Mikhail, or Hamud Bey, from the house of Shervashidze

Shervashidze

Shervashidze was a noble family in Abkhazia which, according to later sources, can be traced at least as far back as the twelfth century.Although this is quite clearly a Georgian form , the family is said to have derived from the Shirvanshahs, a dynasty of Shirvan in what is now Azerbaijan...

, or Chachba (died 1866) was the head of state of the Principality of Abkhazia

Principality of Abkhazia

The Principality of Abkhazia emerged as a separate feudal entity in the 15th-16th centuries, amid the civil wars in the Kingdom of Georgia that concluded with the dissolution of the unified Georgian monarchy...

 and reigned from 1823 to 1864.

Mikhail came to power at a time when Abkhazia had only recently been declared a protectorate

Protectorate

In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...

 of Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, as a result of the 1810 manifesto

Manifesto

A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...

 of Tsar Alexander I

Alexander I of Russia

Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....

. During the Crimean War

Crimean War

The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

 of 1853-55, Abkhazia was invaded by Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, and Mikhail was forced to declare his loyalty to Turkey. This came back to haunt him when, in 1864, the Russians accused him of cooperating with Turkey during the war. He was subsequently exiled to Voronezh

Voronezh

Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...

, in Russia - an act which was vastly unpopular with the Abkhaz people.

Mikhail's deportation

Deportation

Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...

, and death not long after, also marked the beginning of the end for Abkhazian self-governance

Independence

Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....

 for the next 140 years. In June 1864, the Princedom was abolished and replaced by the Sukhumi Military Sector. In 1866, a popular uprising declared Mikhail's son Giorgij Prince, but this was short-lived.