Mamia III Gurieli
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mamia III Gurieli | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Guria | |
| Reign | 1689–1714 |
| Predecessor | Malakia |
| Successor | George IV |
| King of Imereti | |
| 1st Reign | 1701 |
| Predecessor | Simon |
| Successor | George VI Abashidze |
| 2nd Reign | 1711–1712 |
| Predecessor | George VII |
| Successor | George VII |
| 3rd Reign | 1713–1714 |
| Predecessor | George VII |
| Successor | George VII |
| Died | 5 January 1714 |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | |
| Issue Among others | George IV Kaikhosro III Tamar |
| House | Gurieli |
| Father | George III of Guria |
| Mother | Tamar Chijavadze |
| Religion | Georgian Orthodox Church |
Mamia III Gurieli (Georgian: მამია III გურიელი), also known as Mamia the Great Gurieli (დიდი გურიელი, Didi Gurieli) or the Black Gurieli (შავი გურიელი, Shavi Gurieli) (died 5 January 1714), of the western Georgian House of Gurieli, was Prince of Guria from 1689 to 1714. Involved in civil wars plaguing western Georgia, he became King of Imereti three times in the years of 1701, 1711–1712, and 1713–1714. After his first reign as king for a year in 1701, he abdicated the throne of Imereti, being unable to tolerate the influence of his father-in-law Giorgi Abashidze. Subsequent periods of his royal career was the result of a feud with George VII of Imereti. Mamia died while still sitting on the throne of Imereti, which then reverted to his rival George VII.
Mamia was a younger son of George III Gurieli and his wife, Princess Tamar Chijavadze. On George's death at the battle of Rokiti against King Alexander IV of Imereti in 1684, Mamia joined his brothers in exile in Akhaltsikhe under the protection of its Ottoman governor Yusuf-Pasha. In the subsequent infighting between Mamia's elder brother Kaikhosro and his paternal uncle Malakia, the former lost his life, while the latter was deprived of his sight. Eventually, in 1689, at the request of Guria's nobility, Mamia was summoned from Akhaltsikhe and installed as prince with the pasha's support, while the blinded Malakia was made Bishop of Shemokmedi by the new Gurieli ruler.[1][2]
In 1690, Mamia hosted George XI, the exiled king of Kartli and a foe of Alexander IV of Imereti, but soon became suspicious of his nobles' loyalty to the guest and began a crackdown on the suspected opposition, forcing George to relocate to the Ottoman-controlled Gonio. In the incessant power struggles in Imereti, Mamia originally supported his father-in-law George Abashidze, but, in 1699, he helped Abashidze's estranged son-in-law, King Simon, return from his exile in Kartli and recover the crown of Imereti. In return, Simon agreed to divorce Abashidze's daughter Anika and marry Mamia's sister. Abashidze, supported by the Mingrelian regent George Lipartiani, marshaled his troops on the borders of Guria and requested that Gurieli kill Simon, promising to make Mamia king of Imereti. Gurieli refused to do that himself, but allowed Abashidze's agents to shoot Simon dead in a bathroom in 1701.[1][2]
First reign in Imereti and Ottoman invasion
Pursuant to his promise, Abashidze made Mamia king of Imereti, if in name only. Abashidze controlled royal domains, revenues, and nobility, while Mamia had to sell his Gurian subjects in slavery to meet his own expenses. Later that year, Mamia felt compelled to abdicate and retire to Guria. Abashidze made himself king of Imereti and, thus, a suzerain of Guria and Mingrelia.[1][2]
In 1703, Guria as well as the rest of western Georgia faced a major invasion by the Ottoman Empire. Eager to tighten a loosening grip over their Caucasian subjects, the Ottomans mounted a large-scale invasion, with the intention to eliminate the sovereignty of Guria and limit that of Imereti.[3] A revolt of the troops bound to Georgia forced the Ottomans to withdraw from Georgia's interior,[1][2] but the coastal area around Batumi was permanently lost for Guria.[4]