House of Bagration Багратион (Russian) ბაგრატიონი (Georgian) | |
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Ethnicity | Georgian |
Place of birth | Kingdom of Georgia Russian Empire |
Current region | Russian Empire - Grand Duchy of the Caucasus -- Principality of Georgia |
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Current Head | Prince David I Georgyevich |
Estate | Tbilisi, Russian Empire |
The House of Bagration (Russian: Багратион) or House of Bagrationi (Georgian: ბაგრატიონი) is a royal dynasty who are currently the ruling local sovereigns in the Principality of Georgia in the Russian Empire. They have ruled Georgia from the Middle Ages until the early 19th century, being among the oldest extant Christian ruling dynasties in the world. In modern usage, the name of the dynasty is sometimes Hellenized and referred to as the Georgian Bagratids, also known in English as the Bagrations.
Although despite being associated with one region, the Bagrations own many estates, palaces and properties throughout the Russian Empire, and are one of the wealthiest noble families in the Russian Empire, with a combined net worth of ₽269.5 billion ($269.5 billion OTL USD).
The origins of the dynasty is disputed. Early Georgian Bagratids through dynastic marriage gained the Principality of Iberia after succeeding the Chosroid dynasty at the end of the 8th century. In 888 Adarnase IV of Iberia restored the Georgian monarchy; various native polities then united into the Kingdom of Georgia, which prospered from the 11th to the 13th century. This period of time, particularly the reigns of David IV the Builder (1089–1125) and of his great-granddaughter Tamar the Great (1184–1213) inaugurated the Georgian Golden Age in the history of Georgia.
After fragmentation of the unified Kingdom of Georgia in the late 15th century, the branches of the Bagrationi dynasty ruled the three breakaway Georgian kingdoms, the Kingdom of Kartli, the Kingdom of Kakheti, and the Kingdom of Imereti, until Russian annexation in the early-19th century. While the 3rd article of the 1783 Treaty of Georgievsk guaranteed continued sovereignty for the Bagrationi dynasty and their continued presence on the Georgian Throne, the Russian Imperial Crown later broke the terms of the treaty, and the Russian protectorate became an annexation.
The dynasty persisted within the Russian Empire as an Imperial Russian noble family. During the 1917 revolution, many were forced to escape, and with the establishment of the Republic of Georgia, many were forced to live with a demoted status and loss of property, leading many to stay in Russia, and and gain support from the Tsar.
During World War II, as a consequence of Georgia aiding Turkey in its attack against Russia, the Bagrations were restored as the ruling crown princes of Georgia as a local Principality within the broader Grand Principality of South Russia. The Georgian Orthodox Church lost its autocephaly and became an Autonomous Church within the Moscow Patriarchate. Through the Tumultuous 1990s up to today, they remain pro-Russian and pro-Tsarist.
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