Principality of Svaneti - Early History

Early History

Svaneti lies in northwestern Georgia, along two broad upland valleys located to the south of Mount Elbrus – the upper Enguri River valley in the west and the upper Ts'khenis-Ts'k'ali and its tributary, the Kheladula, in the east. In the period of Georgian unity (1008-1463), it was a duchy (saeristavo) within the Bagratid kingdom of Georgia ruled first by the house of Vardanidze from the late 11th to the 14th century, and then by that of Gelovani which established themselves as virtually independent princes when Georgia fragmented, in the 1460s (officially 1490/1491), into three kingdoms – Kartli, Kakheti, and Imereti – and several regional principalities and feudal enclaves.

A series of Ottoman invasions and civil wars in western Georgia resulted in a breakdown of communications and the mountainous regions became increasingly isolated. In Svaneti, a medieval feudal system effectively collapsed and once flourishing regional Georgian Orthodox culture went in decline to the point of reversal to some pagan practices. The highlanders of Svaneti entrenched themselves in their difficultly accessible villages fortified with chains of defensive towers and were only passively involved in the turmoil that filled Georgia, leading to the relative lack of written records about Svaneti from that period. Their relations with the neighbors on the other side of the Caucasus range, chiefly Kabarda and Balkars, were often hostile, although trade via mountainous passes and intermarriages among the noble families were also common.