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{{Short description|Georgian royal dynasty}}
{{Infobox royal house
| surname        = Bagrationi<br />{{nobold|ბაგრატიონი}} 
| other_name     = House of Bagrationi
| coat of arms   = [[File:Bagrationi dynasty Coat of Arms.png|220px]]<br />Coat of arms of [[Prince Vakhtang-Almaskhan of Georgia]] at [[Alexander Nevsky Lavra]]
| country        = [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]
| styles         = [[Style of the Georgian sovereign|''see list'']]
| founder        = 
| final ruler    = [[George XII of Georgia|George XII]] and [[Solomon II of Imereti|Solomon II]]
| current head   = [[#Union of Bagrationi branches|''disputed'']]
| founding year  = 
| dissolution    = 
| deposition     = 1801/1810
| ethnicity      = [[Georgians|Georgian]]
| cadet branches = [[House of Mukhrani|Mukhrani]]<br />[[Gruzinsky]]<br />[[Bagration-Davitashvili|Davitashvili]]<br />[[Imeretinsky]]
}}
{{History of Georgia (country)}}
The '''Bagrationi dynasty''' ({{IPAc-en|b|ʌ|ɡ|r|ʌ|t|i|ˈ|ɒ|n|i}}; {{Lang-ka| ბაგრატიონი|tr}} {{IPA|ka|ˈbäɡɾätʼio̞n̪i|}}) is a [[royal family|royal]] [[dynasty]] which reigned in [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] from the [[Middle Ages]] until the early 19th century, being among the oldest extant [[Christianity|Christian]] ruling dynasties in the world. In modern usage, the name of the dynasty is sometimes [[Hellenization|Hellenized]] and referred to as the '''Georgian Bagratids''', also known in English as the '''Bagrations'''.

The [[#Origins|origins]] of the dynasty are disputed. The early Georgian Bagratids gained the [[Principality of Iberia]] through [[Royal intermarriage|dynastic marriage]] after succeeding the [[Chosroid dynasty]] at the end of the 8th century. In 888 [[Adarnase IV of Iberia]] restored the Georgian monarchy; various [[Unification of the Georgian realm|native polities then united]] into the [[Kingdom of Georgia]], which prospered from the 11th to the 13th century. This period of time, particularly the reigns of [[David IV of Georgia|David IV the Builder]] (1089–1125) and of his great-granddaughter [[Tamar of Georgia|Tamar the Great]] (1184–1213) inaugurated the [[Georgian Golden Age]] in the history of Georgia.<ref name="burke">[[Hugh Massingberd|Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh]]. "[[Burke's Peerage|Burke's]] Royal Families of the World: ''Volume II Africa & the Middle East'', 1980, pp. 56-67 {{ISBN| 0-85011-029-7}}</ref>

After [[Triarchy and collapse of the Kingdom of Georgia|fragmentation of the unified Kingdom of Georgia]] in the late 15th century, the branches of the Bagrationi dynasty ruled the three breakaway Georgian kingdoms, the [[Kingdom of Kartli]], the [[Kingdom of Kakheti]], and the [[Kingdom of Imereti]], until [[Georgia within the Russian Empire|Russian annexation]] in the early-19th century.<ref name="burke"/> While the 3rd article of the 1783 [[Treaty of Georgievsk]] guaranteed continued sovereignty for the Bagrationi dynasty and their continued presence on the Georgian throne, the Russian Empire later broke the terms of the treaty and fully annexed the protectorate.<ref>{{cite web
|last= Martin
|first= Russell
|title= The Treaty of Georgievsk; A Translation
|url= http://www.westminster.edu/staff/martinre/Treaty.html
|publisher= Westminster College
|access-date= 16 March 2014
|archive-date= 16 March 2018
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180316132749/http://www.westminster.edu/staff/martinre/Treaty.html
|url-status= dead
}}</ref> The dynasty persisted within the Russian Empire as an Imperial Russian noble family until the 1917 [[February Revolution]]. The establishment of [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Georgian SSR|rule in Georgia]] in 1921 forced some members of the family to accept demoted status and loss of property in Georgia. Other members relocated to [[Western Europe]],<ref name="burke"/> but some Bagrations [[repatriation|repatriated]] after [[1991 Georgian independence referendum|Georgia regained independence]] in 1991.

==Origins==
{{See also|Claim of the biblical descent of the Bagrationi dynasty}}

The earliest Georgian forms of the dynastic name are ''Bagratoniani'', ''Bagratuniani''<ref>Stephen H. Rapp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=nCFwaxMumWkC Studies in Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts and Eurasian Contexts]. — Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium. — Peeters Publishers, 2003. — Vol. 601. — P. 450—451. "''"K'art'velized" branch of the Armenian Bagratuni family (as is evident from the early Georgian form of their name, Bagratuniani) — resuscitated local royal authority in the late ninth century and then assembled an all-Georgian kingdom''"</ref> and ''Bagratovani'', changed subsequently into Bagrationi. These names as well as the [[Armenian language|Armenian]] ''Bagratuni'' and the modern designation ''Bagratid'' mean "the children of [[Bagrat]]" or "the house of/established by Bagrat", Bagrat being a given name of [[Iranian languages|Iranian]] origin.<ref>[[Donald Rayfield]] (2013) Edge of Empires, A History of Georgia, ISBN 9781780230702, p. 64</ref> The origins of the Bagratid dynasty is still matter of debate between Georgian and Armenian scholars. Georgian scholars argue that the Bagrationis were of Georgian origin, while Armenian and Western scholars believe them to be a branch of the Armenian [[Bagratuni dynasty|Bagratunis]].<ref>Mikaberidze, p. 172</ref>

According to a tradition first recorded in the work of the 11th-century Georgian chronicler [[Sumbat Davitis Dze|Sumbat Davitis-Dze]]<ref>Sumbat Davitis-Dze, ''The Life and Tale of the Bagratids'' (ცხოვრებაჲ და უწყებაჲ ბაგრატონიანთა ჩუენ ქართველთა მეფეთასა), see Suny (1994), p. 349; Rapp (2003), p. 337</ref> and repeated much later by Prince [[Vakhushti Bagrationi]] (1696–1757), the dynasty claimed descent from the [[Bible|biblical]] [[kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|king]] and [[prophet]] [[David]] and came from [[Israel (region)|Israel]] around 530 [[Anno Domini|AD]]. The tradition had it that of seven refugee brothers of the [[Davidic line]], three of them settled in [[Armenia]] and the other four arrived in [[Kartli]] (also known as [[Kingdom of Iberia (antiquity)|Iberia]]), where they intermarried with the local ruling houses and acquired some lands in hereditary possession, with one of the four brothers, Guaram (died in 532), founding a line subsequently called ''Bagrationi'' after his son Bagrat. A successor, [[Guaram I of Iberia|Guaram]], was installed as a presiding prince of Iberia under the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] protectorate, receiving on this occasion the [[Byzantine bureaucracy and aristocracy|Byzantine court title]] of ''Kouropalates''<ref>From the time of [[Justinian I]], the dignity of ''Kouropalates'' ({{langx|el|κουροπαλάτης}}, i.e., [[chancellor]]) was one of the highest in the [[Byzantine Empire]], reserved usually for members of the Imperial family. Its frequent conferral upon various Georgian and Armenian dynasts attests to their importance in the politics of those times. Suny (1994), p. 348</ref> in 575.<ref>[[Vakhushti Bagrationi]] (c. 1745), ''History of the Kingdom of Georgia'' (აღწერა სამეფოსა საქართველოსი); a [[Russian language|Russian]] translation available at [http://www.armenianhouse.org/bagrationi/history-ru/6.html ArmenianHouse.org]. URL accessed on May 22. 2006.</ref> Thus, according to this version, began the dynasty of the Bagrationis, who ruled until 1801.<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Georgia |volume=11}}</ref>

This tradition enjoyed a general acceptance until the early 20th century.<ref>[[Cyril Toumanoff|Toumanoff, C.]] ''Iberia on the Eve of Bagratid Rule'', p.&nbsp;22, cited in: Suny (1994), note 30, p. 349</ref> The [[Jews|Jewish]] origin, let alone the biblical descent, of the Bagratids has been discounted by modern scholarship. [[Cyril Toumanoff]]'s research concluded that the Georgian Bagratids branched out of the [[Bagratuni dynasty|Armenian Bagratid dynasty]] in the person of [[Adarnase I of Tao-Klarjeti|Adarnase]], whose father Vasak (son of [[Ashot III Bagratuni|Ashot III the Blind]], presiding prince of Armenia from 732 to 748) passed to Kartli following an [[Battle of Bagrevand|abortive uprising]] against Arab rule in 775. Adarnase’s son, [[Ashot I of Iberia|Ashot I]], acquired the [[Principality of Iberia]] in 813 and thus founded the last royal house of Georgia. Accordingly, the legend of the [[David]]ic origin of the Georgian Bagratids was a further development of the earlier claim entertained by the Armenian dynasty, as given in the work of the Armenian author [[Moses of Khorene]].<ref>[[Cyril Toumanoff|Toumanoff, C.]] ''Iberia on the Eve of Bagratid Rule'', p.&nbsp;22, cited in: Suny (1994), note 30 p. 349</ref> Once the Georgian branch, which had quickly acculturated in the new environment,<ref>Rapp (2003), p.&nbsp;169</ref> assumed royal power, the myth of their biblical origin helped to maintain their legitimacy and became a major ideological pillar of their millennium-long rule of Georgia.<ref>Rapp (2003), p. 234</ref>

The generation-by-generation history of the Bagrationi dynasty begins only in the late 8th century.<ref name="burke"/> Toumanoff claimed that the first Georgian branch of the Bagratids may be traced as far back as the 2nd century AD, when they were said to rule over the princedom of [[Odzrkhe]] in what is now southern Georgia.<ref>[[Cyril Toumanoff|Toumanoff, C.]] ''Studies in Christian Caucasian History'', p. 316, cited in: Rapp (2003), p.&nbsp;145</ref> The Odzrkhe line, known in the medieval annals as the Bivritianis, lasted until the 5th century AD. They cannot, however, be considered the direct ancestors of the later Bagratids who eventually restored Georgian royal authority.<ref>Rapp (2003), pp.&nbsp;218, 249</ref> [[Pavle Ingorokva]] suggested that the Bagrations were a branch of the [[Pharnavazid dynasty]] of the [[Kingdom of Iberia]].<ref>Mikaberidze, p. 171</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=საქართველოს ისტორია, volume I |date=2006 |publisher=Tbilisi State University Press |location=Tbilisi |isbn=9994012568 |page=153}}</ref>

== History ==
{{See also|List of Georgian monarchs}}

=== Early dynasty ===
[[Image:Oshki (78).JPG|thumb|[[David III of Tao]] depicted on a bas-relief from the [[Oshki Monastery]]]]

The Bagrationi family had grown in prominence by the time the Georgian monarchy ([[Kingdom of Iberia (antiquity)|Caucasian Iberia]]) fell to the [[Sasanian Empire|Sassanid Persian Empire]] in the 6th century, and the leading local princely families were exhausted by [[Arab]] attacks. The rise of the new dynasty was made possible by the extinction of the [[Guaramid dynasty|Guaramids]] and the near-extinction of the [[Chosroid dynasty|Chosroids]],<ref>Suny (1994), p. 29</ref> the two earlier dynasties of Iberia with whom the Bagratids extensively intermarried, and also by the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] preoccupation with their own civil wars and conflict with the [[Byzantine Empire]]. Although Arab rule did not allow them a foothold in the ancient capital of [[Tbilisi]] and eastern Kartli, the Bagratids successfully maintained their initial domain in [[Klarjeti]] and [[Meskheti]] and, under the Byzantine protectorate, extended their possessions southward into the northwestern Armenian marches to form a large polity conventionally known in modern history as [[Bagratid Iberia|Tao-Klarjeti]]. In 813, the new dynasty acquired, with Ashot I, the hereditary title of [[Eristavi|presiding prince]] of [[Principality of Iberia|Iberia]] (Kartli), to which the [[List of Byzantine emperors|emperor]] attached the [[honorific]] of ''kourapalates''.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

Despite the revitalization of the monarchy, Georgian lands remained divided among rival authorities, with Tbilisi remaining in [[Emirate of Tbilisi|Arab hands]]. The sons and grandsons of Ashot I established three separate branches – the lines of [[Kartli]], [[Tao (historical region)|Tao]], and [[Klarjeti]] – frequently struggling with each other and with neighboring rulers. The Kartli line prevailed; in 888, with [[Adarnase I Kuropalates|Adarnase I]], it restored the indigenous Iberian royal authority dormant since 580. His descendant [[Bagrat III of Georgia|Bagrat III]] was able to [[Kingdom of Georgia#Unification of the Georgian State|consolidate]] his inheritance in Tao-Klarjeti and the [[Kingdom of Abkhazia|Abkhazian Kingdom]], due largely to the diplomacy and conquests of his energetic foster-father [[David III of Tao]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

===Golden Age===
{{main|Georgian Golden Age}}
[[File:Georgia-DavidIV.jpg|thumb|King [[David IV of Georgia]]]]
This unified monarchy maintained its precarious independence from the Byzantine and [[Seljuk Turks|Seljuk]] empires throughout the 11th century, flourished under [[David IV of Georgia|David IV the Builder]] (1089–1125), who repelled the Seljuk attacks and essentially completed the unification of Georgia with the re-conquest of Tbilisi in 1122.<ref name="burke"/> With the decline of Byzantine power and the dissolution of the Great Seljuk Empire, Georgia became one of the pre-eminent nations of the [[Eastern Christianity|Christian]] [[Middle East|East]], her pan-Caucasian empire<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Georgia. |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] Premium Service |url=http://wwwa.britannica.com/eb/article-44321 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121208181731/http://wwwa.britannica.com/eb/article-44321 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-12-08 |access-date=2006-05-25 }}</ref> stretching, at its largest extent, from the [[North Caucasus]] to [[Iran|northern Iran]], and eastwards into [[Asia Minor]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

In spite of repeated incidents of dynastic strife, the kingdom continued to prosper during the reigns of [[Demetre I of Georgia|Demetrios I]] (1125–1156), [[George III of Georgia|George III]] (1156–1184), and especially, his daughter [[Tamar of Georgia|Tamar the Great]] (1184–1213).<ref name="burke"/> With the death of George III the main [[patrilineality|male line]] became extinct and the dynasty continued through the marriage of Queen Tamar with the [[Alans|Alan]] prince [[David Soslan]], of reputed Bagratid descent.<ref>According to Prince Vakhushti, David Soslan’s ancestry traced back to the Georgian refugee prince David, a grandchild of [[George I of Georgia]] (1014–1027) and his Alan wife Alde. This continues to be disputed</ref>

=== Downfall ===
The invasions by the [[Khwarezmid Empire|Khwarezmians]] in 1225 and the [[Mongol Empire|Mongols]] in 1236 terminated Georgia’s "golden age". The struggle against the [[Mongol invasions of Georgia|Mongol rule]] created a [[dyarchy]], with an ambitious lateral branch of the Bagrationi dynasty holding sway over western Georgia ([[Kingdom of Imereti|Imereti]]). There was a brief period of reunion and revival under [[George V of Georgia|George V the Brilliant]] (1299–1302, 1314–1346), but the eight onslaughts of the [[Turco-Mongol]] conqueror [[Timur]] between 1386 and 1403 dealt a great blow to the Georgian kingdom. About a century later, its unity was finally shattered by two rival Turkic federations; the [[Kara Koyunlu]], and the [[Ak Koyunlu]]. By 1490/91, the once powerful monarchy fragmented into three independent kingdoms – [[Kingdom of Kartli|Kartli]] (central to eastern Georgia), [[Kingdom of Kakheti|Kakheti]] (eastern Georgia), and [[Kingdom of Imereti|Imereti]] (western Georgia) – each led by a rival branch of the Bagrationi dynasty, and into five semi-independent principalities – [[Odishi]]-[[Principality of Mingrelia|Mingrelia]], [[Principality of Guria|Guria]], [[Principality of Abkhazia|Abkhazia]], [[Principality of Svaneti|Svaneti]], and [[Samtskhe atabegate|Samtskhe]] – dominated by their own feudal clans.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

During the three subsequent centuries, the Georgian rulers maintained their perilous autonomy as subjects under the Turkish [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] and Persian [[Safavid dynasty|Safavid]], [[Afsharid dynasty|Afsharid]], and [[Qajar dynasty|Qajar]] domination, although sometimes serving as little more than puppets in the hands of their powerful suzerains.<ref name="burke"/> In this period, in order to receive investiture from their suzerains, as a necessary prequisite, many Georgian rulers converted to Islam.{{sfn|Rota|2017|pages=52-57}} Individuals from the Georgian royal family and nobility were frequently chosen for prominent administrative roles within the Safavid state.{{sfn|Sanikidze|2021|page=389}} Members of the Muslim royals from the Bagrationi dynasty, amongst others, held the esteemed position of [[darugha]] ("prefect") of the Safavid royal capital of [[Isfahan]] for an extensive period spanning over 100 years, from 1618 to 1722.{{sfn|Sanikidze|2021|page=389}} Despite being seated in Kartli starting from 1632, [[Rostom of Kartli|Rostom Khan]], in particular, served as Isfahan's darugha for 40 years.{{sfn|Sanikidze|2021|page=389}} Additionally, he appointed deputies to represent him in the Safavid capital.{{sfn|Sanikidze|2021|page=389}}

The line of Imereti, incessantly embroiled in civil war, continued with many breaks in succession, and the kingdom was only relatively spared from the encroachments of its Ottoman suzerains, while Kartli and Kakheti were similarly subjected to its Persian overlords, whose efforts to annihilate the fractious vassal kingdoms were in vain, and the two eastern Georgian monarchies, survived to be reunified in 1762 under King [[Heraclius II of Georgia|Erekle II]], who united in his person both the Kakhetian and Kartlian lines, the latter surviving in male descent in the [[House of Mukhrani|branch of Mukhraneli]] since 1658.<ref name="burke"/>

=== Last monarchs ===
[[File:Erekle II (face).jpg|thumb|[[Heraclius II of Georgia|Erekle II]], king of the eastern Georgian kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Kakheti|Kakheti]] and [[Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti|Kartli-Kakheti]]]]
In 1744, Erekle II and his father [[Teimuraz II of Kakheti|Teimuraz II]] were granted the kingships of Kakheti and Kartli respectively by their overlord [[Nader Shah]], as a reward for their loyalty.{{sfn|Suny|1994|page=55}} Following Nader Shah's death in 1747, Erekle II and Teimuraz II capitalized on the eruption of instability, and declared ''de facto'' independence. After Teimuraz II died in 1762, Erekle II succeeded his father as ruler of Kartli, and united the two kingdoms in a personal union as the [[Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti]], becoming the first Georgian ruler to preside over a politically unified eastern Georgia in three centuries.{{sfn|Hitchins|1998|pages=541-542}} At about the same time, [[Karim Khan Zand]] had ascended the Iranian throne; Erekle II quickly tendered his ''de jure'' submission to the new Iranian ruler, however, ''de facto'', he remained autonomous throughout the entire [[Zand dynasty|Zand]] period.{{sfn|Fisher|Avery|Hambly|Melville|1991|p=328}}{{sfn|Perry|1991|page=96}}

Erekle II (''Hercules'') achieved a degree of stability in Kartli-Kakheti and established political hegemony in eastern [[Transcaucasia]]. In the 1783 [[Treaty of Georgievsk]], he placed his kingdom under the protection of [[Russian empire|Imperial Russia]].<ref name="burke"/> The latter failed, however, to provide timely help when the Persian ruler [[Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar]] [[Battle of Krtsanisi|captured, sacked and ravaged Tbilisi]] in 1795 to compel severance of Georgian ties to Russia, as he sought to re-establish Persia's traditional suzerainty over the region.{{sfn|Kazemzadeh|1991|pages=328-330}}<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.academia.edu/9137125|title=Relations between Tehran and Moscow, 1797-2014|access-date=15 May 2015}}</ref>

After the death of Erekle in 1798, his son and successor, King [[George XII of Georgia|George XII]], renewed a request for protection from Emperor [[Paul I of Russia]],<ref name="burke"/> and urged him to intervene in the bitter dynastic feud among the numerous sons and grandsons of the late Erekle. Paul offered to incorporate the [[Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti]] into the Russian Empire, while reserving to its native dynasty a degree of internal autonomy – essentially, [[German mediatisation|mediatisation]],<ref name="burke"/> and in 1799 the Russians marched into Tbilisi.<ref>Alekseĭ I. Miller. [https://books.google.com/books?id=_8niIYSTqToC&dq=agha+mohammad+khan+conquer+georgia&pg=PA204 ''Imperial Rule''] Central European University Press, 2004 {{ISBN|9639241989}} p 204</ref> Negotiations of terms were still in process,<ref>Lang (1957), p. 242</ref> when Paul signed a [[manifesto]] on December 18, 1800, unilaterally declaring the annexation of Kartli-Kakheti to the Russian Empire.<ref name="burke"/><ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia | title=Georgievsk, Treaty of | encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] Premium Service | url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9036525?query=integrity&ct=eb | access-date=2006-06-04}}</ref> This proclamation was kept secret until the death of King George on December 28. His eldest son, the [[David Bagrationi|Tsarevich Davit]], had been formally acknowledged as [[heir apparent]] by Emperor Paul on 18 April 1799, but his accession as king after his father's death was not recognized.

On September 12, 1801, Emperor [[Alexander I of Russia]] formally re-affirmed Paul’s determination, deposing the Bagrationi dynasty from the Georgian throne.<ref name="burke"/><ref name="Britannica"/> Although divided among themselves, some of the Bagrationi princes resisted Russian annexation, trying to instigate rebellion. Most of them were subsequently arrested and deported from Georgia.<ref>Lang (1957), p. 252</ref>

The reign of the House of Imereti came to an end less than a decade later. On April 25, 1804, the Imeretian king [[Solomon II of Imereti|Solomon II]], nominally an Ottoman vassal, was persuaded to conclude the [[Convention of Elaznauri]] with Russia, on terms similar to those of the Treaty of Georgievsk. Yet the Russian forces dethroned Solomon on February 20, 1810. Defeated during a subsequent rebellion to regain power, he died in exile in [[Trabzon]], Ottoman Turkey, in 1815.<ref>Suny (1994), p. 64</ref><ref>Baddeley, Gammer (1908), pp. 66, 78</ref> Russian rule over Georgia was eventually acknowledged in various peace treaties with Iran and the Ottomans and the remaining Georgian territories were absorbed by the Russian Empire in a piecemeal fashion in the course of the 19th century.

==Bagrationi in Russia ==
[[image:Bagration P I.jpg|thumb|General [[Pyotr Bagration]]]]

In the [[Russian Empire]], the Bagrationis became a prominent family of aristocrats. The most famous was Prince [[Pyotr Bagration]], a great-grandson of King [[Jesse of Kartli]] who became a Russian general and hero of the [[Patriotic War of 1812]].<ref name="burke"/> His brother Prince [[Roman Bagration]] also became a Russian general, distinguishing himself in the [[Russo-Persian War (1826–1828)]], and was the first to enter [[Yerevan]] in 1827. Roman Bagration was also known for his patronage of the arts, literature and theatre. His home theater in Tbilisi was regarded as one of the finest in the Caucasus. His son Prince [[Peter Bagrationi|Pyotr Romanovich Bagration]] became governor of the [[Tver Oblast|Tver region]] and later [[governor-general]] of the [[Baltic provinces]]. He was also a metallurgic engineer known for the development of [[gold cyanidation]] in Russia. Prince [[Dmitry Petrovich Bagration]] was a Russian general who fought in [[World War I]] in the [[Brusilov Offensive]] and later joined the [[Red Army]].

==Bagrationi today ==
The majority of the Bagrationi family left [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] after the [[Red Army invasion of Georgia|Red Army took over Tbilisi]] in 1921.<ref name="burke"/>

=== Mukhrani branch ===
{{main|House of Mukhrani}}

The House of Mukhrani is the most senior [[patrilineality|patrilinear]] branch of the Bagrationi dynasty,<ref name="burke"/> descending directly from King [[Constantine II of Georgia]]. Originally a [[cadet branch]] of the former Royal House of [[Kartli]], they became the [[genealogy|genealogically]] seniormost line of the Bagrationi family in the early 20th century; and although this elder branch had lost the rule of Kartli by 1724,<ref name="burke"/> it retained the Principality of [[Mukhrani]] until its annexation by Russia, along with Kartli-Kakheti, in 1800.<ref name="burke"/>

This branch of the family is related to the [[Spanish Royal Family|House of Borbón]], the [[House of Wittelsbach]], the [[House of Habsburg-Lorraine]], and the [[House of Romanov]]. A member of this branch, [[Leonida Georgievna, Grand Duchess of Russia|Princess Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Moukhransky]], married [[Vladimir Cyrillovich, Grand Duke of Russia]], and became the mother of one of the claimants to the [[Romanov]] legacy, [[Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess of Russia]].<ref name="burke"/> The overwhelming majority of regnant and non-regnant Royal Houses recognize Prince Davit's claim to the Headship of the Royal House of Georgia.<ref name="revistavanityfair.es">{{Cite web | url=https://www.revistavanityfair.es/sociedad/articulos/maria-de-las-mercedes-zornoza-muerte-quien-era-georgia/44571 | title=La familia real (Y española) de Georgia, de luto por la muerte de su matriarca | date=21 April 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://imperialhouse.ru/en/dynastyhistory/dinzak3/1117.html | title=Russian Imperial House - Decree of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duke Wladimir Kirillovich, on the Recognition of the Royal Rank of the House of Bagration, 22 November/5 December 1946 }}</ref><ref name="Georgian royalty on diplomacy">{{Cite web | url=https://diplomatmagazine.eu/2017/08/05/georgian-royalty-diplomacy/ | title=Georgian royalty on diplomacy | date=5 August 2017 }}</ref><ref name="monarchiesetdynastiesdumonde.com">{{Cite web | url=https://www.monarchiesetdynastiesdumonde.com/pages/actualites-des-monarchies-du-monde/europe/georgie/interview-du-prince-david-bagration-heritier-au-trone-de-georgie.html | title=Interview du prince David Bagration, héritier au trône de Géorgie }}</ref><ref name="Court Circular">{{Cite web | url=https://www.royal.uk/court-circular?text=georgia&mrf=10&date%5Bmin%5D%5Bdate%5D=8%2F03%2F2016&date%5Bmax%5D%5Bdate%5D=8%2F03%2F2017&id= | title=Court Circular | website=The Royal Family }}</ref><ref name="NEWS">{{Cite web | url=http://www.royalhouseofgeorgia.ge/p/eng/434/news/112/-PROCLAMATION-OF-HM-KING-FELIPE-VI-AS-KING-OF-SPAIN | title=>NEWS }}</ref>

In 1942 Prince [[Irakli Bagration of Mukhrani|Irakli (Erekle) Bagrationi-Mukhraneli]], of the [[genealogy|genealogically]] senior branch of the dynasty, proclaimed himself [[pretender|head]] of the Royal House of Georgia. He founded the [[Union of Georgian Traditionalists]] in exile. His second wife, Maria Antonietta Pasquini, daughter of Ugo, [[Count]] di Costafiorita, bore him a [[Jorge de Bagration|son and heir]], but died in childbirth in February 1944.<ref name="burke"/> In August 1946 the widower married [[Infanta María de las Mercedes of Spain (1911–1953)|Princess María Mercedes de Baviera y Borbón]], a granddaughter of King [[Alfonso XII]], and daughter of ''[[Don (honorific)|Don]]'' [[Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria|Fernando de Baviera y Borbón]], who had renounced his royal rights in Bavaria to become a naturalised ''[[infante]]'' in Spain.

Beginning in the 1990s, senior members of the Bagrationi-Mukhraneli descendants began [[repatriation|re-patriating]] to Georgia from Spain, ending generations of exile. Irakli's elder son, [[Jorge de Bagration|Prince Georgi Bagrationi-Mukhraneli]], was officially recognized by government and church leaders when he brought his father's remains from Spain to rest with those of his ancestors in [[Svetitskhoveli Cathedral]] at [[Mtskheta]] in 1995,<ref name="Marrin">{{cite news |first=Minette|last=Marrin|title=Prince George Bagration of Mukhrani, Claimant to the throne of Georgia who became well known in Spain as a motor racing and rally driver |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article3291285.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523221949/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article3291285.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 23, 2010 |work= [[The Times]] |date=2008-02-02 |access-date=2008-02-09 | location=London}}</ref> and moved to Tbilisi in 2005, where he died.<ref name="Marrin"/> His eldest son, Prince Irakli (''Erekle''), born in 1972, deferred his dynastic claim to his younger brother, [[David Bagration of Mukhrani|Prince Davit]] (born 1976).{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} Thus, Prince Davit — who moved to Tbilisi and reclaimed his Georgian citizenship — became Head of the Family Council and the Mukhraneli dynastic titles.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.royalhouseofgeorgia.ge/p/eng/439/genealogy | title=>Genealogy }}</ref>

===Gruzinsky branch===
{{See also|Gruzinsky}}

The Bagration-Gruzinsky line, although junior to the Princes of Mukhrani genealogically, reigned over the kingdom of [[Kakheti]], re-united the two realms in the kingdom of [[Kartli-Kakheti]] in 1762, and did not lose sovereignty until Russian annexation in 1800.<ref name = wedding>{{Cite news |date=8 February 2009 |title=Wedding of the two royal dynasties members |newspaper=Georgia Times |url=http://www.georgiatimes.info/?lang=en&area=newsItem&id=7197 |access-date=9 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213210937/http://www.georgiatimes.info/?lang=en&area=newsItem&id=7197 |archive-date=13 February 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Prince [[Nugzar Petrovich Bagration-Gruzinski]] (1950–2025<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=გარდაიცვალა რეჟისორი და მსახიობი ნუგზარ ბაგრატიონ-გრუზინსკი |url=https://1tv.ge/news/gardaicvala-redjisori-da-msakhiobi-nugzar-bagrationi-gruzinski/ |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=Georgian Public Broadcaster |language=ka-GE}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=ნუგზარ ბაგრატიონ-გრუზინსკი (1950-2025) |url=http://www.nplg.gov.ge/bios/en/00004029/ |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=National Parliamentary Library of Georgia; Biographical dictionary}}</ref>) was the last known male [[patrilineality|patrilineal]] descendant of Kartli-Kakheti's last king, [[George XII of Georgia|George XII]], and was, as such, head of the Kakhetian branch of the dynasty which, although [[cadet branch|genealogically junior]] to the Mukhranelis, has [[reign]]ed more recently over a part of Georgia, not having lost the throne of a Georgian kingdom until 1800.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

Nugzar was a theatrical and cinema director, while his father, [[Petre Gruzinsky|Prince Petre Bagration-Gruzinski]] (1920–1984), was a poet, and authored "Song of Tiflis".{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

As Nugzar had no male issue, Prince Evgeny Petrovich Gruzinsky (1947-2018), the great-great-grandson of Bagrat's younger brother [[Prince Ilia of Georgia|Ilia]] (1791–1854), who lived in the [[Russian Federation]], was considered to be an [[heir presumptive]] within the same primogeniture principle.<ref name="burke"/> But he died without issue and no male descendant (recorded and official) was left in the Gruzinsky branch except Nugzar himself. Despite basing his claim on male primogeniture,<ref name="burke"/> Nugzar argued in favor of having his eldest daughter, [[Ana Bagration-Gruzinsky|Ana]], designated as his heir prior to his death in 2025.<ref name="theroyalhouseofgeorgia.org">[http://www.theroyalhouseofgeorgia.org/documents_of_the_Royal_House.html The Legal Heir to the Royal Throne of the Georgian Bagrationi Dynasty]. Retrieved 2013-08-02.</ref>

===Imereti branch===
{{main|Imeretinsky}}

Various sources present three different lines as the head of the House of Imereti, potential claimants to the long-defunct [[Kingdom of Imereti]], the last of the three Georgian kingdoms to lose its independence in 1810. The male line descending from the deposed [[David II of Imereti]] became extinct in 1978 when Prince Constantine Imeretinski died. He was survived by three daughters of his older brother.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

However, Prince [[Nugzar Petrovich Bagration-Gruzinski]] claims that the headship of the Imereti branch had – for one reason or another – transferred in the early 20th century to a [[cadet branch]] descending from an older son of [[Prince Bagrat of Imereti]]. Regardless, this branch died out in the male line in 1937 and in the female line in 2009.<ref name="theroyalhouseofgeorgia.org"/><ref>[http://genealogy.euweb.cz/georgia/bagrat5.html BAGRATION genealogy]. Retrieved 2013-11-08.</ref>

The third claim names another branch descending from Prince Bagrat's younger natural son. This line survives in the male line and is headed by Prince David Bagrationi (born 1948) (not to be confused with his younger namesake from the Mukhrani branch).<ref>ბაგრატიონები: სამეცნიერო და კულტურული მემკვიდრეობა, იმერეთის მეფეები ბაგრატიონთა დინასტიიდან, თბილისი, 2003 ''The Bagrations: Scientific and Cultural heritage, Kings of Imereti from Bagrationi dynasty, Tbilisi, 2003''</ref><ref>[http://www.georoyal.ge/?m=1000&id=76 იმერელი ბაგრატიონების ოჯახი]. Retrieved 2013-11-11.</ref>

The current claimant is Irakli Davitis Dze Bagrationi (Georgian: ირაკლი დავითის ძე ბაგრატიონი), head of the Georgian scion of the royal Bagrationi dynasty of Imereti, the direct male-line descendant of the kings of Imereti, the direct descendant of Alexander V (Georgian: ალექსანდრე V) (c. 1703/4 – March 1752), of the Bagrationi Dynasty, King of Imereti (western Georgia). Irakli is a son of David Bragationi and Irina Kobakhidze, born 10 July 1982 in Terjola, Imereti, Georgia. He is the future successor and head of the House of Bagrationi-Imereti. Irakli has been recognized by the [[Patriarch of Georgia]], as well as the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople]], as well as the [[Unione della Nobiltà Bizantina]] (Ένωση της Βυζαντινής ευγένειας).<ref>ბაგრატიონები: სამეცნიერო და კულტურული მემკვიდრეობა, იმერეთის მეფეები ბაგრატიონთა დინასტიიდან, თბილისი, 2003 The Bagrations: Scientific and Cultural heritage, Kings of Imereti from Bagrationi dynasty, Tbilisi, 2003 ვინ ერეოდა ირაკლი ბაგრატიონის ცხოვრებაში აქტიურად და რატომ არ ქმნის ის ოჯახს თბილისელები Magazine "Tbiliselebi" Retreind 2022-10-27.</ref>

===Union of Bagrationi branches===
[[Nugzar Bagration-Gruzinsky|Prince Nugzar]]'s daughter, [[Ana Bagration-Gruzinsky|Princess Ana]], a divorced teacher and journalist with two daughters, married [[David Bagration of Mukhrani|Prince Davit Bagrationi-Mukhraneli]], on 8 February 2009 at the [[Tbilisi Sameba Cathedral]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-02-13 |title=GeorgiaTimes.info |url=http://www.georgiatimes.info/?lang=en&area=newsItem&id=7197 |access-date=2024-08-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213210937/http://www.georgiatimes.info/?lang=en&area=newsItem&id=7197 |archive-date=2009-02-13 }}</ref> The marriage united the Gruzinsky and Mukhrani branches of the Georgian [[royal family]], and drew a crowd of 3,000 spectators, officials, and foreign diplomats, as well as extensive coverage by the [[Georgian media]].<ref name="misha">Vignanski, Misha. {{in lang|es}} El Confidencial, Spain. ''[http://www.elconfidencial.com/cache/2009/02/08/93_primera_siglos_reagrupa_ramas_dinastia_bagration.html# Primera boda real en dos siglos reagrupa dos ramas de la dinastía Bagration]'' (First royal wedding in two centuries reunites the branches of the Bagrationi dynasty). 2 August 2009 (retrieved 25 November 2013).</ref>

The dynastic significance of the wedding lay in the fact that, amidst the [[Politics of Georgia (country)#Recent developments|turmoil in political partisanship]] that has roiled Georgia since its independence in 1991, [[Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia]] publicly called for the restoration of the monarchy as a path toward national unity in October 2007.<ref name = eurasianet>[http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav101207a.shtml Time for a King for Georgia?]</ref> Although this led some politicians and parties to entertain the notion of a Georgian [[constitutional monarchy]], competition arose among the old dynasty's princes and supporters, as historians and [[jurisprudence|jurists]] debated which Bagrationi has the strongest hereditary right to a throne that has been vacant for two centuries.<ref name="misha"/>

Although some [[Monarchism in Georgia|monarchists]] support the Gruzinsky branch's claim, others — including most Royal Houses<ref name="revistavanityfair.es"/><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://imperialhouse.ru/en/dynastyhistory/dinzak3/1117.html | title=Russian Imperial House - Decree of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duke Wladimir Kirillovich, on the Recognition of the Royal Rank of the House of Bagration, 22 November/5 December 1946 }}</ref><ref name="Georgian royalty on diplomacy"/><ref name="monarchiesetdynastiesdumonde.com"/><ref name="Court Circular"/><ref name="NEWS"/> — support that of the [[repatriation|re-patriated]] Mukhraneli branch.<ref name = eurasianet/> Both branches descend from the [[medieval]] kings of Georgia down to [[Constantine II of Georgia]] who died in 1505,<ref name="burke"/> and continue as unbroken, legitimate male lines into the 21st century.

Aside from his unmarried elder brother Irakli, Davit is the ''[[heirs of the body|heir male]]'' of the [[Bagrationi]] family, while the bride's father is the most senior descendant of the last Bagrationi to reign over the [[Kartli-Kakheti|united kingdom of eastern Georgia]]. The marriage between Nugzar Gruzinsky's heiress and the Mukhrani heir may resolve their rivalry for the claim to the throne.<ref name = wedding/>

Prince Davit and Princess Ana became the parents of a boy on 27 September 2011, [[Giorgi Bagrationi (born 2011)|Prince Giorgi Bagration Bagrationi]], who, in his person, became the potential uniter of the Mukhraneli and Gruzinsky claims. Since no other Bagrationi prince was born in the Gruzinsky branch, Prince Giorgi became the ''heir apparent to the heir general'' of George XIII of [[Kartli-Kakheti]] on 1 March 2025, alongside already being ''heir apparent to the heir male'' of the House of Bagrationi, when his maternal grandfather died and the Gruzinsky branch went extinct in the male line, which left his mother as the Gruzinsky ''heiress general''.<ref name="Birth of Heir">{{Cite news |date=2011-09-28 |title=Royal Birth |website=Royal House of Georgia |url=http://www.royalhouseofgeorgia.ge/news/Official-Events/Royal-Birth |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105001738/http://www.royalhouseofgeorgia.ge/news/Official-Events/Royal-Birth |archive-date=2013-11-05 }}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

==Gallery of some Georgian monarchs of Bagrationi dynasty==
<gallery>
File:Bagrat III of Georgia (Bedia mural).jpg|[[Bagrat III of Georgia]]
File:King David Aghmashenebeli.jpg|[[David IV of Georgia]]
File:George III of Georgia.jpg|[[George III of Georgia]]
File:Tamar, fresco of Vardzia.jpg|Queen [[Tamar of Georgia]]
File:George IV of Georgia.jpg|[[George IV of Georgia|George IV (Lasha-Giorgi)]]
File:David VI Narin.jpg|[[David VI of Georgia]]
File:KingLuarsab.jpg|[[Luarsab II of Kartli]]
File:Vakhtang VI (miniature, 1700s).jpg|[[Vakhtang VI of Kartli]]
File:TeimurazIBagrationi new.jpg|[[Teimuraz I of Kakheti]]
File:Solomon I of Imereti.gif|[[Solomon I of Imereti]]
File:Heraclius_II_of_Eastern_Georgia_crop.png|[[Heraclius II of Georgia]]
File:George XII of Georgia.jpg|[[George XII of Kartli-Kakheti|George XII]]
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Georgian monarchs family tree of Bagrationi dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti]]
*[[Georgian monarchs family tree of Bagrationi dynasty of united Georgia]]
*[[Georgian monarchs family tree of Bagrationi dynasty of Kartli]]
*[[Georgian monarchs family tree of Bagrationi dynasty of Kakheti]]
*[[Georgian monarchs family tree of Bagrationi dynasty of Imereti]]
*[[Monarchism in Georgia]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Sources ==
{{refbegin}}
*Mikaberidze, A. (2015) Historical Dictionary of Georgia, [[Rowman & Littlefield]], {{ISBN|9781442241466}}
*Baddeley, JF, Gammer M (INT) (2003), ''The Russian Conquest of the Caucasus'', Routledge (UK), {{ISBN|0-7007-0634-8}} (First published in 1908; 1999 edition, reprinted in 2003)
*[[David Marshall Lang|Lang, DM]] (1957), ''The Last Years of the Georgian Monarchy: 1658-1832'', New York: Columbia University Press.
* {{cite book | last1 = Fisher | first1 = William Bayne | last2 = Avery | first2= P. | last3 = Hambly | first3 = G. R. G | last4 = Melville | first4 = C. | title = The Cambridge History of Iran | volume = 7 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=H20Xt157iYUC&q=agha+muhammad+khan+invade+georgia | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]] | location = Cambridge | year = 1991 | isbn = 0521200954 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia | article = EREKLE II | last = Hitchins | first = Keith | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/erekle-ii | encyclopedia  = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. VIII, Fasc. 5 | pages = 541–542 | year = 1998 }}
* {{cite book|last=Kazemzadeh|first=Firuz|chapter=Iranian relations with Russia and the Soviet Union, to 1921|title=The Cambridge History of Iran (Vol. '''7''')|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1991|isbn=978-0521200950| editor-given1 = Peter | editor-surname1 = Avery | editor-given2 = Gavin | editor-surname2 = Hambly | editor-given3 = Charles | editor-surname3 = Melville }}
* {{cite book | title = The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 7: From Nadir Shah to the Islamic Republic | year = 1991 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | location = Cambridge | last = Perry | first = John | chapter = The Zand dynasty | pages = 63–104 | isbn = 9780521200950 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=H20Xt157iYUC&q=false}}
*Rapp, SH (2003), ''Studies In Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts'', Peeters Bvba {{ISBN|90-429-1318-5}}.
* {{cite book|last=Rota|first=Giorgio|chapter=Conversion to Islam (and sometimes a return to Christianity) in Safavid Persia in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries|title=Conversion and Islam in the Early Modern Mediterranean: The Lure of the Other|publisher=Routledge|year=2017|isbn=978-1317159797| editor-given1 = Claire | editor-surname1 = Norton }}
* {{cite book|last=Sanikidze|first=George|authorlink=Giorgi Sanikidze|editor-link=Charles P. Melville|title=Safavid Persia in the Age of Empires, the Idea of Iran Vol. 10|date=2021|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-0755633807|editor-last=Melville|editor-first=Charles|location=|chapter=The Evolution of the Safavid Policy towards Eastern Georgia}}
* {{cite book|last1=Suny|first1=Ronald Grigor|author-link1=Ronald Grigor Suny|title=The Making of the Georgian Nation|date=1994|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0253209153}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* [[Alexander Khakhanov|A. Khakhanov]]. "Histoire de la Georgie", Paris, 1900 (in French)
* A. Manvelishvili. "Histoire de la Georgie", Paris, 1951 (in French)
* A. Manvelishvili. "Russia and Georgia. 1801-1951", Vol. I, Paris, 1951 (in Georgian)
* [[Kalistrate Salia|K. Salia]]. "History of the Georgian Nation", Paris, 1983
* ''Kartlis Tskhovreba'', vol. I-IV, Tbilisi, 1955-1973 (in Georgian)
* P. Ingorokva. ''Giorgi Merchule'' (a monograph), Tbilisi, 1954 (in Georgian)
* [[Ekvtime Takaishvili|E. Takaishvili]]. "Georgian chronology and the beginning of the Bagratid rule in Georgia".- ''Georgica'', London, v. I, 1935
* Sumbat Davitis dze. "Chronicle of the Bagration's of Tao-Klarjeti", with the investigation of Ekvtime Takaishvili, Tbilisi, 1949 (in Georgian)
* "Das Leben Kartlis", ubers. und herausgegeben von Gertrud Patch, Leipzig, 1985 (in German)
* V. Guchua, N. Shoshiashvili. "Bagration's".- Encyclopedia "Sakartvelo", vol. I, Tbilisi, 1997, pp.&nbsp;318–319 (in Georgian)
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Bagrationi dynasty}}
{{refbegin}}
*[http://www.royalhouseofgeorgia.ge/ Official Site of the Royal House of Bagrationi of Georgia, Mukhrani Branch]
*[http://www.theroyalhouseofgeorgia.org/ Official Site of the Royal House of Bagrationi of Georgia, Gruzinsky Branch]
*{{cite web |last=Marek |first=Miroslav |url=http://genealogy.euweb.cz/georgia/ |title= ''Genealogy.eu'' - Genealogical account of the Bagratids per Bichikashvili-Ninidze-Peikrishvili |publisher= Genealogy.EU}}
*[https://baza.vgd.ru/post/1/1919/p292857.htm?#%D0%91%D0%90%D0%93%D0%A0%D0%90%D0%A2%D0%98%D0%9E%D0%9D%D0%AB%20-%20%D0%BC%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B4%D1%88%D0%B0%D1%8F%20%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B2%D1%8C%20%D0%91%D0%B0%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%BD-%D0%93%D1%80%D1%83%D0%B7%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%85 БАГРАТИОНЫ - ветвь Багратиони-Давитишвили]
*[https://georgianencyclopedia.ge/en/form/22942?post= ვ. გუჩუა, ნ. შოშიაშვილი ბაგრატიონები]. I. Abashidze Main Scientific Editorial Office of the Georgian Encyclopedia, Georgian National Academy of Sciences
{{refend}}

{{European Royal Families}}
{{Royal houses of Georgia}}
{{Georgia (country) topics}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagrationi, House Of}}
[[Category:Bagrationi dynasty| ]]
[[Category:Davidic line]]