Royal Genealogy

The genealogy of the Royal House of Georgia extends across more than fourteen centuries of dynastic history and tradition. The chart below presents the descent of the Bagrationi and the relationship between the principal royal and collateral lines, from the early rulers of Kartli to the present Royal House.

The chart records the genealogy recognized by the Royal House. It includes branches that occupied the thrones of united Georgia and its successor kingdoms, together with collateral branches that did not themselves inherit a reigning crown. Inclusion in the genealogy does not, by itself, signify membership in the present Royal Family or confer a dynastic office or style.

Origins of the Genealogy

The earliest generations of the genealogy reflect the ancient dynastic tradition preserved in medieval Georgian historiography. According to this tradition, the Bagrationi descend from the biblical King David. The Georgian chronicles also connect Guaram, the first Bagrationi erismtavari, or presiding prince, of Kartli with the earlier Pharnavazid royal line through his mother.

These traditions formed an enduring part of the dynasty’s conception of its ancestry and Christian kingship. The historical genealogy becomes increasingly detailed during the early medieval period, as members of the Bagrationi family rose to authority in Kartli, Tao-Klarjeti, and the other Georgian lands.

In 888, Adarnase II assumed the title of King of the Georgians. Bagrat III was crowned King of Abkhazia in 978 and succeeded as King of the Georgians in 1008, bringing together the crowns of western and eastern Georgia and becoming the first sovereign of the united Kingdom of Georgia.

The Royal Line of United Georgia

From Bagrat III, the chart follows the succession and descent of the Bagrationi sovereigns of united Georgia. This royal line included Saint King Davit IV the Builder, Saint Queen Tamar, and the monarchs who governed Georgia through periods of unity, expansion, foreign invasion, recovery, and eventual political fragmentation.

More than one member of the dynasty sometimes exercised royal authority at the same time, whether as co-rulers or as sovereigns of different Georgian territories. The same personal names and regnal numbers therefore recur in different kingdoms and branches. They should be read in relation to the particular crown and period identified in the chart.

The Collateral Royal Lines

Following the fragmentation of the united Kingdom of Georgia during the fifteenth century, different branches of the Bagrationi continued to occupy the thrones of Kartli, Kakheti, and Imereti. These were not separate dynasties, but royal lines of the same Bagrationi House.

The Western Georgian and Imereti Lines

The chart records an earlier western Georgian royal line descending from King Davit VI Narini. In 1259, Davit established separate rule in western Georgia, with his royal court at Kutaisi, and reigned there until 1293. His descendants continued to govern in western Georgia during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, although the status of their realm and its relationship with the eastern Georgian monarchy changed over time.

The later royal branch of Imereti arose from Bagrat VI of Georgia, known in Imereti as Bagrat II, who proclaimed himself king of Imereti in 1463. His son, King Alexander II, established the line from which the later kings of Imereti descended. The Imeretian monarchy continued until King Solomon II was deprived of his throne following the Russian annexation of the kingdom in 1810.

The Kartli Line

The royal line of Kartli descended through King Constantine II, a grandson of King Alexander I of united Georgia. Constantine II and his descendants ruled during the final division of the united kingdom and the establishment of Kartli as a separate monarchy. The Mukhrani branch arose from this line.

The Kakheti Line

The royal line of Kakheti descended from King Giorgi VIII, the last king of the united Kingdom of Georgia, who subsequently established the Kingdom of Kakheti. His descendants continued the Kakhetian royal line and later became connected with the throne of Kartli.

The Kartli-Kakheti Line

In 1762, following the death of his father, King Teimuraz II of Kartli, King Erekle II of Kakheti united the two crowns. He was succeeded in 1798 by his son, King Giorgi XII.

Following Giorgi XII’s death on 28 December 1800, the Russian authorities prevented his eldest son and designated heir, Prince Davit, from ascending the throne. The Russian Empire abolished the monarchy and annexed the kingdom in 1801. The chart follows the descendants of the last kings of Kartli-Kakheti through the Bagrationi-Gruzinski branch.

The Mukhrani Branch

The Mukhrani branch was founded in 1512 by Bagrat I, a younger son of King Constantine II of Kartli and brother of King Davit X. Bagrat received Mukhrani as an appanage, or hereditary domain, and served as commander of Upper Kartli. The holder of the domain bore the title Mukhranbatoni, or Lord of Mukhrani.

The Mukhrani branch later provided several kings of Kartli. In 1658, Vakhtang V of Mukhrani became king, and other members of the branch subsequently occupied the throne. They played a central role in the political, legal, and cultural life of eastern Georgia.

The Royal House recognizes the Mukhrani branch as the senior surviving genealogical line of the Bagrationi dynasty and as the line from which the present Head of the Royal House descends.

The Present Royal Line

In the twentieth century, the headship of the Royal House passed through Prince Irakli Bagration of Mukhrani to his son, Prince Giorgi Bagration of Mukhrani. Following Prince Giorgi’s death in Tbilisi on 16 January 2008, his son, His Royal Highness Prince Davit Bagrationi Mukhran Batonishvili, succeeded as Head of the Royal House in accordance with its dynastic tradition.

In 2009, Prince Davit married Princess Ana Bagrationi, a member of the Bagrationi-Gruzinski branch. Their son, His Royal Highness Prince Giorgi Bagrationi Mukhran Batonishvili, was born on 27 September 2011. Through his father, Prince Giorgi descends from the senior Mukhrani line, and through his mother, from the royal line of Kartli-Kakheti. The genealogical chart records the union of these two branches in his descent.

Reading the Genealogical Chart

• Connecting lines indicate descent and family relationships between successive generations.
• Branching lines identify collateral descendants and the principal royal branches of the dynasty.
• Repeated names or regnal numbers may refer to different rulers or to rulers of different Georgian kingdoms.
• The earliest relationships preserve the ancient dynastic tradition recorded by Georgian historians, while the later generations follow the historical genealogy of the Royal House.
• The chart presents the principal dynastic descent and does not include every spouse, child, or collateral descendant of the Bagrationi family.