Princess Helen of Georgia

Helen (Georgian: ელენე; 1753 – 17 June 1786) was a Georgian princess royal (batonishvili), a daughter of Heraclius II of Georgia. She was the mother of Solomon II of Imereti, the last king to have reigned in the Georgian polities.

Princess Helen
Born1753
Died17 June 1786 (aged 3233)
Spouse
(m. 1770; died 1784)
(m. 1785)
Issue
DynastyBagrationi
FatherHeraclius II of Georgia
MotherDarejan Dadiani
ReligionGeorgian Orthodox Church

Biography

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Helen was born in 1753 as the eldest surviving child of Heraclius II and his third wife Darejan Dadiani. The young princess had a love affair with Prince Zakaria Andronikashvili [ka] (1740–1802), a respected soldier, who was 13 years older. Opposing the union, King Heraclius forced Andronikashvili into retirement to the Russian Empire and in 1770 married Helem off to Archil, a younger brother of King Solomon I of Imereti. Archil died on 6 October 1775, leaving one son and two daughters behind. Heraclius, watching his daughter plunging in depression, allowed her to wed, in 1785, the love of her youth, Zakaria Andronikashvili. Helen died on 17 June 1786 soon after she gave birth to a daughter, Khoreshan.[1][2][3]

Children and descendants

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Helen had three children of her first marriage to Prince Archil of Imereti, one son and two daughters. Their son, David (born 1772), went on to become king of Imereti under the name of Solomon II with the help of his grandfather Heraclius II and stepfather Prince Andronikashvili in 1789.[3] The elder daughter, Barbare (born 1771), would marry Prince David Tsulukidze and end her days in exile in Russia after the Russian conquest of Imereti in 1810. The younger daughter, Mariam (Maia; 1775–1861), was married twice, first to Prince Levan Dadiani (1774–1847) and then to Prince Malkhaz Andronikashvili (1773–1822), becoming mother of General Ivane Andronikashvili of the Crimean War fame.[1]

Helen's daughter of the second marriage, Khoreshan (1786–1833), married in 1800 Prince Zurab (Dimitri) Orbeliani (1766–1827). This union produced five children, among them the poet and general Grigol Orbeliani (1804–1883), General Ilia Orbeliani (1815–1853), Colonel Zakaria Orbeliani (1806–1847) and Ephemia (1801–1849), mother of the popular Romanticist poet Nikoloz Baratashvili (1817–1845).[1]

Ancestry

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Ancestors of Princess Helen of Georgia
16. David of Kakheti
8. Heraclius I of Kakheti
17. Elene Diasamidze
4. Teimuraz II of Georgia
18. Shermazan Cholokashvili
9. Ana Cholokashvili
2. Heraclius II of Georgia
20. Levan of Kartli
10. Vakhtang VI of Kartli
21. Tuta Guriel
5. Tamar of Kartli
22. Kelchiko of Kabarda
11. Rusudan of Kabarda
1. Elene
24. Giorgi IV Dadiani
12. Bezhan I Dadiani
25. Sevdia Mikeladze
6. Katsia-Giorgi Dadiani
26. Gelovani
13. Tamar Gelovani
3. Darejan Dadiani

References

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  1. 1 2 3 Dumin, S.V., ed. (1996). Дворянские роды Российской империи. Том 3. Князья [Noble families of the Russian Empire. Volume 3: Princes] (in Russian). Moscow: Linkominvest. p. 71.
  2. Montgomery, Hugh, ed. (1980). Burke's Royal Families of the World, Volume 2. London: Burke's Peerage. p. 67. ISBN 0850110297.
  3. 1 2 Tukhashvili, Lovard (1975). "ზაქარია ანდრონიკაშვილი [Zakaria Andronikashvili]" [Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia]. ქართული საბჭოთა ენცილოპედია (in Georgian). Vol. 1. Tbilisi. p. 450.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)