Bagrationi Dynasty

Bagrationi Dynasty

The Bagrationi Royal Dynasty (Georgian: ბაგრატიონი, bagrationi, ბაგრატიონთა დინასტია, bagrationt'a dinastia) was the ruling family of Georgia. Their ascendency lasted from the early Middle Ages until the early 19th century. In modern usage, this royal line is frequently referred to as the Georgian Bagratids, a Hellenized form of their dynastic name.

The origin of the Bagrationi dynasty is disputed, as well as the time when they first appeared on Georgian soil. The history of the dynasty is inextricably bound with that of Georgia. They began their rule, in the early 9th century, as presiding princes in historic southwestern Georgia and the adjacent Georgian marchlands reconquered from Arabs. Subsequently they restored, in 888, the Georgian kingdom, which prospered from the 11th to the 13th century, bringing several regional polities under its control. This period of time, particularly the reigns of David IV (1089–1125) and his great granddaughter Tamar (1184–1213), is celebrated as a "golden age" in the history of Georgia, the era of empire, military exploits, and remarkable achievements in culture. After the fragmentation of their unified feudal state in the late 15th century, the branches of the Bagrationi house ruled the three breakaway Georgian kingdoms – Kartli, Kakheti, and Imereti – until the Russian annexation in the early 19th century. The dynasty persisted in exile as an Imperial Russian noble family until the 1917 February Revolution. The establishment of the Soviet rule in Georgia in 1921 forced some members of the family to accept demoted status and loss of property in Georgia, others relocated to Western Europe, although some repatriated after Georgian independence in 1991. One of the branches continues to style itself as the Royal House of Georgia.