Levan III Dadiani (Georgian: ლევან III დადიანი), born Shamadavle (შამადავლე) (died 1680) was Prince of Mingrelia, of the House of Dadiani, from 1661 to 1680. His reign unfolded against the background of a series of civil wars in western Georgian polities, in which Levan III was an opponent of King Bagrat V of Imereti to whom he lost a battle and his own wife.
Shamadavle was a son of Iese, brother of Levan II Dadiani, Prince of Mingrelia. In 1661, he was installed by King Vakhtang V of Kartli as Prince of Mingrelia after evicting his relative, Vameq III Dadiani. Upon his enthronement, Shamadavle assumed the name of his uncle, Levan, and married Vakhtang's niece, Tamar.[1]
Civil warsedit
In 1663, Levan attempted to make use of palace intrigues plaguing the kingdom of Imereti and attacked King Bagrat IV, who was married to Tamar's elder sister Tatia. Levan was defeated and made prisoner. While in captivity, he was forced to divorce Tamar, whom Bagrat took as his new wife. Instead, the prince of Mingrelia was convinced to marry Bagrat's sister, Tinatin, the former wife of the nobleman Goshadze, whom Levan suspected of adultery with his daughter. Levan was set free, but he remained deeply offended by the loss of his wife; hence, his enmity with Bagrat perpetuated.[1][2]
In October 1672, Levan survived an invasion by an Ottoman force, which plundered Mingrelia, but failed to take the Rukhi fortress, where the Mingrelian prince had entrenched himself. The episode was witnessed and described in his travelogue by the French traveller Jean Chardin. By 1678, Levan again became involved in an Imeretian civil war, rendering his support to Bagrat V's rival, Archil, son of Vakhtang V of Kartli. When Bagrat was briefly deposed, the queen Tamar was arrested and sent back to Levan in Mingrelia. Next year, Bagrat reconquered Imereti with the Ottoman auxiliaries, then raided Mingrelia, and retook his wife. Levan was only able to resume his government with the help of Giorgi Gurieli, Prince of Guria, whom he surrendered his son and heir, Manuchar, as a hostage to prove loyalty. His reign was further disturbed by the marauding raids by the Abkhaz on the Mingrelian borders.[2]
Levan III Dadiani died in 1680. His heir, Manuchar, was murdered by Giorgi Gurieli as part of his ultimately failed design to seize control of Mingrelia. Levan III was, thus, succeeded by his natural son, Levan IV.[2]
Childrenedit
Levan III Dadiani had three children, two sons and a daughter.[3]
Manuchar (c. 1663 – 1680), Levan III's only son of his marriage with Princess Tamar. As a young boy, he was betrothed to Darejan, daughter of King Archil of Imereti, but the marriage was never consummated.
Levan IV Dadiani, Levan's son by a concubine and his successor as Prince of Mingrelia.
Mzekhanum, Levan's only daughter, was married to Prince Katsia Chikovani, Lord of Lechkhumi.
^ abcBagrationi, Vakhushti (1976). Nakashidze, N.T. (ed.). История Царства Грузинского [History of the Kingdom of Georgia] (PDF) (in Russian). Tbilisi: Metsniereba. pp. 144–147.
^Grebelsky, P. Kh.; Dumin, S.V.; Lapin, V.V. (1993). Дворянские роды Российской империи. Том 4: Князья Царства Грузинского [Noble families of the Russian Empire. Vol. 4: Princes of the Kingdom of Georgia] (in Russian). Vesti. pp. 46–47.
levan, dadiani, georgian, ლევან, დადიანი, born, shamadavle, შამადავლე, died, 1680, prince, mingrelia, house, dadiani, from, 1661, 1680, reign, unfolded, against, background, series, civil, wars, western, georgian, polities, which, levan, opponent, king, bagrat. Levan III Dadiani Georgian ლევან III დადიანი born Shamadavle შამადავლე died 1680 was Prince of Mingrelia of the House of Dadiani from 1661 to 1680 His reign unfolded against the background of a series of civil wars in western Georgian polities in which Levan III was an opponent of King Bagrat V of Imereti to whom he lost a battle and his own wife Contents 1 Early life 2 Civil wars 3 Children 4 ReferencesEarly life editShamadavle was a son of Iese brother of Levan II Dadiani Prince of Mingrelia In 1661 he was installed by King Vakhtang V of Kartli as Prince of Mingrelia after evicting his relative Vameq III Dadiani Upon his enthronement Shamadavle assumed the name of his uncle Levan and married Vakhtang s niece Tamar 1 Civil wars editIn 1663 Levan attempted to make use of palace intrigues plaguing the kingdom of Imereti and attacked King Bagrat IV who was married to Tamar s elder sister Tatia Levan was defeated and made prisoner While in captivity he was forced to divorce Tamar whom Bagrat took as his new wife Instead the prince of Mingrelia was convinced to marry Bagrat s sister Tinatin the former wife of the nobleman Goshadze whom Levan suspected of adultery with his daughter Levan was set free but he remained deeply offended by the loss of his wife hence his enmity with Bagrat perpetuated 1 2 In October 1672 Levan survived an invasion by an Ottoman force which plundered Mingrelia but failed to take the Rukhi fortress where the Mingrelian prince had entrenched himself The episode was witnessed and described in his travelogue by the French traveller Jean Chardin By 1678 Levan again became involved in an Imeretian civil war rendering his support to Bagrat V s rival Archil son of Vakhtang V of Kartli When Bagrat was briefly deposed the queen Tamar was arrested and sent back to Levan in Mingrelia Next year Bagrat reconquered Imereti with the Ottoman auxiliaries then raided Mingrelia and retook his wife Levan was only able to resume his government with the help of Giorgi Gurieli Prince of Guria whom he surrendered his son and heir Manuchar as a hostage to prove loyalty His reign was further disturbed by the marauding raids by the Abkhaz on the Mingrelian borders 2 Levan III Dadiani died in 1680 His heir Manuchar was murdered by Giorgi Gurieli as part of his ultimately failed design to seize control of Mingrelia Levan III was thus succeeded by his natural son Levan IV 2 Children editLevan III Dadiani had three children two sons and a daughter 3 Manuchar c 1663 1680 Levan III s only son of his marriage with Princess Tamar As a young boy he was betrothed to Darejan daughter of King Archil of Imereti but the marriage was never consummated Levan IV Dadiani Levan s son by a concubine and his successor as Prince of Mingrelia Mzekhanum Levan s only daughter was married to Prince Katsia Chikovani Lord of Lechkhumi References edit a b Rayfield Donald 2012 Edge of Empires A History of Georgia London Reaktion Books pp 215 216 ISBN 1780230303 a b c Bagrationi Vakhushti 1976 Nakashidze N T ed Istoriya Carstva Gruzinskogo History of the Kingdom of Georgia PDF in Russian Tbilisi Metsniereba pp 144 147 Grebelsky P Kh Dumin S V Lapin V V 1993 Dvoryanskie rody Rossijskoj imperii Tom 4 Knyazya Carstva Gruzinskogo Noble families of the Russian Empire Vol 4 Princes of the Kingdom of Georgia in Russian Vesti pp 46 47 Levan III DadianiHouse of DadianiBorn Died 1680Regnal titlesPreceded byVameq III Dadiani Prince of Mingrelia1661 1680 Succeeded byLevan IV Dadiani Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Levan III Dadiani amp oldid 810268745, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
