The Duchy of Racha was an important fiefdom in medieval and early modern Georgia

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...

, located in the western province of Racha

Racha

Racha is a highland area in western Georgia, located in the upper Rioni river valley and hemmed in by the Greater Caucasus mountains...

, in the upper Rioni valley

Rioni River

The Rioni or Rion River is the main river of western Georgia. It originates in the Caucasus Mountains, in the region of Racha and flows west to the Black Sea, entering it north of the city of Poti...

 in the foothills of the Greater Caucasus

Greater Caucasus

Greater Caucasus , sometimes translated as "Caucasus Major", "Big Caucasus" or "Large Caucasus") is the major mountain range of the Caucasus Mountains....

 crest, and ruled by a succession of eristavi

Eristavi

Eristavi was a Georgian feudal office, roughly equivalent to the Byzantine strategos and normally translated into English as "duke". In the Georgian aristocratic hierarchy, it was the title of the third rank of prince and governor of a large province...

("duke

Duke

A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...

s") from c. 1050 until being transferred to the royal crown in 1789.

History

The duchy of Racha was founded c. 1050, when a branch of the Liparitid family, subsequently known as Kakhaberidze, was enfeoffed of it by King Bagrat IV of Georgia

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...

. Their possessions were further expanded under Queen Tamar of Georgia

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...

 (r.

Reign

A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation or of a people . In most hereditary monarchies and some elective monarchies A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office...

 1184-1213). The Kakhaberidze were dispossessed of the duchy in 1278 for having revolted against David VI, but seem to have maintained themselves in Racha into the 15th century. By that time, the duchy of Racha seems to have been restored, under the Charelidze family, whose brief tenure was succeeded by the Chkheidze c. 1488, when Prince Ivane Chkheidze (r. 1488-1497) was invested with Racha by Alexander II

Alexander II of Imereti

Alexander II was a king of Georgia in 1478 and of Imereti from 1483 to 1510.In 1478, his father Bagrat VI died and Alexander became king of Georgia, initially ruling its two major regions, Imereti in the west and Kartli in the east. Alexander was expelled from the kingdom by a rival prince...

, 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...

.

Over time, these new masters of Racha – henceforth known as the Eristavi of Racha – significantly expanded their possessions, confiscating estates of other noble families and even those belonging to the crown. They were embroiled in incessant feudal wars that plagued Georgia at that time, frequently changing their side as they sought to achieve more autonomy from the kings of Imereti. The powerful duke Rostom (r. 1750-1769) was able to maintain Racha virtually independent, eventually to be defeated and removed from office by King Solomon I of Imereti

Solomon I of Imereti

Solomon I , of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was King of Imereti from 1752 to 1766 and again from 1768 until his death in 1784....

, who turned Racha into a royal domain. His successor David II

David II of Imereti

David II , of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was King of Imereti from 1784 to 1789 and from 1790 to 1791.He was the son of George IX of Imereti, who had briefly ruled in 1741. After the death of his cousin, King Solomon I, he became a regent but prevented the rival princes David and George from being...

 restored the duchy to Rostom’s grandson and his own sisterly nephew Anton in 1784. The rival noble clans, especially Tsulukidze

Tsulukidze

Tsulukidze is a Georgian surname.Tsulukidze may also mean:*Tsulukidze , a noble family in Georgia- Persons :*Alexander Tsulukidze, Marxist activist*Giorgi Tsulukidze, general*Varden Tsulukidze, general...

 and Tsereteli

Tsereteli

Tsereteli is a former noble family in Georgia, which gave origin to several notable writers, politicians, scholars, and artists.- History :According to traditional accounts, the family’s ancestors had been chieftains in Dagestan or Ossetia, who fled the Islamization of their homeland by Tamerlane...

, attempted to counter the move by invoking a force of Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 and 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...

 mercenaries, only to be routed by the royal army in 1786. This restoration proved to be short-lived and the next Imeretian king 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....

finally annexed the duchy in 1789.

Kakhaberidze

• Kakhaber I (died 1088)
• Niania (1088-1120)
• Kakhaber II (1175-1210)
• Kakhaber III (1245-1278)

Chkheidze

• Ivane (1488-1497)
• Kakhaber IV (1497-1510)
• Shoshita I (1534-1570)
• Papuna I (1651-1661)
• Shoshita II (1661-1684)
• Papuna II (1684-1696)
• Shoshita III (1696-1732)
• Grigol (1732-1743)
• Vakhtang (1743-1750)
• Rostom (1750 - 1769)
• Anton (1784, 1787-89)
• Giorgi (1784-1787)