Kingdom of Imereti


The Kingdom of Imereti was a Georgian monarchy established in 1463 by a member of the house of Bagrationi when the Kingdom of Georgia was dissolved into rival kingdoms. Before that time, Imereti was considered a separate kingdom within the Kingdom of Georgia, of which a cadet branch of the Bagrationi royal family held the crown.
The realm was conquered by George V the Brilliant and once again united with the east Kingdom of Georgia. From 1463 onward, however, Imereti became a constant battleground between Georgian and Ottoman forces for several centuries, resulting in the kingdom's progressive decline due to this ongoing instability. These threats pushed local Georgian rulers to seek closer ties with Tsardom of Russia. In 1649, Imereti sent ambassadors to the Russian royal court and Russia returned favor in 1651. In the presence of Russian ambassadors, Alexander III of Imereti swore an oath of allegiance to Tsar Alexis of Russia. However, internal conflicts among Georgian royalty continued and, although Alexander III briefly managed to control all of Western Georgia, this consolidation was short lived. By the time of his death in 1660, Western Georgia was still in a state of flux. In this chaotic period, Archil of Imereti was enthroned and deposed several times. His efforts to secure assistance from Russia and, later, Pope Innocent XII proved unsuccessful and he was finally exiled to Russia.
Under pressure from Pavel Tsitsianov, in 1804 Solomon II of Imereti accepted Russian Imperial suzerainty, only to be deposed entirely in 1810. During the time that Imereti was a vassal state, the Mingrelia, Abkhazia and Guria princedoms declared their independence from Imereti and established their own governments.

Kings of Imereti

First House of Imereti

[Bagrationi dynasty of Imereti]

Heirs of King of [Solomon I of Imereti]

The dynastic senior line of the Imeretian Bagrationi since 1784. In Russia, its representatives bore the title of His Serene Highness the Princes of Bagration-Imereti.

Heirs of [Prince Bagrat of Imereti]

Dynastically the second line of Imereti Bagrationi since 1784. In Russia its representatives bore the title of Lightest Princes Bagration.
  • Prince Bagrat of Imereti
  • David III Bagratovich, his son, Solomon II's cousin
  • Ivan Davidovich, his son
  • Alexander Ivanovich, his son
  • David Aleksandrovich, his son and the last male representative of this branch
  • Svimon Rostomovich
  • Irakli Grigolovich, son of Grigol
  • David Iraklievich, son of Irakli. transmitted his headship to his son
  • Irakli Davidovich, son of David.

Heirs of King of [David II of Imereti]

Since Solomon II of Imereti had no sons, he proclaimed Prince Constantine, son of king David II of Imereti, and his male-line senior descendants as heirs to the throne of the Kingdom of Imereti.
After the death of Hereditary Prince Constantine, because the male-offspring of this branch came to end, the headship of the House of Bagrationi-Imereti transmitted to Prince Irakli Bagrationi, son of Prince Grigol, the male-line descendant of Prince Bagrat, younger brother of King Solomon I of Imereti.