George IV Gurieli
King of Imereti
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George IV Gurieli (Georgian: გიორგი IV გურიელი, romanized: giorgi IV gurieli; died 1726), of the House of Gurieli, was Prince of Guria from 1711 to 1726, and a king of Imereti in western Georgia in 1716. He was installed as regent of Guria by his father, Mamia III Gurieli, then the king of Imereti, in 1712. In 1716, he seized the crown of Imereti, but was forced to abandon the enterprise later that year. Returning to Guria, his rule was challenged by a faction of local nobility, which included his mother Elene and brother Kaikhosro III Gurieli. He was finally able to crush the opposition after making peace with Bezhan Dadiani, Prince of Mingrelia.
| George IV Gurieli | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Guria | |
| 1st reign | 1714–1716 |
| Predecessor | Mamia III Gurieli |
| Successor | Kaikhosro III Gurieli |
| 2nd reign | 1716–1726 |
| Predecessor | Kaikhosro III Gurieli |
| Successor | Mamia IV Gurieli |
| King of Imereti | |
| Reign | 1716 |
| Predecessor | George VI |
| Successor | George VI |
| Died | 1726 |
| Spouse | |
| Issue Among others | |
| House | Gurieli |
| Father | Mamia III Gurieli |
| Mother | Helen Abashidze |
| Religion | Georgian Orthodox Church (Catholicate of Abkhazia) |
Early rule
George was the eldest son of Mamia III Gurieli, Prince of Guria, and Princess Helen Abashidze, daughter of Prince Giorgi-Malakia Abashidze. When Mamia seized the throne of Imereti in October 1712, George was made by his father as regent of Guria to the opposition of his younger brother, Levan. On Mamia's death on 5 January 1714, George Gurieli became prince-regnant. In 1716, the Imeretian opposition led by Bezhan Dadiani, Prince of Mingrelia, and Prince Zurab Abashidze invited the Ottoman troops in their successful bid to depose King George VI of Imereti, the late Mamia Gurieli's rival, and crowned George Gurieli as king at Kutaisi. His reign lasted for only three months; the dethroned king George VI's Rachian supporters ambushed and looted Gurieli's treasure, bound to Kutaisi, at Salominao, while a Gurian escort were captured and sold in slavery. The alarmed Gurieli fled Kutaisi back to Guria, while Imereti was divided by Dadiani, Abashidze, and the duke of Racha.[1]
Coup in Guria
Back in his native principality, George Gurieli faced a coup engineered by his own mother, Helen, on whose instigation Dadiani, Abashidze, and the duke of Racha intervened with their troops to expel George and replace him with his younger brother, Kaikhosro III Gurieli, the unfrocked monk and Helen's favorite son. George fled to Akhlatsikhe under the protection of an Ottoman pasha. There he met his exiled predecessor as king of Imereti, George VI, who married Gurieli's sister Tamar. Akhaltsikhe's own power struggle deprived the two Georges of any meaningful support. Gurieli moved to Erzurum and, with the troops provided by the local pasha, quickly reconquered Guria, forcing his mother and brothers into exile.[1]
The leading nobles of Guria, such as Eristavi and Bezhan Nakashidze did not welcome George's comeback and invoked Bezhan Dadiani's military aid to put Gurieli into flight to Batumi. Dadiani looted Guria and left. Gurieli was able to resume his reign and made peace with Dadiani. He then moved against his estranged nobles, expelled Eristavi, and took away Giorgi Nakashidze's wife, a daughter of Dadiani, as his own mate with her father's consent. George Gurieli died in 1726. He was succeeded by his son, Mamia IV Gurieli.[1]
Family
George Gurieli was married twice, first to Helen (Mariam), daughter of Giorgi Sharvashidze, Eristavi of Guria. After the couple's divorce in 1717, George married Princess Khvaramze, daughter of Bezhan Dadiani and former wife of Prince Giorgi Nakashidze. After Gurieli's death, Khvaramze married Shoshita III Chkheidze, Duke of Racha. George had two sons:[2]
- Mamia IV Gurieli, Prince of Guria, who reigned intermittently between 1726 and 1776.
- George V Gurieli, Prince of Guria, reigned multiple times (1756–1758, 1765–1771, and 1776–1788).