the Byzantine military
Byzantine army
The Byzantine army was the primary military body of the Byzantine armed forces, serving alongside the Byzantine navy. A direct descendant of the Roman army, the Byzantine army maintained a similar level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization...
and administrative service in the 12th century. Around 1110, the family, their principal branch being known under the name of Orbeli or Orbeliani after the castle of Orbeti, was restored in the part of their possessions, but their tendency to rebellion against the crown did not quell.
In 1177, Ivane Orbeli headed an abortive insurrection against George III of Georgia
George III of Georgia
Giorgi III , of the Bagrationi dynasty, was king of Georgia from 1156 to 1184. His reign, and that of Tamar, are seen as the 'golden age' of Georgian history, the era of empire, diplomatic success, military triumphs, great learning, cultural, spiritual, and artistic flowering.-Life:He succeeded on...
on behalf of his son-in-law and George's nephew Demna. The victorious king all members of the Orbeli clan, excepting two brothers who escaped. One brother, Ivane, succeeded in restoring part of his family's holdings in Georgia during the reign of queen Tamar
Tamar of Georgia
Tamar , of the Bagrationi dynasty, was Queen Regnant of Georgia from 1184 to 1213. Tamar presided over the "Golden age" of the medieval Georgian monarchy...
(1184-1213). The other brother, Elikum, fled to the Atabegs of Azerbaijan
Atabegs of Azerbaijan
The Ildegizids, Eldiguzids or Ildenizids, also known as Atabegs of Azerbaijan were a Turkic dynasty of Kipchak origin which controlled most of northwestern Persia/eastern Transcaucasia, including Arran, most of Azerbaijan, and Djibal...
and became Muslim. His descendants — Orbelian
Orbelian Dynasty
The Orbelian lords of Syunik were a noble family, documented in inscriptions throughout Vayots Dzor and Syunik, and recorded by the family bishop Stepanos in his 1297 History of Syunik....
— eventually gained control of the Armenian principality of Syunik
Syunik
Syunik is the southernmost province of Armenia. It borders the Vayots Dzor marz to the north, Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave to the west, Karabakh to the east, and Iran to the south. Its capital is Kapan. Other important cities and towns include Goris, Sisian, Meghri, Agarak, and Dastakert...
.
A cadet branch of the Liparitid house, the Kakhaberisdze
Kakhaberisdze
The Kakhaberidze, archaically Kakhaberisdze was a noble family in medieval Georgia which held sway over the highland northwestern Georgian province of Racha from the 11th or 12th century to the 13th...
, was enfeoffed of Racha
Duchy of Racha
The Duchy of Racha was an important fiefdom in medieval and early modern Georgia, located in the western province of Racha, in the upper Rioni valley in the foothills of the Greater Caucasus crest, and ruled by a succession of eristavi from c. 1050 until being transferred to the royal crown in...
and Takveri in northwestern Georgia, from the 11th or 12th century to the 13th, though they appear to have maintained themselves in it till the 15th.