Baratashvili
Encyclopedia
Baratashvili is a Georgian
noble family, appearing at the end of the 15th century as a continuation of the Kachibadze (ქაჩიბაძე), which were possibly related to the Liparitids-Orbeli.
The surname "Baratashvili", literally “children/descendants of Barata”, derives from the 15th-century nobleman Barata “the Great” Kachibadze. The Kachibadze are first attested in the early 14th century inscription from the Pitareti monastery and, according to the Georgian scholar Simon Janashia
, originated in Abkhazia
.
Early in the 16th century, the Baratashvili estates, known as Sabaratiano, included hundreds of villages with 2,500-3,000 peasant households and some 250-300 noble vassals in Lower Kartli in the south of Georgia. They had castles at Samshvilde, Dmanisi
, Darbaschala, Tbisi and Enageti; and familial abbeys at Pitareti
, Gudarekhi
, Dmanisi and Kedi. They were listed among the top five great nobles, tavadi
, of the Kingdom of Kartli
and played a prominent role in the political and cultural life of Georgia; they were High Constables of Somkhiti
-Sabaratiano, and also majordomos and Lords Chief Justice at the royal court. In the 16th and 17th centuries, several noble houses sprung off the Baratashvili. These were:
The main Baratashvili line gradually declined and lost their privileges to their own offshoot Qaplanishvili. A branch of the Baratashvili, Barataev (Баратаевы), was also established in Russia by an expatriate prince Melkisedek (Mikhail), who followed King Vakhtang VI
in his Russian emigration in 1724. Melkisedek Baratashvili, now known as Mikhail Barataev, entered Russian service. Of his four sons, two – Pyotr and Semyon – became generals in the Russian army and governors of Siberia and Kazan, respectively. His daughters married into Russian nobility. Pyotr Barataev’s son, Prince Mikhail Barataev, was a Privy Counsellor better known as an archeologist and numismatist of Georgia.
After Russian annexation of Georgia, the Georgian Baratashvili were confirmed among the princely nobility (knyaz
Baratov, Баратовы) in the decrees of 1826, 1827, 1829, and 1850.
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...
noble family, appearing at the end of the 15th century as a continuation of the Kachibadze (ქაჩიბაძე), which were possibly related to the Liparitids-Orbeli.
The surname "Baratashvili", literally “children/descendants of Barata”, derives from the 15th-century nobleman Barata “the Great” Kachibadze. The Kachibadze are first attested in the early 14th century inscription from the Pitareti monastery and, according to the Georgian scholar Simon Janashia
Simon Janashia
Simon Janashia was an outstanding Georgian historian and public benefactor, one of the founders and Academician of the Georgian Academy of Sciences , Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor....
, originated in Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
.
Early in the 16th century, the Baratashvili estates, known as Sabaratiano, included hundreds of villages with 2,500-3,000 peasant households and some 250-300 noble vassals in Lower Kartli in the south of Georgia. They had castles at Samshvilde, Dmanisi
Dmanisi
Dmanisi is a townlet and archaeological site in Kvemo Kartli region of Georgia approximately 93 km southwest of the nation’s capital Tbilisi in the river valley of Mashavera.- History :...
, Darbaschala, Tbisi and Enageti; and familial abbeys at Pitareti
Pitareti
Pitareti is a medieval Orthodox Christian monastery in Georgia, approximately 26 km southwest of the town of Tetritsq'aro, Kvemo Kartli, southwest of the nation’s capital Tbilisi....
, Gudarekhi
Gudarekhi
Gudarekhi is a village in Kvemo Kartli, Georgia, notable for a nearby monastic complex and archaeological site. It is located in the Algeti Valley, some 8 km of the town Tetritsq'aro, south of Georgia’s capital Tbilisi....
, Dmanisi and Kedi. They were listed among the top five great nobles, tavadi
Tavadi
Tavadi , "prince", lit. "head/chief" [man], from tavi, "head", with the prefix of agent -di) was a feudal title in Georgia first applied in the Late Middle Ages usually translated in English as prince...
, of the Kingdom 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...
and played a prominent role in the political and cultural life of Georgia; they were High Constables of Somkhiti
Somkhiti
Somkhiti was an ambiguous geographic term used in medieval and early modern Georgian historical sources to refer to Armenia on one hand and to the Armeno-Georgian marchlands along the river valleys of Debed and Khrami on the other hand...
-Sabaratiano, and also majordomos and Lords Chief Justice at the royal court. In the 16th and 17th centuries, several noble houses sprung off the Baratashvili. These were:
- Gostashabishvili
- Germanozishvili
- Zurabishvili
- Abashishvili
- Orbelishvili-Qaplanishvili
- Palavan-Khosroshvili
- Iaralishvili
- Iotamishvili.
The main Baratashvili line gradually declined and lost their privileges to their own offshoot Qaplanishvili. A branch of the Baratashvili, Barataev (Баратаевы), was also established in Russia by an expatriate prince Melkisedek (Mikhail), who followed King 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...
in his Russian emigration in 1724. Melkisedek Baratashvili, now known as Mikhail Barataev, entered Russian service. Of his four sons, two – Pyotr and Semyon – became generals in the Russian army and governors of Siberia and Kazan, respectively. His daughters married into Russian nobility. Pyotr Barataev’s son, Prince Mikhail Barataev, was a Privy Counsellor better known as an archeologist and numismatist of Georgia.
After Russian annexation of Georgia, the Georgian Baratashvili were confirmed among the princely nobility (knyaz
Knyaz
Kniaz, knyaz or knez is a Slavic title found in most Slavic languages, denoting a royal nobility rank. It is usually translated into English as either Prince or less commonly as Duke....
Baratov, Баратовы) in the decrees of 1826, 1827, 1829, and 1850.
Notable members
- Barata Baratashvili (died c. 1626), military commander
- Kaikhosro Baratashvili (died 1636), military commander
- Qaplan Baratashvili (died 1671), military commander
- Nikoloz BaratashviliNikoloz BaratashviliNik'oloz Baratashvili was a Georgian poet, one of the first Georgians to marry a modern nationalism with European Romanticism and to introduce "Europeanism" into Georgian literature...
(1817-1845), poet - Sulkhan Baratashvili (1821-1866), historian