Mamia III "the Great", of the Gurieli

Gurieli

Gurieli was a Georgian noble family and a ruling dynasty of the southwestern Georgian province of Guria which was autonomous and later for a few centuries independent, as well as a few ducal rulers of the dynasty rose in the 17th-18th centuries to be kings of the whole western Caucasus in place...

, also known as the Black Gurieli (შავი გურიელი, Shavi Gurieli) (died January 5, 1714) was Prince of Guria from 1689 to 1714 and King of Imereti (western Georgia

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

) in 1701-02, 1711 and 1713.

A son of Giorgi III Gurieli

Giorgi III Gurieli

Giorgi III Gurieli , of the Georgian House of Gurieli, was a prince of Guria from 1664 to 1684 and a de facto king of Imereti from 1681 to 1683. He succeeded his father, Kaikhosro I, as prince of Guria and secured his throne through paying tribute to the Ottoman Empire. He was energetically...

, he deposed and blinded his uncle Malkhaz Gurieli and became prince of Guria in 1689. Through a flexible policy and maneuvering between his formal suzerains – the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 and the Kingdom of Imereti – he expanded his principality and helped his brother-in-law Simon

Simon of Imereti

Simon , of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was King of Imereti from 1699 to 1701. An illegitimate son of Alexander IV of Imereti, he was brought up at the court of Erekle I of Kartli, while Imereti was embroiled in the civil war among several claimants to the throne. In 1699, the Ottoman government...

 to become king of Imereti in 1699. In 1701, however, he conspired with the nobles of Imereti and allowed them to murder Simon, being crowned himself king of Imereti. A year later, he was deposed by Prince Giorgi-Malakia Abashidze

Giorgi-Malakia Abashidze

Giorgi-Malakia Abashidze was a Georgian nobleman and King of Imereti as George VI from 1702 to 1707. He was a member of the prominent Abashidze family....

 who usurped the crown and forced Mamia to retire to Guria. In 1703, Mamia was forced to submit to the Turkish invasion, ceding the Batumi

Batumi

Batumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. Sometimes considered Georgia's second capital, with a population of 121,806 , Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in...

 province to the Ottomans. In October 1711, he expelled George VII of Imereti

George VII of Imereti

George VII , of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was King of Imereti in the periods of 1707-11, 1712-13, 1713-16, and 1719–1720....

 and reestablished himself as king of Imereti, leaving Guria to his son Giorgi IV Gurieli

Giorgi IV Gurieli

Giorgi IV Gurieli , of the House of Gurieli, was a prince of Guria from 1711 to 1726, and a king of Imereti in western Georgia in 1716 and 1720. He was installed as prince of Guria by his father, Mamia III Gurieli, then the king of Imereti, in 1711. He was briefly dispossessed by his brother,...

. In June 1712, George VII reclaimed the crown, but eventually Mamia gained an upper hand and deposed George in November 1713. Mamia died shortly thereafter and George VII was restored once again.