Prince Alexander of Imereti (1760–1780)

Alexander was born in 1760 as the only son of Solomon I of Imereti and his second wife, Queen Mariam Dadiani, daughter of Otia Dadiani, Prince of Mingrelia. He was the grandson of King Alexander V of Imereti and the brother of Princesses Darejan and Mariam. He is first mentioned on 8 September of that year in a charter issued by his father and appears continuously in various sources thereafter until his death.^[1]

According to Johann Anton Güldenstädt, Alexander was "a dark-complexioned, tall, handsome young man" with "a very lively, kind, and affectionate expression." Solomon entrusted his son's upbringing to his "most loyal" nobleman, Prince Giorgi Tsulukidze, who accompanied the prince wherever he went.^[2]

Alexander's personal life was marked by turmoil. As a young man, he fell deeply in love with a woman named Mariam Zhghenti. Captivated by her beauty, he wished to marry her, and together they had an illegitimate son, George. Solomon I, however, forcibly separated the couple. Unable to endure the separation, Mariam died. Alexander's first lawful wife was a daughter of Prince George (the future King George XII), son of King Heraclius II of Georgia. They were married in Tbilisi on 3 January 1777. Alexander did not bring his bride to Imereti; instead, he arrived in Kutaisi, already married, on 19 January. While his lawful wife was still alive, either later that year or at the beginning of 1778, he married a daughter of Evgeni Abashidze.^[2]

In April 1778, Alexander joined a noble conspiracy against his father. Its principal instigators were sakhltukhutsesi David Abashidze and Tamaz Meskhi, while the conspirators also included Alexander's father-in-law, Evgeni Abashidze, and others. The immediate pretext for the conspiracy was Solomon's marriage to Gulkan, daughter of a Tsulukidze and widow of Kajia, shortly after the death of Queen Mariam in 1778. Thereafter, Alexander is said to have become hostile toward his father because of his "stepmother's lesser birth."^[3]

Following the conspiracy's defeat later that year, Alexander fled Imereti and sought refuge with King Heraclius II, who received him favorably and treated him with honor.^[4] Heraclius reconciled him with Solomon and sent him back to Imereti. Having fallen under the influence of the rebellious nobles, Alexander was punished by the king and compelled to divorce the daughter of Evgeni Abashidze, one of the participants in the uprising. In 1779, Solomon arranged Alexander's third marriage to Darejan, daughter of his loyal noble Beri Tsulukidze. Solomon's third wife, Gulkan, was also Beri Tsulukidze's sister.^[5]

For "dismissing his wife and contracting an unlawful marriage," Alexander was excommunicated by the Church. He did not live much longer afterward, dying in October 1780. Solomon I wished for his son to be buried with appropriate honors inside the church, but the clergy refused because the prince had been excommunicated. Instead, Alexander was buried outside the church at Gelati, with only a single priest leading the funeral procession.^[5]

Prince Alexander was married three times. His first marriage, on 3 January 1777, was to Salome, daughter of King George XII. His second marriage, in 1778, was to an unnamed daughter of Prince Evgeni Abashidze, and his third was to Darejan, daughter of Prince Beri Tsulukidze.^[6] Alexander had no legitimate children but had an illegitimate son with Mariam Zhghenti:^[7]

• Prince George (1778–1807), who became a pretender to the throne. He was later arrested, imprisoned, and eventually escaped to the Russian Empire, becoming the ancestor of the Bagration-Imeretinsky branch of the family.