Georgian Technical University
Associate professor
Tbilisi/ Georgia
maiatsertsvadze@yahoo.com
Abstract
The liberation movement known as the Conspiracy of 1832, whose aim was to expel Russian rule from the country and restore its abolished statehood, was incorrectly described by Soviet historiography as a “noble conspiracy” in an attempt to diminish its significance. Subsequent comprehensive studies clearly demonstrated that representatives of various social strata were involved in the movement. At the same time, it should be emphasized that the vanguard of this great anti-imperial national act was indeed formed by the highest Georgian aristocracy, namely the Bagrationi princes (batonishvili) of the royal house of Kartli-Kakheti and their descendants.
As is well known, the initiators and ideological inspirers of the conspiracy were King Erekle II’s (1720–1798) grandsons, Dimitri Bagrationi, son of Iulon (1803–1845), and Okropir Bagrationi, son of Giorgi (1795–1857), who at that time had been exiled to Russia. There they gathered Georgian patriots who had gone there for education and inspired them with the idea of an uprising. The spirit and aspirations of these princes were also shared by members of their family, among them Iulon’s sister Tamar (1791–1857), one of the active conspirators who operated in Tbilisi and who, in the event of the conspiracy’s success, was even considered a possible temporary ruler of the restored independent state.
Among the four figures regarded as the leaders of the conspiracy, two were descendants of the royal family: Alexander Orbeliani (1802–1869) and Elizbar Eristavi (1810–1872). Alexander Orbeliani was a grandson of Erekle II and participated in the conspiracy together with his mother, Princess Tekle (1776–1846), and his brothers Dimitri Orbeliani (1806–1882) and Vakhtang Orbeliani (1812–1890). Elizbar Eristavi was likewise a descendant of the king, being the great-grandson of Tamar, daughter of Erekle II (1747–1786). He participated in the conspiracy together with his brother and sister, Dimitri Eristavi (1811–1854) and Melania Eristavi (1808–1836).
Among the conspirators were also Prince Alexander Batonishvili (1770–1844), son of Erekle II, as well as the children of Giorgi (1746–1800), Elene (1753–1886), Anastasia (1763–1838), Ketevan (1764–1840), Ekaterine (1774–1818), and Pharnavaz (1775–1852). It is noteworthy that the children of the king’s daughters appear in the investigative materials of the conspiracy not under the Bagrationi surname, but under other family names - such as Mukhranbatoni, Orbeliani, Cholokashvili, Eristavi, and others - which somewhat complicates their identification as direct descendants of the royal family.
Naturally, studies devoted to the Conspiracy of 1832 have paid particular attention to the princes (batonishvili) of Kartli-Kakheti who actively participated in it (Dimitri, Okropir, Tamar, Tekle Batonishvili, and others). At the same time, it may be said that these studies do not present a comprehensive and unified picture of the participation of every member of the royal family and its descendants in the conspiracy, nor of the degree and character of their involvement, their position and role within the movement, or the punishments imposed upon them. In this respect, the study of the conspiracy’s personnel still requires further supplementation and refinement.
In this paper, we shall attempt to focus attention on this issue by collecting and presenting updated biographical information, based on the latest research, concerning the conspiratorial Bagrationis and their descendants, together with a genealogical table specially prepared for the purposes of this study. In our view, this will contribute to a fuller understanding and interpretation both of the Conspiracy of 1832 and of the royal house of Kartli-Kakheti, as well as of the history of Georgian society in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Keywords: Conspiracy of 1832; Personnel of the Conspiracy of 1832; Bagrations in the Conspiracy of 1832; Royal House of Kartli-Kakheti; Descendants of King Erekle II.