Mariam of Georgia
Encyclopedia
Mariam also known as Maria in Europe
an sources, (9 April 1768 – 30 March 1850) was the Queen of Georgia
as the second wife and consort of the last King George XII of Georgia
(reigned from 1798 to 1800).
Princess Mariam Tsitsishvili was born at Tbilisi
to Prince Giorgi Tsitsishvili
, a representative of one of the preeminent noble houses of Georgia. George XII, then Heir Apparent
to the Georgian throne, married her on 13 July 1783 after the death of his first wife, Princess Ketevan née Andronikashvili (1782). Mariam gave birth to eight sons and three daughters:
When George died on December 18, 1800, Paul I of Russia
, an official protector of the Kingdom of Georgia, did not allow his heir, David
, to be crowned king, and abolished the Georgian monarchy, annexing the kingdom to the Russian Empire
.
In 1802, the newly established Russian administration started deporting the members of Georgian royal family to Russia proper. In April 1803, the Russian commander in Georgia, Prince Pavel Tsitsianov
, himself a Russified Georgian and ironically a distant relative of the Georgian queen, heard that Mariam was planning to flee to the strongholds of Khevsureti
with the aid of loyal mountainous clansmen who were resolutely opposed to the Russian rule.
Tsitsianov gave orders to Major-General Ivan Petrovich Lazarev that the queen and her children should be immediately removed from Georgia under guard. The very next morning, on April 22, 1803, the Russian soldiers arrived at Queen’s mansion and Lazarev ordered Mariam to get up and be ready for departure, but the queen refused to follow him. The general then took hold of her foot, to make her rise from the cushion on which she was sitting, surrounded by her sleeping children. Mariam, indignant at the attempt to take her by force, drew the dagger from beneath the cushion and stabbed Lazarev, killing him on the spot. Lazarev’s interpreter drew his saber, and gave her a wound in the head, so that she fell down insensible. The soldiers burst into the bedroom and arrested the queen and her children.
Escorted by a considerable armed force, they were carried away to Russia through the Daryal Pass. During her passage through Georgia, the inhabitants came out to testify their loyalty to the queen and bade her farewell. She was kept into confinement at the Belogorodsky Convent at Voronezh
until 1811 and then permitted to reside in Moscow
. Little is known about Mariam’s life in Moscow, but she is known to have been regularly visited by Georgian students whom she helped financially. She died there at 82 and was interred at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
in Mtskheta
, Georgia, with regal honors.
The tragic story of Queen Mariam was described in several contemporary accounts, based on the reports of eye-witnesses, and found its place in European literature of that time.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an sources, (9 April 1768 – 30 March 1850) was the Queen of 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...
as the second wife and consort of the last King George XII of Georgia
George XII of Georgia
George XII , sometimes known as George XIII , of the House of Bagrationi, was the last king of Georgia from 1798 until his death in 1800...
(reigned from 1798 to 1800).
Princess Mariam Tsitsishvili was born at Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
to Prince Giorgi Tsitsishvili
Tsitsishvili
The Tsitsishvili is a Georgian noble family, with several notable members from the 15th century through the 20th.The Tsitsishvili family was a continuation of the medieval house of Panaskerteli, known in the province of Upper Kartli from the 12th century, who derived their name from the castle of...
, a representative of one of the preeminent noble houses of Georgia. George XII, then Heir Apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
to the Georgian throne, married her on 13 July 1783 after the death of his first wife, Princess Ketevan née Andronikashvili (1782). Mariam gave birth to eight sons and three daughters:
- Michel (1783-1862)
- Jibrail (1788-1812)
- Elizbar (1790-1854)
- Joseph (died before 1798)
- Spiridon (died before 1798)
- OkropirOkropir BagrationiOk'ropir Bagrationi known in Russia as Tsarevich Okropir Georgievich Gruzinsky was a Georgian prince of the Bagrationi Dynasty....
(1795-1857) - Svimeon (born 1796 - died in infancy)
- Irakli (1799-1859)
- Thamar (1788-1850)
- Anna (1789-1796)
- Anna (1800-1850)
When George died on December 18, 1800, Paul I of Russia
Paul I of Russia
Paul I was the Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. He also was the 72nd Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta .-Childhood:...
, an official protector of the Kingdom of Georgia, did not allow his heir, David
David Bagrationi
David Bagrationi also known as David the Regent was a Georgian prince , writer and scholar, was a regent of the Kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti, eastern Georgia, from December 28, 1800 to January 18, 1801.The eldest son of the last Kartl-Kakhetian, King George XII by his first wife Ketevan...
, to be crowned king, and abolished the Georgian monarchy, annexing the kingdom to the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
.
In 1802, the newly established Russian administration started deporting the members of Georgian royal family to Russia proper. In April 1803, the Russian commander in Georgia, Prince Pavel Tsitsianov
Pavel Tsitsianov
Pavel Dmitriyevich Tsitsianov was the Georgian Imperial Russian military commander and infantry general from 1804. A member of the noble Georgian family Tsitsishvili , Tsitsianov participated in suppression of the Kościuszko Uprising and in the Russo-Persian War...
, himself a Russified Georgian and ironically a distant relative of the Georgian queen, heard that Mariam was planning to flee to the strongholds of Khevsureti
Khevsureti
Khevsureti/Khevsuria is a historical-ethnographic region in eastern Georgia. They are the branch of Kartvelian people located along both the northern and southern slopes of the Great Caucasus...
with the aid of loyal mountainous clansmen who were resolutely opposed to the Russian rule.
Tsitsianov gave orders to Major-General Ivan Petrovich Lazarev that the queen and her children should be immediately removed from Georgia under guard. The very next morning, on April 22, 1803, the Russian soldiers arrived at Queen’s mansion and Lazarev ordered Mariam to get up and be ready for departure, but the queen refused to follow him. The general then took hold of her foot, to make her rise from the cushion on which she was sitting, surrounded by her sleeping children. Mariam, indignant at the attempt to take her by force, drew the dagger from beneath the cushion and stabbed Lazarev, killing him on the spot. Lazarev’s interpreter drew his saber, and gave her a wound in the head, so that she fell down insensible. The soldiers burst into the bedroom and arrested the queen and her children.
Escorted by a considerable armed force, they were carried away to Russia through the Daryal Pass. During her passage through Georgia, the inhabitants came out to testify their loyalty to the queen and bade her farewell. She was kept into confinement at the Belogorodsky Convent at Voronezh
Voronezh
Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...
until 1811 and then permitted to reside in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. Little is known about Mariam’s life in Moscow, but she is known to have been regularly visited by Georgian students whom she helped financially. She died there at 82 and was interred at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral is a Georgian Orthodox cathedral located in the historical town of Mtskheta, Georgia, northwest of the nation's capital of Tbilisi....
in Mtskheta
Mtskheta
Mtskheta , one of the oldest cities of the country of Georgia , is located approximately 20 kilometers north of Tbilisi at the confluence of the Aragvi and Kura rivers. The city is now the administrative centre of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region...
, Georgia, with regal honors.
The tragic story of Queen Mariam was described in several contemporary accounts, based on the reports of eye-witnesses, and found its place in European literature of that time.